Review Centre: Bluegrass Bands

"Outstanding, exactly what we wanted and more. Highly recommended."

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"My party was totally blown away by Sandra's amazing electric violin playing - has to be experienced to be believed. Altogether a pleasant, friendly and professional experience in the way that Sandra, accompanied by Paul on guitar, quietly set up and then proceeded to make sweet music for us all, perfectly suited to the occasion."

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"So talented! So fun! Great addition to our party! Number 9 Coal played for 3 hours at my brother's rehearsal dinner and welcome party in November '21. They were fantastic! They were on time, communicated great, were professional and the music was excellent. They even took the time to learn a new song to surprise my brother and his fiance. They really were the perfect touch on an excellent night! Thanks so much guys! I look forward to hearing (and hiring) you again! Reviewer: Adrienne McCoy Event Date: November 12th, 2021 Services Provided: Americana Band View messages Rating: 5 out of 5 "

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"The House Devils were amazing at our wedding! It was the best decision we made for the evening reception! They coordinated with the groom for a special first dance, and only got better from there. I cannot fault them. All of our guests were raving about how good they were! Cannot recommend more highly! "

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Highlight of our Event Coal #9 was the highlight of our backyard party. From the initial booking onward working with the band was effortless. Communication was excellent throughout. The band had to adjust their setup for our backyard but adjusted on the fly and without any loss in performance or complaint. Our guests raved at the quality of their performance. Band members were friendly and warm and their presence added to the evenings ambiance. We are so thankful that we go Coal #9 to perform at our event and highly recommend you consider them for your event. Reviewer: George Ilse Event Date: October 8th, 2021 Services Provided: Acoustic Band, Americana Band, Bluegrass Band, Folk Band View messages Rating: 5 out of 5"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"On our first opening week we booked Sandra & Paul with Lucy Layton to play and they did a hell of a show. They turned the empty pub into a lively party and people had a lot of fun. Not bad for a start! "

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"I did a great live recording session with Sandra & Paul at Capital Radio at London Leicester Square supporting the singer Lucy Layton. Sandra & Paul were very professional providing a solid performance on acoustic guitar and electric violin. The recording sounded very good and was a pleasure to work with such a friendly group of musos."

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

" Review by Larry S. Celebration • Reviewed on October 30, 2021 • From Union, MO Great band and service thanks to everyone for making our day a huge success. BTW book Number 9 Coal they are amazing!!!"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Jools composed and remotely recorded violin sections for 3 of my tracks: Just For a Day; Roman 7; Boneyard. The tracks have an American influence but would fall under the indie genre. Essentially, the remit for Jools was to 'bulk them out' with strings. Although I had not actually met Jools in person (and still haven't), he was extremely responsive when communicating via email and therefore didn't need to meet. Before agreeing, he encouraged me to listen to his back catalogue - I was impressed with the breadth and depth of genres that Jools had worked with and I was pleased to learn he had worked with a couple of acquaintances of mine- namely The Birmingham Philharmonic Orchestra and Chris Tye. Listening to his work, I was impressed by his knack around texturising songs- in my experience, strings can sometimes feel isolated from the rest of the instrumentation and I am aware that some string players find this aspect of composition challenging. Throughout the process, Jools ensured he had a secure understanding around my expectations. This brought about discussion around dynamics, chord progression technique (tremolo, tied sections etc). Although he was happy to read from transcript, I felt that his take on composition would be much better than mine, so he kindly agreed to compose the parts himself. After recording the first version, he sent me recordings via YouTube- he even went to the trouble of including a running text commentary of his thoughts within the video itself. This meant that I could give better feedback and bounce off his ideas. I was especially amazed by the turnaround (3 days to complete the process) as I had not set any deadlines or ball-park timeframes. Jools' playing is technically perfect and he has an exceptional ear for harmony and dynamics. e.g. He knew not to play for the sake of playing, and when to build to crescendo. He was able to add a range of chords, hooks and new melodies to the song. In Boneyard, the melody in the instrumental chorus ended up becoming the dominant hook- this was totally unplanned. Much like his violin playing, the overall recording quality was very professional. If you are looking for an outstanding string player who is both technical and visionary, Jools would be my number one recommendation."

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Professional, friendly, versatile, great dance plan that never stopped playing. I would definitely contact them again for another event and most definitely recommend them!"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Absolutely stellar musician and brilliant entertainer. Not often you get someone so good at both things!"

Reply by Dan Walsh
Thanks so much Sam! That was quite a night!

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Hi Jools. Thank you so much for playing at my parents' anniversary - you are amazing! All of the pieces you played were beautiful and just really created a lovely atmosphere at the party. My parents have been telling me how much they loved you. Was lovely to meet you too. Sandeep :) "

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Fun duo to listen too. They sang everything and too requests from the audience. Highly recommend. You won’t be disappointed. "

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"We are long time supporters of this wonderful and talented duo! Kate and Bernie are excellent in entertaining and engaging folks of all ages. They offer a variety of music featuring solos and duets including covers and originals. We plan to keep following these gifted entertainers!"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Thank you so much for your superb violin interpretations of "The Lark Ascending" and "Boum" at my wife's outdoor memorial on 11th May 2022. And, although you weren't expecting to play anything else, when asked you played some inspired Bach for ten minutes. It made the whole service very memorable Thank you again and I hope to hear you play in the near future."

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review: