Better Band were fantastic to deal with for our wedding. The electronic forms were a seamless way to manage a lot of information, and made planning a wedding from another country very easy. Jan answered all of my many queries, and gave his professional opinion when I needed guidance – and he was right about everything! We used Sam and James and we honestly could not recommend them highly enough. Our guests are RAVING about them and we had the dancefloor of our dreams. Sam and James had never played at our venue before (Mudbrick on Waiheke) but you would never ever know. They were timely, set up efficiently and in perfect locations and worked with our other vendors like they had done so before. Both Sam and James interacted with our guests / the crowd so well and they played without a break – switching between the two of them to change things up every now and then. We have minimal guidance on the song choices, they just read the crowd and sang what they thought would work best – they ABSOLUTELY NAILED IT. I have to confess we got slightly cold feet in the lead up to the wedding because Sam and James’ demo clips show that they are quite country focussed and we also weren’t sure whether it would be better to go with a DJ so people could dance to the original versions of the songs. HOWEVER thank god we didn’t change – those demos do not do them any justice at all. They sang a huge variety of songs, not just country, and their voices are incredible. They can do it all – they played during our ceremony while we signed the paperwork, after our ceremony during a cocktail hour and then for hours with a cranking dancefloor. They looked like they had lots of fun and wanted to be there, which made everyone feel really good. If you can’t tell already… do not hesitate to book these guys!! Thanks Jan, Sam and James for giving us the night of our lives!
Grace Mason
Waiheke Wedding, Mudbrick Vineyard Estate
Sam & James were absolutely awesome. They kept us on the dance floor all evening. The music was great. And everyone raved about them afterwards. Thanks again guys.
Kim & Debi
Bay of Plenty Birthday, Waiaua Marae
My twin sister and I had our 50th birthday celebrations in Taupo. Sam and James were truly legendary, they read the crowd perfectly and had everyone up and dancing the entire night. They brought so much fun and energy to their performance we’ll definitely use them again in the future. It was such a fantastic evening and that’s all down to Sam and James and their ability to engage with the audience. We would highly recommend them to anyone looking for memorable entertainment 😃😃😃
Tracy & Tara
Taupo 50th Birthday, Lake Taupo Yacht Club
Sam and James were our wedding duo a few weeks ago, they played an acoustic set and dance floor set and both were incredible! They were interactive and energetic and had everyone on the dance floor the whole night! All our family and friends were raving about them, they loved all the music they played and dancing the night away! We highly recommend Sam & James for any event! Thanks again, absolutely made our day & night!
Quinn Youngmann
Bay of Plenty Wedding
Had these guys for hubby’s 50th and what an awesome night! It was an absolute pleasure to have Sam & James out on the farm, to share in our evening. Everyone has been raving over their performance and we all had a great time dancing and singing along. It was a night we’ll never forget, you guys rock! Cheers
Donna Knight
Tauranga Birthday, Private Residence
Sam and James are the best band you will ever book for an event. They played for us at our wedding this Feb and they exceeded all of our expectations. We were first drawn to them after seeing their sample set list on Better Band. All the best songs and some epic country numbers. They learnt a song for us at pretty short notice and absolutely nailed it! Everyone was dancing from the first song till the very last. Nearly every person at our wedding has said how amazing the guys were. They’ve earned themselves a wedding party of groupies. Sam and James you were incredible! You made our wedding a night we’ll never forget. One friend even said she had to put deep heat on her calves from dancing so much! If you want to sing and dance your heart out you have to book these guys! Thank you again!
Alex & Danielle
Cambridge Wedding, Private Property
We used Better Band to book our wedding music and right from the start Jan was so easy to communicate with and sort everything out.
We had Sam and James and they were absolutely UNREAL! They really were one of the highlights of our wedding day and everyone has been raving about them since saying WOW your band! Who are they, we want them for our event! (very much looking forward to that). They bought the vibes, read the room and played awesome tunes and even took requests on the night from guests. Jake and I feel so stoked about how lucky we were to have such an incredible band play at our wedding! The dance floor was non-stop packed and going off for 3 hours straight. Everyone has been asking for their names since our wedding day. Hands down, best wedding band ever. Such cool guys and easy to communicate with. They really want the guests and bride/groom to have the time of their lives. They even let me sing my fav song, Man I feel Like a Woman up on stage..
Looking forward to listening to them again when they play at bars around Tauranga.
Jess & Jacob
Tauranga Wedding, L’Orangerie
Sam and James were absolutely epic. They were organised and easy to talk to before the wedding and on the day. Their music was insane and kept all our guests of all ages entertained for the night. I couldn’t recommend them enough if you’re having a wedding or event. Thank you Jan for all the organising and putting us together with this amazing band.
Kara Fowke
Waihi Wedding, Private Residence
Better Band Co were fantastic at sourcing the music for our wedding and very responsive. He understood what style we were after and the Duo Sam and James nailed. Guests were raving about them and it created the perfect atmosphere
Callum Scott
Auckland Wedding, Morningside Glasshouse
Huge shout out to James and Sam for last Thursday’s performance for our First Day of Business Salesforce Auckland Grand Opening, it was absolutely amazing and we had such great feedback!
Amy Jones (Salesforce)
Auckland Corporate Event, Company Offices
We were SO pleased that our original band fell through and we ended up with Sam & James. Sam was so professional and very easy to communicate with. You know it’s a great wedding when people come away with sore feet from dancing the whole night. We were so so so happy with the vibe they created and their talent is incredible. I’m gutted we were away for photos and couldn’t enjoy the acoustic music during canapés as it sounded so good! So many compliments from everyone who attended. Also appreciate Better Bands Company and Jan for help with making it all happen with such ease! Would highly recommend them to everyone.
Alice Chapman
Tauranga Wedding, Black Walnut
Jan was so helpful and found this amazing duo for our wedding. He just knew what a perfect fit it would be. Thanks Jan! Sam and James played for our wedding and what a treat! Right from the start they were easy to communicate with and just genuinely nice guys. After hearing a few YouTube videos of them play we were excited but in no way did we expect what we got. They read the crowd and the dance floor was never empty, they were absolutely fantastic! Our guests were raving about them and a few commented about booking them for their event. (We can’t wait). Thank you both for making it such a special, memorable evening. Felt like we were partying the night away with old friends. (Even the neighbours wanted to come and join in) Thanks again guys and hopefully see you soon!
Kristin & Oscar
Bay of Plenty Wedding, Private Residence Opotiki
We made a pretty last minute decision to find a live band for our December wedding and we couldn’t have been more lucky to have Sam & James as part of our special day! They were incredibly lovely and brought the most wonderful atmosphere to our reception. They were both super professional and made the entire process leading up to the wedding stress free. Our friends and family absolutely raved about them afterwards and continue to say they were just the perfect end to a perfect day. We can’t thank you both enough for making our wedding night the best night of our lives — thank you so much!!
Hannah Kirby
Mount Maunganui Surf Club
Sam and James were absolutely incredible at our wedding. They nailed our entrance songs, Kept the dancefloor going all night, were so funny and created the best atmosphere! Couldn’t recommend them enough!
Olivia Hopkins
Coromandel Wedding, Stone Terrace Guest House
We had the pleasure of meeting Sam and James at a wedding recently, as a wedding vender we get to see loads of bands and can honestly say they are the best we have ever seen. From the start to the finish and a bonus they are just the nicest people. If we ever have a big event we will be trying to book these guys.
Karen Curtis
Tauranga Wedding Vendor
Sam & James played for us at a wrap-party for a staff conference. They were fantastic and understood the energy required throughout the evening. They were great to deal with and even let one of our staff members steal a mic, and the spotlight for a song! Highly recommend, fantastic voices and incredible musicians.
Olivia Dobbs
Tauranga Corporate, Top10 Holiday Parks
Better Band is just amazing! Jan was extremely helpful all the way. We had Sam & James for our Coromandel wedding and they were just INCREDIBLE!
They keep everyone dancing for 3 hrs and more. We are extremely happy with all the service delivered by better band.
Tamy Rosansky
Coromandel Wedding, Star & Garter HotelÂ
You will not find better than Sam and James! These guys are seriously outstanding and had our dance floor cranking the whole night.
Amazingly talented and seemed to enjoy themselves as much as we did. We had so many comments after the wedding about the band and we cannot recommend Sam and James enough. Thank you thank you thank you!
Emma Langman
Bay of Plenty Wedding, Omahanui Venue
I’d like to say that Sam and James exceeded our expectations. They were absolutely amazing and had all the guests on their feet for the entire evening.
Tracy Sexton
Joint 50th Birthday, Bay of Plenty
Sam and James sounded amazing at our wedding! Highly recommend booking them for your event. Very easy to organise through betterband too.
Aaron & Ebony
Waikato Wedding, Corbett House
