Hi-Life Entertainment

Tag: DJ Derbyshire

  • Frequently Asked Questions

    Frequently Asked Questions

    What areas do you cover for mobile DJ services?

    We are based in the Yorkshire, Derbyshire regions, but we regularly travel to Manchester, Lancashire & Cheshire. We do DJ on Northumberland, Newcastle & the North East quite often & occasionally further afield, like Scotland, London, Birmingham & the South Coast. There are very few places in the country we haven’t played at some point.

    Do you have Public Liability Insurance and is equipment PAT tested, as my venue requires these?

    Yes, we have PLI of £10 million and all equipment is PAT tested annually. We can provide certificates to send to your venue.

    Are there any types of music that you don’t play?

    No, we cover pretty much every genre and decade of music. Obviously some genres are more common than others, but we have a broad knowledge base amongst our DJs. We cover lots of different cultures too, like afrobeats, bhangra, bollywood, Scottish / ceilidh music, latin / salsa, greek music. All our wedding & party sets are bespoke, so each one is very different to the next!

    What information do you need to give me a quote for a DJ booking?

    We would need to know the date, venue & approximate playing times, as well as the type of event. Many wedding DJ bookings / enquiries are for dates quite far off. (At the moment we are getting a large number of 2027 bookings). Often exact timings are not worked out, so we keep times open, with up to a 5 hour set, with set up an hour before. Additional time can be added later at a rate of £50 per hour, if needed, but it is fairly rare that an evening DJ set exceeds 5 hours.

    Do you have any feedback / reviews of your DJs and services for weddings & parties?

    Yes, you can find reviews / ratings on Google. Click the link here: https://g.co/kgs/B4kuKHe to view our clients comments.

    Do you play LGBTQ+ weddings?

    Yes, over the years we have played hundreds of LGBTQ+ weddings around the UK. We treat every wedding as a unique event, working with our clients to deliver the perfect blend of music on the night, based around their preferences. We also select the best choice of DJ for each couple.

    One of my personal highlights at Hi-life was playing Richard & Luke’s wedding at Loft Studios in Shepherd’s Bush, London in 2023. (Picture below).

    We are having a marquee / tipi wedding. Are you able to provide music throughout the day?

    Yes, we have a lot of experience of doing festival style wedding DJ sets in marquees, tipis, yurts, or farm buildings. We set up an hour before your guests arrive on site, so everything is ready to cue background music for the drinks reception & beyond. If you are having a wedding ceremony on site, inside or outside we can cue music for the service for you. We can also provide cordless / radio microphones for speeches / announcements.

    The DJ would stay on site all day, to deal with all your requirements & make sure everything goes seamlessly & is hassle free for yourselves & everyone else involved with the wedding, like registrars, caterers, bar staff, etc.

    Do drop us an email for more information. We just need guest arrival times & the curfew time to give a quote. Your exact itinerary can be worked out later on. I’m always here for advice, if you need it, as we have DJ’d at hundreds of festival style weddings.

    For additional information, contact me at mark@thehi-life.co.uk .

    Many thanks,

    Mark Hepworth

  • What is a bespoke DJ service?

    What is a bespoke DJ service?

    “Surely a DJ knows what is going to get the dance floor full. Why not leave it to them, after all they are the professionals?”

    Well, yes, they certainly do. The thing is when we have a private party, or a wedding there are several ties between the people attending that makes every event unique. These can be cultural, age related, musically diverse, or sometimes not any of those things. There is not a “typical” wedding or party these days. A DJ can work out a crowd over a period of time, but why not go in with some actual background & do some prep, before the event starts, so everything kicks off with a bang, instead of the DJ having to spend the early part playing some things that could quite likely alienate many of the guests for the rest of the evening?

    At Hi-Life Entertainment we have a music planner that asks clients a group of questions. “What do you want”, yes of course. “What don’t you want“? The answers to that question are far more helpful. Then there is drilling into details about music policy on the night, like requests, attitude to cheese / guilty pleasures, what they want the DJ to do on the mic, etc. (Usually the answer to that latter is a minimal approach to make necessary announcements, but otherwise keep the music running, but bespoke is… well bespoke, we roll with what you want).

    Being an agency, we have a wide variety of people on our books. Whilst all have a very wide scope in terms of their music knowledge, sometimes there is a client brief that ticks a box for one, over others. Having the music in advance, it avoids a square peg being put in a round hole. Instead you have someone who knows A LOT about what they are being asked to play.

    You only have to read our feedback from people who were expecting the standard mobile DJ offering, to be blown away that their night was better than they had dreamed of & their guests were talking about it for months after. Just Google us or visit us on FB, to see how both the process & delivery on the night actually worked out for our clients.

    Is it going to cost more?

    Well, yes, “Disco Dave” is out there. No contract, cash on the night, no questions asked. We have to pay high quality DJs a decent rate, provide great sound & lighting, PLI insurance of £10 million, pay our taxes & NI & comply with GDPR requirements regarding your data, including passwords, addresses, phone numbers, etc. This comes at a cost. The cost of a wedding or party these days is not cheap & ending the night, (the bit most people talk about), with a flat pancake in terms of entertainment is a poor choice. You pay to get a professional service, but you might be surprised that it is quite reasonable when you get a quote.

    Visit our contact link, or just drop me an email to mark@thehi-life.co.uk , giving me as much information as you can.

    Thanks for reading,

    Mark Hepworth, Hi-life Entertainment