On June 18, 2016, Flipside played Ocean Edge in Newport, RI, for Sara and Jeff. We do A LOT of weddings on this particular road in Newport. Both Ocean Cliff and Castle Hill (just across the cove) are regular Newport locations for us. In fact, on this weekend we were playing at Ocean Cliff on both Saturday and Sunday which meant we could leave some equipment overnight – the high-holy of all achievements for a wedding band! The bride and groom, Sara and Jeff, were incredibly nice and enthusiastic about planning their wedding. They had about 150 guests, a pretty young crowd and a ton of people coming from NYC. They picked a fantastic mix of music to keep everybody raging on the dance floor.
Everything came together perfectly to make this night one of the best events we have ever played. Jeff & Sara chose a gorgeous Sam Cooke song (Nothing Can Change This Love) for their first dance. Our lead vocalist David covers a wide range of styles, but this song highlighted his skill. He knocked it out of the park! A strong first impression always helps set the right tone for a wedding reception and this crowd danced between courses all through dinner.
As a huge Beatles fan, I was personally very happy to sing the unique Groom/Mother dance selection, “Hey Jude,” and marveled as the whole crowd joined them on the dance floor to sing the “na na nas” at the end. Sara chose a Hall and Oates tune for her dance and that just warmed my Pennsylvania heart.
The crowd at this wedding was absolutely off the hook! We get so much energy from a receptive crowd like this and it is this combustable chemistry that takes a party to a whole other level.
