Three Card Trick FAQs

Three Card Trick consistently produce amazing nights under the strictest sound limiters in the country. As a 3 piece we can create a big performance with a small space. We just need two safe power outlets to provide our show. Everything else including sound and lighting is provided by the band.

As far as sound/volume limiters, in short, we've never met one we couldn't work with. They are a pain in the *neck* for fully live bands like us but we always find a way to work around them. However if you're booking Three Card Trick for the authentic rock festival atmosphere we'd advise against venues with noise limiters lower than 86db (db = decibels - the measure of loudness). 90db is pretty standard for any live band in our ballpark.

99% of the time you and your guests wouldn't notice but we have had a couple of occasions where people have booked us for our heavy rock sets and asked why we were playing so quiet on the night, at which point we had to explain that we were bound by the venue's volume limiter.

In summary, unless you're planning on creating a mosh pit on the dancefloor, a volume limiter shouldn't be an issue, but it's something you should definitely make a point of asking your venue about.

Our relationship with Coast Entertainments is tighter than with any other band, and we probably know your venue staff aswell. If we don't already, we'll contact each other. Once you've booked, you won't have to worry about anything regarding the entertainment. We'll do it all in the background, so you can enjoy the rest of the planning stress free!

In 16 years, frontman Gary has NEVER missed a wedding. Even if that were to happen, even just as a band we personally have enough musical pals we could call on to fill in at the last minute. But with Coast you have Scotland's encyclopedia of amazing musicians who can be ready at a moment's notice.

If yours is a venue we're familiar with, (which in our case is highly likely) we pull up to the loading area. If not, we pull up to reception and ask where the evening reception room is, who the co-ordinator is and where is best to park in order to make the load in (bringing our equipment from van to stage) as fast and inconspicuous as possible in order to not disrupt your dinner/speeches. Either way, the first point of contact will be band leader Gary approaching your co-ordinator to ask if the room is ready for us to load into. Some weddings run late due to speeches etc so this is an important fact to check. Once our stage area is ready we load in and setup while the venue staff turn your room around, which means converting it from the dinner to evening reception. Once we're set up there are no lengthy or loud soundchecks, we just check everything is working. Ideally you and your guests would be in a different room at this time but if that's not possible eg in a marquee style venue, you'll still barely notice we're there until we actually start playing your first dance.

We arrive around an hour before start time so typically 7pm. If we know the venue has a difficult load in we may arrive earlier than this in order to guarantee we start at 8.

In short, we've never met a noise limiter we couldn't work with. They are a pain in the *neck* for fully live bands like us but we always find a way to work around them. However if you're booking Three Card Trick for the authentic rock festival atmosphere we'd advise against venues with noise limiters lower than 86db (db = decibels - the measure of loudness). 93db is pretty standard for any live band in our ballpark.

99% of the time you and your guests wouldn't notice but we have had a couple of occasions where people have booked us for our heavy rock sets and asked why we were playing so quiet on the night, at which point we had to explain that we were bound by the venue's volume limiter.

In summary, unless you're planning on creating a mosh pit on the dancefloor, a volume limiter shouldn't be an issue, but it's something you should definitely make a point of asking your venue about.

Our standard wedding attire is what you'll see in our videos. Smart with an element of smart-casual if we feel the mood is right, given the advance song choices.

Three Card Trick are renowned for our ability to read a room and as such we never use rigid setlists. Some crowds react best to party standards like Shut Up and Dance, others like a more guitar-based set including plenty of AC/DC etc, some even love a heavier rock out with Linkin Park etc. If the crowd is super-varied, we have a tendency to group a similar style of songs together in chunks of 15-20 mins to keep fans of each genre on the dancefloor for as long as possible. When it feels like they're ready for a break, we'll maybe play a classic ballad as a palate cleanser then fire up a totally different set to please a different demographic of your guests. We do everything in our power to make sure we play not just something for everyone, but a lot for everyone! We also have far and away the most extensive repertoire of any band you'll come across with over 2000+ songs to pull from at any given moment.

We have a standard selection of upbeat, universally loved hits to open the night and re-assure your guests that they will recognise every single song. This opening 30 mins gives us an idea of how easy it is to get them dancing, what era or style of music is getting the best response, and how much verbal encouragement is required. Usually this is none but Gary has no problem in, let's say "coaxing" a timid audience into getting up, letting loose and generally having a good time. We want your dancefloor jumping as much as you do, and we've never failed yet!

Having said that, there's always space for a couple of ballads, usually to give people a rest or if the dancefloor is getting a bit wild. This also gives your older guests a chance to have a wee shimmy.

By the second half we've really got an idea of what's gonna rev your guests up to fever pitch. Usually we'll start the second set with some country classics like Shania Twain and Taylor Swift. This is when your bridesmaids really get their groove on. After this we'll either do some indie classics like Oasis etc or if we're getting an even rockier vibe we'll hit out with some Green Day and escalate it from there. Sometimes this goes all the way to Limp Bizkit, other times we go back to standards like Country Roads. It all depends on how the dancefloor is looking song to song.

We can even change direction halfway through a song if required, or spontaneously create 15-20 min medleys (songs that seamlessly run into each other like a DJ). This is the benefit of a small band that doesn't use setlists or backing tracks.

Taking requests is our strong point. With a repertoire of 2000+ songs, there's not many popular songs we don't know. The best way for your guests to request a song is to write it on their phone and show us it, (far easier than trying to have a conversation and sing at the same time). We'll usually nod and mentally add it to the set if we think it won't empty the dancefloor - nobody needs to hear Tears in Heaven at a wedding. One reason we have such a vast list of songs is because we take requests and learn them on the spot if we can, so it really is one of the most fun parts of the job.

If it's a song we can't play, which is rare, we'll often add it to the break playlist or DJ set.

We're currently working on a system whereby people can scan a QR code on our onstage banner and view our song list online, then request a song and even add a note/dedication which will pop up on our iPads and we'll read it out. Technology. What a time to be alive eh.

Three Card Trick, fronted by brothers Gary and Dean are renowned for our crowd interaction, when it's required! If the dancefloor is jumping from the get go (which it usually is) we don't mess with the magic - we just keep playing! However there are times with a shy or smaller group of guests where we like to have some chat to coax them onto the floor. The band want a busy dancefloor as much as you do! We'd class our stage banter as playful but professional.

We're also more than happy to make any and all announcements required.

When it comes to things not going to plan, whether it be scheduling or technical issues we've seen every possible scenario. As such we have infinite experience in adapting to such changes. Our setup time is an hour as standard to cover any issues but with an easy load in and sufficient stage space we can cut this down to 45-50 if your day is running late. As far as technical issues, we've only had a few over the years (as any band would) but we're well prepared for any gremlins in the machine. We take spares of everything, we have contingency plans and even after we've loaded in our main rig, there's always backups in the van. Backup guitars, spare drum heads etc.

To get into excruciating detail, we even chose our PA (speaker) system based on the fact that if the control desk goes down, we can bypass it in seconds and go direct to the PA, and if a speaker goes down we can re-route to the other until we can get the spare out of the van. Also we use real guitar amps on stage to give you the sound of a real rock band, but if these were ever to fail we have backups of these as well. We even have backups for the backups in the form of digital modelling pedals! It's all completely failsafe and something you wouldn't even notice in real time.

We want the dancefloor to be as busy as you do! Most of the time the dancefloor will be mobbed for the first half hour, busy-ish for the rest of the first half and fever-pitch/music festival/superbowl half-time show for the second half. Obviously sometimes that's going to be dependent on how loose and lubricated your guests are. You can see genuine dancefloor footage on our social media pages, including one on YouTube which is a full timelapse of 4 hours in 5 mins to show how full the floor usually is all night.

As much as we don't use setlists, the last 20 mins is crucial to everyone's amazing memory of the night so we don't usually mess with our own unique, road tested, ironclad, absolutely failsafe way of closing out your night in style. We won't disclose the exact songs but it's all classic Scottish traditional end-of-wedding material which gets absolutely everyone on the floor with the bride and groom to celebrate the climax of the evening and day as a whole. Put it this way - prepare to crowdsurf!

We're renowned for learning songs really fast (sometimes on the spot!) but for your first dance it's best to give us 2 week's notice so we have time to rehearse it. Aside from your vows we consider your first dance to be the most important part of your day, so we always make sure it sounds as amazing as possible to create a unique moment for you.

We're happy to learn almost any song. We're a 3 piece so it's easy to learn most songs but when something with a big orchestral arrangement comes up that we don't think we could do justice to, we'll give you options. Playing the original track or performing an acoustic version are usually the options in this case, but these are few and far between. We like a challenge.

We love customisation, you know you and your guests better than we do and we like every wedding to be different! But we do know what works when it comes to filling a dancefloor all night, so we prefer if you give us ideas as to what you want rather than choosing the exact 40-song setlist.

At the start of the evening around 8pm, the co-ordinator will usually take you off to the side or behind the entrance to the room and will give us an indication that you're ready to make your entrance for the evening reception. Gary will introduce you in a way the co-ordinator advises. Usually as Mr and Mrs, but it's up to you how you'd like to be introduced. Then you'll cut the cake which Gary will also announce, after which he'll introduce you to the dancefloor for your chosen first dance. We don't usually invite the guests up during your first dance unless you instruct otherwise, so if you're shy feel free to let us know you don't want to be on the floor alone for too long. Other times the couple may have practiced a dance routine so you can also request to be alone on the dancefloor for the entire first dance. After your first dance and any other special requests (eg father daughter dance) we'll invite everyone onto the floor for our typical opening song Crazy Little Thing Called Love by Queen. This one always gets people up straight away and sets a great tone for the party.

Our most popular add-on option to give your whole wedding day a running musical theme is to have Gary perform during your afternoon drinks reception, where he will play a couple of hours of similar (but more chilled) music to what the band plays in the evening.  

If you really want to turbo boost the day with live music, you can also book Gary to play at your ceremony. Pick whatever song you'd like to walk down the aisle to and have a bespoke acoustic version played live.  

This is also a great idea as Gary will perform background music during the signing of the register, keeping your guests entertained while you "make it official", also keeping the music going when the ceremony is over and your guests are making their way to the area for the drinks reception. 

If you book a DJ set with Three Card Trick, the transition is seamless. We go straight from the last song as a band to the first song of the DJ set. All the relevant equipment is already set up and ready to go. Also, you're more than welcome to send us a list of songs you'd like played during the DJ set.

Our vast repertoire, our modernised versions of classic songs, our lack of gaps in the set (this is a big plus!).  

We frequently use medleys to keep the music going almost constantly for the time we are on stage. The band will go directly from one song to another which is usually in the same key or tempo, meaning sometimes guests don't even notice that they've just danced for 20-30 mins to 8-10 different songs, literally without missing a beat!  

An example of this is our famous (and seemingly never ending) medley of Mr Brightside, Hot and Cold, Marry You, All The Small Things, With or Without You, Paradise, Firework, Keep On Moving, Uptown Funk, Get Lucky, You've Got the Love... with literally no stops, gaps, or chances for your guests to sit down.  

We're often asked "Can you play a bad song so I can go to the bar?"  

If the dancefloor has been busy all night, we've done our job. If we managed to play all the requests, we've done our job. If your guests lift you up on their shoulders during the last song of the night, we've done our job. We take so much pride in creating these moments that we simply don't allow it to play out any other way. We're not good at anything else, so might as well be the best at this ;-)

The most satisfying feedback we get is when couples mention how busy the dancefloor was all night, how we played every request and how much they appreciated us learning and performing their first dance.

We played a venue in Thurso in 2025 where the venue's power went out around 11pm. Gary pulled out the acoustic guitar and kept the party going by leading singalongs, walking round the tables, taking requests and keeping the guests dancing until the power came back on 20 mins later. What a hero ;-)

Also in 2021 a couple asked us to play one of our own songs, "I Fit You" for their first dance. That was a tearjerker for us.

We play up to 45 mins of ceilidh music live, albeit with fiddles and accordion on backing tracks to save you money on paying for extra musicians just for the ceilidh set. If you request a ceilidh set we usually try and do it before the buffet break when people are still sober enough (hopefully) to follow the moves. We explain the dances in full before the dance and during, although if there's any P.E. teachers in the midst, they're more than welcome to "help out"... ;-)

The ceilidh set is always fun and a great chance to break the ice and get people comfortable with being on the dancefloor en masse, and we always encourage everyone to get involved.

When you book Three Card Trick through Coast, first of all the band and Coast both block the date in our diary so that a double booking is impossible. In 16 years, it's literally never happened, so once you book us through Coast you know your booking is carved in stone. Then we look forward to an email from you regarding specific requests for the night (first dance choice, ceilidh set inclusion etc), which we can usually accommodate up until the day before, unless it includes learning new songs which we require two week's notification. We also offer a plethora of additions to your day including ceremony music, daytime drinks reception entertainment, plus an additional hour of band play or a DJ set. But we understand that booking the band is just a small part of organising your day so once you've sorted the main evening reception set, if you want these extras just let us know anytime after! Either during the point of booking or up to two weeks before the date. We're very malleable with add ons or edits and can usually accommodate them at short notice.

Lead singer of the band Gary will respond via email within 1-3 days. From which point we can put together a plan of what music styles, vibe and flow you want for your night. After 1500 weddings we can get a good idea of what you're looking for from a few basic queries like first dance choice, ceilidh options and any other special requests you have.

Yes, every element of on the day planning is done in the background between the band, Coast and the venue/co-ordinator. You don't need to worry about anything aside from having an amazing day. Trust us, we'll be there!

We understand that booking a band for the first time can be stressful. Three Card Trick have performed at over 1500 weddings with a mountain of genuine 5 star reviews and testimonials which you can see on our website. We always have a good laugh on stage with the audience but we take the business side very seriously. Singer Gary is glad to answer any pre-booking queries you might have.