Taking August are highly talented, experienced and very accomplished entertainers. They are the kind of musicians that can bring a party to life from the moment they take the stage. The band's line-up features two of Alberta’s finest musicians, Daniel Hooft and Kelsey Porter. The duo has performed at hundreds of venues and weddings all over western Canada. Such is their versatility that they can play for wedding ceremonies, receptions, cocktail hours, and dances of any size or style.
Services offered
Kelsey is a multi-instrumentalists, playing guitar, bass, banjo, mandolin and harmonica. Daniel is on lead guitar and both are excellent vocalists. Together, they have an eclectic repertoire which includes classic rock, pop, indie rock, folk and country covers as well as a collection of their own original tunes. They can cater their sets to any grenre of music you prefer! If your song is not on their list, they are happy to learn it so that you can have your first dance your way.
Other services
In addition to weddings, Taking August specialize in performing for the following types of events:
We knew we wanted a live band for our small wedding. We didn’t want a large band but something more intimate. Taking August was perfect! These two took over the room and had everyone either dancing or singing. Our wedding was intimate and casual and these two fit right in! So talented and very friendly and flexible. We HIGHLY recommend this amazing band!
Sent on 20/11/2018
Jamie Cowan
· Married on 25 of August of 2017
4.8
Quality of service:
5.0
Responsiveness:
4.0
Value:
5.0
Flexibility:
5.0
Professionalism:
5.0
We hired Dan & Kelsey for our whole wedding in August 2017 and they were a big hit! We had wanted live entertainment for the wedding but as we only had 30 guests we didn't want a full 5 piece band. Taking August was the perfect fit but in all honesty they could no doubt entertain a much larger crowd.
They were great at the ceremony and as my husband and I were not very organised we left it to them to choose most of the music and they did an exceptional job. They played for the drinks reception and although we didn't personally get to enjoy this, all guests gave raving reviews and said they loved the music selection performed and knew and could sing along to most songs and they were even up dancing.
They played the fist half of the evening live and the second half they DJed as requested by us and kept the dance floor busy even with only 30 guests.
The only thing I would do differently (which is of no fault of the band) is have them play more live music as we (the bride and groom) missed out on a large chunk of it due to wedding portraits. Maybe having live at the beginning of evening then some DJing for them to take a break and then maybe another session at the end would have been better or plan the day so that we could have heard some at the drinks reception. If I have any advice for those getting married it is to strongly consider this when planning what you want for entertainment.
My only tip regarding correspondence is to use Facebook Messenger to correspond with them as they seem to check this more and are more responsive to any queries.
They were fabulously talented and great value and would hire them again in a heartbeat. I 100% would refer them to anyone looking for some great live music entertainment and hope one day we get to hear them perform again!
Thanks Kelsey and Dan!
Jamie & Richard
ELK VIEW LODGE
Sent on 27/09/2017
Colleen
· Married on 12 of August of 2016
5.0
Quality of service:
5.0
Responsiveness:
5.0
Value:
5.0
Flexibility:
5.0
Professionalism:
5.0
We hired Taking August to play for a backyard wedding. What can we say - they were a huge hit. Many people complimented us on the band and everyone wanted them to play longer which they obliged. We found them to be professional and extremely talented. They played a great selection of music that they choose plus for the wedding itself they did a wonderful job on the songs the bride and groom picked. We felt that the cost was more than fair and their talent far exceeds their price. We still have people asking us how we found them. We would have absolutely no hesitation in hiring them again or recommending them to our friends and family to hire. Colleen & Ron. August 12, 2016
Sent on 09/09/2016
James Plante
· Married on 17 of August of 2019
5.0
Quality of service:
5.0
Responsiveness:
5.0
Value:
5.0
Flexibility:
5.0
Professionalism:
5.0
Incredible wedding entertainment
Taking August was a huge part of our day! They worked with us to Tailor a playlist for the ceremony and learned all of the songs for that. We had so many comments of how beautiful the music was at the ceremony. They also had also saved us the money of rentals by supplying microphone and sound system for us to use at the ceremony. With that, the videographer was also able to use an input to their sound system to get direct voice from the microphone without disturbances. To follow they went out to the reception early enough to set up before cocktail hour, again setting up a microphone to their sound system for speeches as well as a direct feed for the videographer. They are a dynamic duo who play a wide range of genres and are very versatile when it comes to feeling the crowd for the appropriate music. They played beautiful soft music during dinner as background music and rocked it out keeping the dance floor packed all night. Following the first dance I had planned singing a song with the band, they learned this song and helped me to wow my new bride! They played a perfect combination of classic rock, country and new music with a unique own spin on everything they play. We found them to be very flexible mixing in a playlist we had built for a nice mix of Live and DJ music. They are both such fun and genuine people to be around and we thank them so much for making our wedding entertainment second to none. I believe this was one of the best parties I have ever been to let alone it being my wedding, putting my personal bias aside we were also told by many guests the same thing. Would highly recommend to anyone! Huge thanks again to Taking August !!!
Sent on 07/10/2019
Amie and Lee
· Married on 30 of November of 2017
5.0
Quality of service:
5.0
Responsiveness:
5.0
Value:
5.0
Flexibility:
5.0
Professionalism:
5.0
Amazing sound and so friendly. Lots of back and forth from them to ensure we knew and they knew what we wanted. They also learned songs for us that sounded amazing.
Wedding guests couldn't stop complimenting and talking about them.
