Adagio Djay Entertainment: DJs, Live Music, Uplighting

*We Never Forget Whose Day It Is*

Serving Minnesota and Western Wisconsin

Travel area: Within 300 miles See details

4.8

Praised by couples for:

DJ quality

Music selection

Unique party atmosphere

Adagio Djay Entertainment and Berndt far exceeded our expectations for our wedding! I am not gonna lie I had heard horror stories about using larger DJ companies rather than going direct to DJ for weddings, so I went in skeptical, but my fears were not accurate for this company. Jay did a great job staying in communication with us the entire time we were planning and making sure we understood how to best use their online resources to prep for our wedding. I was nervous about waiting till so close to our wedding to get assigned our DJ since we had a lot of specific moments and I was worried we would have someone who wouldn't understand. Jay was very understanding about our concerns and worked with us to make sure we got paired with the perfect match and was absolutely right! Berndt was amazing! After discussing all that we wanted to do for our wedding he seemed just as excited as us to DJ! He was really great at feeling out the vibe of the dance floor all night, combining a lot of different styles and genres to keep everyone old and new out there all night! We had a a great group of guest who love to perform so he even let them take the mic for a song to hype everyone up! I have been to a lot of weddings were DJs can make or break the night and Berndt for sure made the night SPECTACULAR!

Tyler P.

5.0

I hired Berndt to DJ my wedding ceremony and it far exceeded my expectations! He showed up early, he checked in multiple times to make sure we were liking the music he selected, and he kept the party moving all night! He let me make last minute changes with no problems! He even took many MANY requests from all the kids and played them happily! It was the perfect wedding for my husband and I and I feel so fortunate that we got lined up with Berndt! I highly recommend him!!

Jamie Y.

5.0

Jay Brian Kochendorfer

OWNER

Typically responds within 24h

AWARD WINNER (20X)

Thanks to recommendations from couples on The Knot

At Adagio Djay Entertainment our philosophy is to assist you in creating an atmosphere that will make all of your guests feel welcome and involved without making the DJ the focus of the reception. Although the music is an important part of setting that tone, we believe the focus should remain on the guests and the beautiful memories that are being created as they celebrate with you. We are known for our tasteful and subtle approach as well as our exceptional attention to detail and award winning customer service. We are highly recommended by the area’s best venues, wedding planners, and other professionals in the industry. We have been recognized as one of the Top 150 DJ’s in the Nation by Modern Bride Magazine as well as “Best DJ” by Minnesota Bride Magazine and we have been awarded The Knot Best of Weddings Hall of Fame. We have over 37 years experience in the entertainment industry and we are committed to the highest level of service and care for each client. We accept a limited number of events per evening to ensure superior service at every reception. We offer flexible office hours, emergency back-up staff and service technicians, and a guarantee that your questions and correspondence will always be handled with the utmost care and urgency. Owner and DJ Jay Brian Kochendorfer can be described as action-oriented, passionate, and outgoing. He takes a subtle and tasteful approach to each event, ensuring that every couple is given top priority and service. The team of diverse, inclusive professionals organizes an with a couple to understand their taste and style. Knowing that each wedding is different, the team will pair you with an emcee that complements your vision best, guaranteeing a flawless night of entertainment. In an effort to simplify the overall wedding planning process for our clients our additional services include Ceremony Music and Amplification, DJ/Live Music options, Mood Lighting, Dance Instruction, Videography and Invitations. We take great pride in what we do and would truly appreciate the opportunity to be part of your special event. Adagio Djay Entertainment is a wedding DJ and live music company based in Minneapolis, Minnesota serving Minnesota and into Western Wisconsin.

LGBTQ+-owned Business

37+ years in business

Speaks English, Spanish

Large team (21+ members)

Details

Equipment

Sound Equipment

Music Genres

African

Arabic

Bollywood

Caribbean

Celtic

Classical

Country

Dance

Disco

EDM

Flamenco

Folk

Hip-Hop

Indian

Jazz

Klezmer

Latin

Mariachi

Persian

Polka

Pop

R&B

Rock

World Music

Music Services

MC Services

Recorded Music

Sound Equipment

Planning

Se Habla Español

Wedding Activities

Rehearsals & Parties

After Party

Wedding

After Party

Ceremony

Reception

Awards and Affiliations

20-Time 'Best of Weddings'

2026.2025.2024.+17 more.

Hall of Fame

Earned by winning 'Best of Weddings' four or more times.

Join couples who chose award-winning vendors for their wedding

Meet the team

Jay Brian Kochendorfer

Owner

7 Words that describe me: Action-oriented, passionate, motivated, charismatic, fun, outgoing and caring. Best advice I ever received: Do it right or don’t do it at all! Favorite part about being a DJ: Serving people and watching them enjoy themselves.

4.8

out of 5.0

685 reviews

Your trust is our goal. Our community relies on honest reviews to help you make those big decisions with ease.

Review Summary

This AI-generated summary is a snapshot of this vendor's ratings and feedback.

Adagio Entertainment is praised for professional, communicative, and flexible DJ service with a user-friendly planning portal. DJs read the crowd, kept dance floors packed, made smooth announcements, and honored couple preferences and requests. A few minor hiccups (brief tech or delayed guest requests) were reported, but couples overwhelmingly recommend them.

Search reviews

Tyler P

Adagio Djay Entertainment and Berndt far exceeded our expectations for our wedding! I am not gonna lie I had heard horror stories about using larger DJ companies rather than going ...

direct to DJ for weddings, so I went in skeptical, but my fears were not accurate for this company. Jay did a great job staying in communication with us the entire time we were planning and making sure we understood how to best use their online resources to prep for our wedding. I was nervous about waiting till so close to our wedding to get assigned our DJ since we had a lot of specific moments and I was worried we would have someone who wouldn't understand. Jay was very understanding about our concerns and worked with us to make sure we got paired with the perfect match and was absolutely right! Berndt was amazing! After discussing all that we wanted to do for our wedding he seemed just as excited as us to DJ! He was really great at feeling out the vibe of the dance floor all night, combining a lot of different styles and genres to keep everyone old and new out there all night! We had a a great group of guest who love to perform so he even let them take the mic for a song to hype everyone up! I have been to a lot of weddings were DJs can make or break the night and Berndt for sure made the night SPECTACULAR!

Jamie Y

I hired Berndt to DJ my wedding ceremony and it far exceeded my expectations! He showed up early, he checked in multiple times to make sure we were liking the music he selected, an...

d he kept the party moving all night! He let me make last minute changes with no problems! He even took many MANY requests from all the kids and played them happily! It was the perfect wedding for my husband and I and I feel so fortunate that we got lined up with Berndt! I highly recommend him!!

Any questions?

Lisa S

Highly recommended, we had a great experience for our wedding. Our DJ Graham, did an amazing job listening to our requests and executing it. Everyone loved the dance floor and musi...

Heidi J

This is a great option for the price! I was able to have music during the ceremony, outdoor cocktail hour and inside for a dance floor. I was happy with the kindness our DJ (DJ Nat...

e) showed before our big day.

Ryan N

We were SO HAPPY with our DJ experience! Meeting with Adagio & filling out our music preferences went very smooth. Our DJ Isaiah was AMAZING!! We met with him close to the wedding ...

to talk things over and he was very helpful, patient, and answered all of our questions. On the day of the wedding he perfectly captured the vibe we talked about for each part of the day! For dancing, our dance floor was packed the whole time and everyone during and after the wedding kept telling us how good our DJ was. Isaiah was fun, made great announcements to add energy and make the day go smooth and then made the dance floor hype!! We could not be more grateful!!!

Alyssa H

We were assigned Richard as a Dj and he was wonderful. The thoughtfulness and level of communication made our special day truly magical

Sara M

Our DJ Angie did a wonderful job! It was easy to work with her and the online planner helped make sure we didn't miss anything. We got so many compliments from guests that the song...

selection was perfect. She knew exactly what to play to fit the vibe and got people to stay on the dance floor the whole night!

Carrie C

Angie did a great job! We met with her wedding week to share details on special songs such as first dance, grand march, and songs for walking down the aisle. We also shared some so...

ngs we liked and she filled in the rest for the dance and she did a fantastic job, the dance floor was popping all night.

Bailey S

We used Adagio for our wedding and our DJ, James, was very professional and experienced. The music was a hit and he was very communicative and flexible!

Emily C

Jay was super easy to work with and so flexible when our plans would change. Faith, our DJ, was the absolute best. We had so many people come up to us to say she was the best weddi...

ng DJ they have had, she seamlessly blended crowd requests with our requests, and she read the crowd perfectly. Truly not a single complaint and we are so happy we hired Adagio DJ, Faith was absolutely perfect!!

Amy L

DJ Berndt was a perfect match for us. He played a wide array of music including the list we sent him. He kept the energy high and took requests as well. We loved his tie that lit u...

p! He made our wedding so fun!

Steven C

Grant made our wedding day unforgettable! From our very first meeting, he was incredibly professional, organized, and easy to work with. He took the time to understand what Sydney ...

and I wanted and went above and beyond to bring our vision to life. Grant's energy is contagious—he kept the vibe perfect all night and has this amazing ability to read the crowd and keep the dance floor packed! Whether it was introducing us as Mr. & Mrs. for the first time or keeping everyone dancing throughout the reception, he nailed every moment. The sound quality was exceptional, and his song selection hit the mark for all our guests. Even weeks later, friends are still talking about how much fun our wedding was. Grant is professional, entertaining, personable, and truly talented at what he does. We would 100% recommend him to anyone looking for a DJ who will make their event absolutely special. Thank you, Grant, for helping make our wedding day perfect!

Samantha K

DJ Mel was absolutely wonderful. She asked questions, engaged with us, went above and beyond. She made our special request songs work out perfectly.

Drew V

Allowed for us to totally customize everything. Create and provide a playlist. Also give them a vibe we were looking for. Also super open to us making last minute changes. They wer...

e great!

Rachael E

It’s a shame this caps out at 5 stars, because DJ Richard deserves way more than that. We booked Adagio Entertainment to DJ our wedding with no specific DJ selection. Two weeks b...

efore the wedding, we got our DJ introduction, and we got DJ Richard. He communicated with us in a very timely, friendly, and professional manner. We talked through emails and phone calls, and he really cared about making sure he knew the vibe we wanted. He also made the night run so smoothly from announcing what’s next, to table dismissal for dinner. He went above and beyond in every way possible. My Dad and I had a specific vision for our father/daughter dance, and he completely, without any question as to why, went along with our shenanigans. DJ Richard kept the dance floor hopping the entire night. It was amazing! We had so many guests come up to us throughout the evening to tell us how amazing our DJ was. If you’re looking for a DJ to completely rock the night and take A LOAD of stress off your shoulders, DJ Richard is your guy! We also loved looking at DJ Richard and seeing him jam out with us on the dance floor. Again, he went ABOVE AND BEYOND! DJ Richard, thank you so much for everything! You truly are the best DJ we’ve ever had the honor of meeting!

Taylor C

We had Isaiah as our DJ and he was great! Had wonderful energy, encouraged people on the dance floor and helped keep the vibe. I did notice a song or two from my do not play list ...

but at the time I didn’t care. Was a wonderful night!

Jenna B

We hired Adagio for our wedding and the initial process was very professional and streamlined. We were matched with Isaiah who was so happy and lovely to work with. I had various a...

nnouncements I wanted him to make and he did all of them and never needed anything from me the day of. There was one mistake which I am unsure what happened but the song that was meant to be played for the bridal party processional did not play so it was silent but then the song for my entrance did play and there were no other audio issues the rest of the evening so I think it was likely a technical difficulty or maybe a miscommunication. The rest of the audio during the outdoor ceremony was great, the dinner music and dancing was perfect. Isaiah really was fun to work with and always looked like he was having a blast which made me happy.

Brianna G

Adagio was great for our wedding! We did both the ceremony & reception option and everything went great. They have a portal that is very user friendly and detailed, not just for mu...

sic options but for information about the couple and for timeline of the wedding. Highly customizable, many music choices and the option to put your own requests in. I really, really love music and being able to have such a hand in customizing our day of playlist was great. Our DJ Viktoriya was very pleasant and professional - kept everything on time and when it came time for dancing, she turned it out! I was out on the dance floor every chance I got when I wasn't being pulled away for photos. Highly recommend!!

Caroline H

DJ Richard did a great job of DJing our wedding! He had great energy and kept the dance floor fun. He was responsive and listened to and followed through on our hopes and desires f...

or our wedding dance. He ensured everything ran smoothly. We had a wonderful night! The online portal was easy to use and a great place to add our information, timeline, and song requests.

Maria W

We had DJ Isaiah for our wedding and he was everything we could’ve hoped for from our wedding DJ!! The entire day from ceremony, to cocktail hour, to the dance floor went perfectly...

smooth, and the energy Isaiah brought was exactly what we were hoping for! Isaiah as well as all the other staff that worked with us along the way were all extremely helpful and open to including any ideas or requests that we had. We were extremely satisfied and would highly recommend!!

Jasmine M

We had a great experience! We got compliments on the music played and our no-play list was followed to a T! our 2 Dj’s did a fabulous job!

Heather L

DJ Richard was the absolute best! During our planning call he really listened to our requests and embraced our musical style. The day of he kept the party going and the dance floor...

was never empty!!

Megan L

Our DJ Richard H. was great! I don’t think the dance floor was even close to being empty and he helped move along the evening with announcements etc. The vibe was exactly what we w...

anted!

Dominique D

Our wedding DJ Faith was absolutely amazing! She read the room perfectly, kept the dance floor packed all night, and brought incredible energy to the entire celebration. From our f...

irst song to the last, the music was flawless and the party never stopped. We couldn’t have asked for a better DJ!

Devyn W

Our DJ was amazing--They accommodated our specific playlist and added to it with crowd requests and really kept the dance floor going (Even though we're not party people, but for t...

hose who did like to dance). Played music for all ages as requested and did an absolutely fabulous job!

Victoria S

Adagio DJ Entertainment is a joy to work with and are top tier in wedding entertainment and energy. We were fortunate to work with Jay and DJ Just for our special day - they did no...

t disappoint! There was open communication and regular check-ins through the planning process. They provided various planners to truly understand our vision and executed it perfectly! Our guest had nothing but glowing reviews on the music chosen, and the lighting. Do not miss your opportunity to work with the best! We cannot thank them enough!

Annie K

we had a great experience at our wedding and loved the music!!

Jeffrey P

We had the absolute privilege of having Adagio for our wedding. Joel was our dj and couldn’t have been a more perfect match for us. He was attentive, very responsive, and kept the ...

dance floor alive all night long. He blended everyone’s music taste perfectly. There was never a time that the dance floor was empty. He made sure to check in with us at different points to make sure everything was going the way we wanted. It was perfect from start to end. Huge thank you to Joel and Jay for everything y’all did. Highly recommend.

Shelby T

Nate was an awesome DJ for our wedding night!! He kept the energy going all night long throughout our reception, and was a joy to work with. He was very kind and charismatic, and j...

ust nailed the vibe we were going for! Adagio as a whole was great throughout the planning process, and all of the planning forms we filled out were clear and easy to work through. Anna was great at answering all of our questions! 10000/10, would recommend these guys to anyone!

Gavin M

Richard did an amazing job as our wedding DJ. I was personally worried, as a person with very specific music tastes, that my vision would get lost when it came to the music played ...

at the wedding. But I didn't have to worry, as Richard really listened and was able to bring both my vision to life while also keeping the dancefloor hot. He was super flexible day-of in terms of timing changes we had to make due to an earlier reception than expected and had a ton of great suggestions that really brought our ceremony and reception to life. Also, over and above, he took videos that he shared with us of different fun moments on the dancefloor and ended the set with a surprise moment that brought all the remaining guests together in a way everybody thought was beautiful. Much recommended!!!

Kristen W

Angie was INCREDIBLE – absolute pleasure to work with and a master of her craft who kept our dance floor FULL and hopping until the very end of the night. We knew we were in good h...

ands after the phone call we had with her a few days before the wedding – not only is she lovely, her professionalism and attention to detail allowed us to not worry about a single thing on the big day. We enlisted her help for a few surprises (surprise dances, sister’s proposal, etc.), she understood immediately what we were going for and executed everything perfectly. I cannot overstate how awesome her musical curation was. We would work with Angie again in a heartbeat, and recommend her wholeheartedly to anyone looking for a DJ !

Jennifer B

We had DJ Miguel for our wedding and he was amazing!!! He was so professional and knew exactly how to set the vibe! We had an intercultural wedding and he meshed it together perfec...

tly. We couldn’t be happier with how it went!

Zack J

I booked Adagio for my wedding a few weeks ago. Jay was very easy to work with in terms of planning and easy to get a hold of if changes needed to be made. Our DJ, Faith, was absol...

utely incredible and had the dance floor going the whole time.

Gehrig S

We hired Adagio to be our DJ for our wedding and it was a great experience! Derick was so communicative, great to work with, and did a great job playing music at both our ceremony ...

& reception! We loved the online portal we used ahead of time to customize our wedding must-plays, organize what songs we wanted for the ceremony & beginning of reception, and keep track of all of our information. The only complaint we had was some of the guests requests took a while to get played. Overall, it was an amazing experience and we highly recommend Adagio for all your wedding DJ needs!

Sarah N

We worked with Jay and Berndt for our wedding and the experience was wonderful. We primarily worked with Jay in the beginning to discuss cost, main details, etc and he was so infor...

mative, kind, and attentive. The planning site was easy to use and included lots of great information that we could communicate to our DJ. Berndt was our DJ for the wedding and he was awesome! I'm a big "soundtrack to your life" kind of person, so I had this vision in my head of how the day would go with all of the songs we chose and he nailed it. He brought great energy to the reception, kept to the schedule, checked in with us, and was kind to the kiddos who I'm sure gave him some odd song requests (lol). Highly highly recommend Adagio and specifically Berndt.

Maddie L

We had a fantastic experience with Adagio and with our DJ, Richard, in particular! Jay from Adagio was kind, helpful, and easy to communicate with during the booking and planning p...

rocess. On the day of the wedding, Richard handled everything perfectly and did a great job reading the vibe of the crowd to know what to play next. My very favorite part of the entire day was Richard’s surprise last song for the reception (won’t share his secret sauce here so others can also be surprised)—it led to memories I will cherish for the rest of my life. He also sent me videos of our first and last dances after the wedding, which was absolutely incredible because we didn’t have a videographer and weren’t expecting to have any footage of those things. Truly went above and beyond and we can’t thank him or Adagio enough!!!

Anna D

DJ Mel was fantastic. They did a nice job of pairing us with a DJ who was a great fit, and were able to accommodate our request to have a female DJ. The online portal was easy to u...

se and the communication was very clear throughout!

Katherine M

I had Morgan as my DJ for my wedding, and he was amazing! He was so so kind, so adaptable, and so upbeat. No one worried about going up for song requests. There was a minor issue w...

ith one of the speakers and he was quick to fix it without any more issues! So many people were seeing if they could have them DJ their future wedding. I am so grateful for him on such a big day!

Julie H

AMAZING DJ for our wedding!!! We had DJ Derrick and he was the most professional, easy to talk to and wonderful DJ to work with! He was very detailed and really listened to our req...

uests and kept the dancefloor vibes and energy going all night! There was never a dead moment on the dancefloor! Highly recommend hiring Adagio Djay Entertainment and DJ Derrick for a fun and lit wedding!

Maxwell M

We had an excellent experience with Adagio from the start. They were clear about our responsibilities with planning and setting them up with all of the information they needed, and...

they set us up with the absolute best DJ we’ve ever experienced - Isaiah. He was excellent from start to finish, hitting all of the queues of the ceremony perfectly, speaking and engaging the whole wedding during dinner, conducting things perfectly to our notes, and creating an absolutely memorable dance floor. We highly recommend adagio and Isaiah!

Allison R

Incredible service!! From the beginning, communication was excellent! We had DJ Mel, and she was sooooo good! She listened to everything we said. We got so many compliments on our ...

dance floor. She handled dancer requests so well. Our ceremony music timing was elite! And she handled sound during our dinner perfectly. No grandparent sound complaints at all (which is a true accomplishment in my family!) Couldn't recommend them more!

Margaret P

Adagio was wonderful! We had DJ Mel, who took lots of detailed info ahead of the wedding day so that she would know which songs we definitely wanted played, and when. She added som...

e of her own songs, which definitely kept things moving on the dance floor. We would highly recommend Adagio! They helped create just the vibe we were looking for.

Lindsey M

Very easy to plan on their website, great people, made us feel comfortable the whole time. We knew we had to get Adagio after dancing to one of their DJs at a friends’ wedding. It ...

was the right choice.

Deanna O

Super professional service from the start, and our DJ Joel did an awesome job setting the vibe for cocktail hour & dinner, then getting everyone up & moving. Mood lighting was real...

ly cool too!

Tyler H

We really enjoyed our experience with Adagio, specifically DJ Dan. He did a great job of reading the room and providing a great time for all of our guests. The dance floor was full...

all night with a mix of music that fit our vibe perfectly.

Isaiah D

Adagio was very professional in everything they did. They kept up with emails on things that weren’t set in stone yet, they asked clarification questions for things that may have b...

een overlooked and they made my wedding the best it could’ve been.

Kaylee F

The general vibe was good throughout the reception, however, we made preferences to follow a created playlist and wanted to stick to that. With the money we paid for this DJ, we ex...

pected to get what we paid for, so this was a little disappointing.

Maria C

I absolutely loved working with Adagio DJ! We had what we felt like was a mix of people for our wedding and our DJ, Preenon was fantastic. We felt like everything went smoothly due...

to his great ability to understand the guest vibe and play great tracks. Would recommend working with Preenon for sure. On the paperwork/cost side of things, it was worth the price for sure, due to it running so smoothy. Communicating with Adagio DJ was fast as well. We requested an additional hour of music, and they were prompt at responding to our request.

Kylie S

Adagio provided awesome service! Their DJ Berndt did both my sister’s wedding and my own and he did not disappoint at either one!! They provided awesome communication and helped to...

turn our dreams into a reality! It wouldn’t have been as special if it were not for Adagio and DJ Berndt!

Emily K

We absolutely loved working with Anna and the entire team from Adagio. From the beginning of the process, Jay offered tons of communication and support, and their online resources ...

were easy to navigate. Anna facilitated all the mic work so smoothly on the day of for ceremony and speeches, and there was never a lull on the dance floor! Great team, highly recommend :)

Service area & Contact info

Travel area: Within 300 miles

Additional charges may apply

(651) 437-3344

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Adagio Djay Entertainment: DJs, Live Music, Uplighting

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Review Summary

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