About this vendor
Gavin Roy Presents is a talent collective of club and radio DJs who can mix, read a crowd, take requests, MC friendly and confidently without being a ham, and guarantee a packed dance floor. Visit our web site to receive a discount off your online quote (Promo Code: "knot").
Details
Business Attributes
- Asian-owned Business
Equipment
- Sound Equipment
Music Genres
- Dance
Music Services
- MC Services
- Recorded Music
- Sound Equipment
Wedding Activities
- Wedding
Awards and Affiliations
Reviews
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4.6
out of 5.046 reviews
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Gavin is the best! He has done both of my sisters’ weddings and we finally got to have him for ours. We had multiple people mention after the wedding how great the music was, and the photo booth was a hit like always!
Everyone, please be aware that Gavin is a Santa Barbara legend. Every single vendor we talked to was so happy when we told them Gavin was DJing our wedding.
While he referenced the playlists that we had created for the vibe of the wedding, he really took it and made it so much fun! I got endless comments about the music and the DJ. Not only is he great at choosing and blending songs together so that it doesn't feel too disjointed -- even when we jumped from bay area hip hop and r&b slow jams, to edm bangers, to 90's pop music -- he also knows how to read the room and make sure that everyone is really having a good time!
He is a seasoned vet and it shows!!
Gavin was a true professional with a wealth of experience and knowledge. Our dance floor was packed the entire time - highly recommend.!
We worked with Gavin at the recommendation of our planner, who we did not have a good experience with. Overall, Gavin and team have plenty of benefits: you can bundle in a photobooth package for a great price, he has a well-organized pre-planning tool, and everything feels very streamlined. His pre-planning tools were a lot of fun for us as music was a crucial component to our wedding and the vibe we wanted to set for guests. There were two big negatives for me. First, I was informed after the fact that one of the wrong songs was played during our processional - I can't verify this, but definitely disappointing if it happened. Second, Gavin's style of DJing was to remix a lot of songs and not play them all the way through, in addition to not sticking to the playlist that we'd curated in its entirety. We spent a lot of time on our music, and we'd had a clear vision on how we wanted it to go that was communicated. This is definitely my preference, which might not be an issue for other brides, but for me it was a letdown to have him take some liberties.
Overall, he'll do a great job, and your guests will have a fantastic time with Gavin regardless.
Gavin did an amazing job hosting our wedding reception from start to finish! He included every song we asked for and shout outs along the way. He navigated impromptu speeches and followed along with all of our requests and special moments. He mixed the music perfectly and had everyone on the dance floor having a great time! We also got a Photo Booth from him and it was a big hit! So many of our guests told us it was the most fun wedding they had ever been to and Gavin was a big part of that! I will use Gavin for any event I have in the future and I highly recommend him!!
We used Gavin Roy Presents for our recent wedding in Santa Barbara and DJ Chris was our DJ.
Overall, we felt that DJ Chris did a great job mixing dance floor music, but that communication and preparation could have been more thorough. Below is a summary of our experience.
-Our dance floor was packed all night and the music mix was spot on for dancing!
-We rented a karaoke machine through the company and it was a huge hit at our after party
-All communication goes through Gavin and not your specific DJ; we would have loved more direct communication with our DJ prior to the event and/or visibility into Gavin passing along information to our DJ
-We would have appreciated if Gavin and DJ Chris reviewed our Spotify playlist earlier than the night before our wedding so that any issues/questions could have been surfaced in advance (for instance, an unexpected version of a song was played for a first dance rather than the famous original version we assumed would play - we should have clarified this but also would have appreciated being asked which version ahead of time if there was confusion)
-We had a couple unexpected mic issues during our wedding - all were quickly solved by DJ Chris
All in all, it was a wonderful night and guests had a great time despite minor communication and preparation issues.
Gavin was fabulous! I was very meticulous with my song choices and left him obnoxiously thorough instructions, and he hit it out of the park. He struck the perfect balance of staying behind the scenes where necessary but also leading first dances, cake cutting, etc. I have had multiple guests let me know that he is one of the best DJs they have ever seen!
We had Spencer as our DJ for our wedding and we was awesome. We've all had experiences of cringe-worthy DJs at weddings and events, and I was nervous - but he killed it! One thing that really stood out to me was that he went down the line of the bridal party before our entrance and looked at everyone and pronounced their names just to make sure he'd nail it. The dances went off without a hitch, too. Sound quality was excellent. No mic issues, etc. All in all - fabulous experience.
Gavin Roy was super responsive from the start, and we had such an easy time planning the music process. Our day of DJ was DJ Rob and he did a great job reading our crowd. Our wedding was only 50 people so we were a bit nervous that a group that small wouldn’t spend too much time on the dance floor, but DJ Rob got everyone dancing! He ran everything from ceremony to last dance flawlessly, and he was even able to accommodate a recorded speech from one of our loved ones who was unable to make it to our wedding. True professionals, and we highly recommend!
We had hired Gavin for a wedding that ended up being during the Covid pandemic, in early 2021 when it was against Santa Barbara county regulations for us to host a wedding reception. We asked him to reschedule with plenty of time in advance, but he was booked up most of the summer and could not accommodate us. At first he told us to wait a few months and we would return our deposit. We gave him 4+ months, and then he refused to give it back and said he "already spent it". Then he stopped responding to our emails. Would not recommend him to anyone - he is dishonest and used the covid pandemic to exploit us and take $1300 for doing nothing.
I booked Gavin Roy as our wedding DJ from out of state. He was responsive to calls and e-mails, showed up on time as promised, and was very flexible to some last minute changes we made to the timeline. Music was great, sound level was perfect for my event -- no complaints.
Ok so Gavin kept the dance floor going for 5 hours. We instructed “bangers only” and he delivered. It wasn’t like most DJs where a few good songs come one and then 1 every now and then that is kinda meh. We danced our faces off and got so many compliments on how great the music was.
Gavin was great!! We had a few songs we absolutely did not want played and we had a few songs that were a must, and he did exactly as requested. He did a wonderful job of playing songs at the perfect moments and the mashups were on point. We had an amazing night!
Gavin was phenomenal! He was so professional and easy to work with. We hired the "I do...it myself" package and the photobooth and were very happy with the service! Gavin was AMAZING to work with and he and his team stepped up their game so much to help out in ways that were definitely not their job! Seriously helped our wedding run so smoothly. HIRE GAVIN.
Gavin himself did our wedding at the SB Zoo and he was amazing! Even down to the fact he looked a bit like Bruno Mars, haha. But really, his online tools were very helpful and he really listened. He got the vibe we were looking for absolutely down. He didn't believe me that we would have a karaoke packed reception, but since that's exactly what happened he rolled with it so well. Everybody had a blast! (note to all...yes, we had a karaoke wedding reception...I highly recommend it if you have crazy fun friends)
We hired DJ Gavin Roy to dj our wedding at the Fess Parker and he was FANTASTIC! He went above and beyond and helped make our wedding epic!
Gavin is very talented and played the perfect mix of songs to set the mood for dinner and to get people on the dance floor! He kept the party going until the very end and our dance floor was never empty. In fact, our guests have repeatedly told us that Gavin was one of the best DJs they've seen.
Gavin also worked closely with us prior to our wedding to determine which songs and genres we wanted to hear at our reception. On the day of the wedding, he ensured that our ceremony sound system was set up properly and added up-lights to our reception venue that made the room look gorgeous! Gavin was such a pleasure to work with and helped to make our wedding epic!! I highly recommend DJ Gavin!
So overdue on writing this review, my husband and I got married at the Santa Barbara Zoo in July of this year. The day was absolutely perfect. We had our ceremony and reception there.
With Gavin Roy Presents we worked with DJ Bennett and had a photobooth. Truly, each and every person we spoke to and worked with - Gavin, Bennett, and Carly - were outstanding.
Initially my husband and I spoke with Gavin in regards to what we were looking for with our wedding day music/MC needs so he could feel out which DJ would be best. He was really patient, asked great questions, and really made us feel like he was focused on our needs. DJ Bennett was paired with us for the wedding and he seriously was wonderful. There was nonstop dancing throughout our wedding and he really incorporated everybody! For our first dance I wanted the instrumental part of the song to loop until we got to the center of the dance floor and DJ Bennett had no problem with that. He also did the music for our ceremony and it was absolutely perfect. My husband and I didn't have everything "planned to a t", we just knew what vibes we wanted and it was executed flawlessly.
The photobooth was so much fun! Carly and her husband operated it for us and I am so glad we have those great memories! Also, like two days after our wedding Carly sent me a link with all of the photobooth snaps which was amazing because our photographer's pictures were of course not done by then and this gave us a chance to see all the fun.
DJ Gavin is the best!! My best friend who works in the wedding industry referred him our way and we made the best decision. My now husband who is quite the music snob at times was really worried about having a "typical DJ" that would play typical wedding songs all night. We chatted with Gavin several times on the phone and met with him a week prior to our day. He listened to us, made suggestions and put together the most awesome play list. He followed our do not play list and honestly kept the party going all night!! Our guests raved about the music. He has a talent of keeping the party going but also listening to our needs regarding what we wanted our vibe and style to be. We had some tall asks and he delivered. I highly recommend Gavin. He is well known in the area so book in advance. Thanks again Gavin!!
Could not have asked for a better DJ. Not only was he referred to us by two separate people, but after our intro phone call he completely put us as ease. He was knowledgeable about the flow of the ceremony and reception and knew our venue like the back of his hand (Riviera Mansion). He played both popular and old music and set a more peaceful tone during dinner and then got EVERYONE on the dance floor until the very last song. I can't thank Gavin enough for setting the mood for our wedding.
Gavin Roy Presents was fantastic! Gavin and Carly were so easy to work with and made the whole process easy. I loved the fact that I could plan all of the music using their online tool. Gavin's suggestions over our phone meeting were also very helpful. To anyone in need of a DJ, I highly recommend Gavin Roy Presents.
Joseph (aka DJ Flamezz) DJ'd our wedding and did a fantastic job. He did our ceremony sound as well as our reception. He was really good at following our "must play" and "do not not play" lists and fitting in songs that worked with the mood of the crowd. Joseph was very professional and obviously has a lot of experience working at weddings and events. Gavin was a pleasure to work with leading up to the wedding, taking phone calls with me to answer questions or plan our playlist as well as meeting with me at the venue before the wedding to go over our timeline and setup for the day. They have an online portal that makes it really easy to create a playlist and timeline for your event. Gavin Roy and his team offer great service at a fair price and would highly recommend them!
Great DJ ang ceremony guitarist! Easy to choose music and talk with DJ and guitar player. LOVE!
We had Gavin Roy DJ our wedding in Sept 2015 and he was fantastic! His team is super responsive and he made himself available to chat by phone several times before the wedding to discuss our preferences and get a better feel for the type of music we wanted to hear. On the day of, Gavin was great. I had a number of people come up to me to comment on the music and how our DJ was really impressive. That's always great to hear as a bride. He kept the party going throughout the event and also did a great job MC'ing for speeches, announcements,etc...I feel lucky to have had Gavin as our DJ. He's incredibly talented!!!
Gavin Roy was our wedding DJ on March 14, 2015 in Santa Barbara. What a pleasure to work with him leading up to the big day and then his efforts throughout the day were spectacular.
Gavin took a couple of phone calls with my wife, Caitlin, and I leading up to the event and was friendly, capable and thoughtful. With his very easy-to-use website allowing us to slate selected songs -- and, perhaps, more importantly, create a comprehensive "no play" list -- as well as allowing our guests to share their requests, planning was easy. On the final call prior to the wedding where we went over those choices, my wife and I agreed that we could hear the wheels turning in Gavin's brain as he looked through our music. He seemed, almost, to be putting together playlists right in front of us.
On the big day, Gavin worked very well with our ceremony guitarist and our officiant at the ceremony site (Santa Barbara Courthouse Gardens), as well as with our guitarist who performed during cocktail hour at the reception (Chase Palm Park Plaza). Once it was Gavin's turn to take over, his playlist and rotation of songs through the dinner hour was impeccable and he handled the announcements of the wedding party and toast speeches like a pro. No silly bluster, just very professional and on top of things.
Leading up to the wedding, we told Gavin we really wanted the last 2.5 hours of the reception to be a big dance party. To say he got that idea would be a major understatement. The dance floor was packed as Gavin hit all the right notes, handled guest requests on site and just kept the party going non-stop right to the end.
We had an amazing wedding day and Gavin was a crucial player in that. Thanks Gavin! Wishing you the best, and should we ever need DJ services in SB at anytime, know you're our top choice!
Seriously, this company is as good as it gets when it comes to expertise and finesse in the DJ industry. My wife and I had our wedding a month ago (December 2014) in Solvang, and finding the right DJ had been our highest priority. She believed from the beginning that this could make or break the party, and after seeing how perfectly it went off, I see that it all really did hang in that balance. I admit that I was stuck in pricing from the 90s and didn't plan to spend what we did on this aspect of the wedding, but now I know I'd easily pay much more for the quality we received. (Side note: we skimped on the video people and got what we paid for).
Gavin deejayed the event, but the overall company gave us real peace of mind from our very first phone call. Their online planning tool taught us what events we'd need music for, and they even provided all of the music and equipment for the ceremony.
On our RSVP form, we had asked our guests, "What song is guaranteed to make you get up and dance?" - a question we weren't sure we'd ever get answered, let alone use at the event. However, their responses flowed in, and we sent them along to Gavin. Not only did he use every song - which kept our floor filled all night - but he mixed them so expertly that the beats seemed to match song to song to song in short intervals. The requests from guests weren't even all dance-friendly, but he made them danceable!!! We really had a pro dance party there thanks to him.
Above all, it must be mentioned that our event was no typical affair for a deejay. I wish I could say we made it easy on him, but at least 5 different people had surprises that Gavin had to keep secret and straight from the next. This could have led to several miscues and mistakes - but not on Gavin's watch. He nailed every single cue with the perfect song intro or mic placement. All of this while playing master of ceremony.
Gavin, Carly, and team, we cannot thank you enough for what you did for us. People are still talking about the wedding almost a whole month later, and everyone wants us to know that we had the greatest DJ. We are so lucky, and could not be more grateful.
THANK YOU!!!!
Gavin and Joseph were so much fun to work with. My husband-to-be had a very specific tone, mood and song list in mind for our multi-generational guests. They helped us select a first dance song that fit what both wanted. Gavin and Joseph worked with us to on this as well as read the room for what the guests were enjoying. Everyone commented on how great the music was! We also worked with Gavin on additional lighting for our reception and the feel of the string lights and uprights set exactly the tone and mood we were going for.
It was very important to us that the DJ play the music that we wanted. That's why we decided not to skimp on it. While Gavin Roy himself seems very knowledgeable of genres, it does not appear that the DJ to which we were assigned, DJ Dave, had similar knowledge. We were very specific in the type of music we wanted for the dancing portion of the evening (approximately 3 hours long). We wanted 90s hip hop with a mix of 80s new wave. Instead, we got mostly today's top 40 hits mixed in with a few 90s R&B and a little bit of hip hop. We should have known better when we had a pre-wedding telephone conference with the DJ and when we mentioned 80s new wave, he responded that he would make sure to play Janet Jackson. I'm not saying that the company itself is bad. They have great sound and great customer service. However, they need to vet their DJs' knowledge of music genres beforehand. DJs should not be mere "yes" men to the bride and groom if they do not actually understand what the bride and groom want.
Spencer was the best DJ we have ever witnessed! His personality speaks for itself when he is perfoming! We got plenty of dj compliments!
Our DJ was Bennett and he was so great!! We interviewed 3 different DJ's because my husband and I are really picky about our music. Bennett understood our music taste. He wasn't cheesy in the announcements. He was actually perfect in every way. definitely recommend him!
Gavin is an AWESOME DJ! I highly recommend him if you don't want to worry about a playlist and have an absolute blast. He will get everyone on the dance floor and you'll have the best time!
The Gavin Roy team was so easy to work with from start to finish. They have a great website where you can build your music timeline and playlist likes/dislikes. DJ Zeke really knew how to read the crowd and kept my guests on the dance floor all night- I got tons of compliments. I would highly recommend using these guys.
Good service but not content with overall service.
Very helpful they did great with our ceremony and reception. We were very happy everyone danced and had a great time. The website they use is great! It is extremely helpful for planning and letting them know what you want.
We had so many guests compliment us on the music! Gavin is so nice and helpful, he met with us twice before the wedding to get an idea of the venue, set-up, run-thru, music choices. He also set-up lighting for the reception and took care of the mic/speakers for the ceremony portion. His website is so detailed and great to review to figure out scheduling, music requirements throughout the night and also offered many song suggestions. He was an absolute pleasure to work with!
Gavin is very professional, fun and had the dance floor filled the entire night. Our guests of all ages had a wonderful time, and he is a great MC too!
Gavin has become a bit of the go-to guy for DJ-ing weddings in Santa Barbara and, while he is absolutely a very nice guy who does well, it seems as though there is a little laurel resting. That said, his online DJ service (appears to be a 3rd party platform) is excellent in that it allows you to select songs you definitely want to hear or songs you certainly want to avoid. Gavin is a solid choice.
Oh, where to begin with Gavin. When we spoke on the phone he seemed fairly nice and we established I would be wanting to do some special things at my wedding and he agreed he would be able to take care of them. Both of my sisters and my dad are vocalists and so they all did performances throughout the night, one sister sang at the ceremony, my dad said his toast and had everyone sing along to "The Glory of Love" and my other sister sang our first dance song. When we sat down to have our final meeting with him, he seemed appalled that I planned on doing these things, even calling me "A sound guy's worst nightmare." He was unhelpful, rude and very childish. When it came to the actual wedding, his volumes were terrible, his equipment had feedback and he only played 3 of the 15 songs I requested, instead playing music he likes. All in all I thought it was a very odd experience. If you want a very simple wedding with lots of 80s rock, Gavin would probably be great. He eventually, dragging his feet and complaining the whole way, made the event happen, it just was not done nearly as well as I had hoped for all of the effort we put into it.
Gavin is the best! I recommend him to anyone! He played all the music i requested and was such a great MC for the night. He was helpful with my budget and working with the live band we had as well.
Gavin with Santa Barbara DJ's did such a great job with our cocktail hour and wedding reception. Everyone was asking for the playlist at the end of the night! His website is very easy to navigate and allows you to create your own timeline, song requests and also a seperate page for guest requests. He was a pleasure to work with and was always just a phone call away. I highly recommend his services for your wedding.
Their music is awesome and the DJ's are the best! I would highly recommend them to anyone. They are very professional and I enjoyed working with them.
Craig was an amazing DJ. He worked with us on our playlist and was an extremely fun guy. Everyone danced the night away
- Gavin Roy who is the head of the company and was our DJ still works in clubs so he knows what's current and also has a vast knowledge of all kinds of music. - His website is great. It's a great planning tool and you can pick out the songs you want and
Gavin is the owner of SBDJs and you?d be lucky to get him. Music, for us, wasn?t something we put a ton of thought into, so it really was the area with the highest risk of disappointment, but fortunately for us, we had Gavin and as a result, our expectations were far exceeded. Every review we read of Gavin said he knows how to pick and choose according to the crowd and how to get them all involved, and now I, too, can echo that sentiment. Something that I felt was very telling occurred during the reception when Gavin personally asking me if it was okay if he played ÙYMCAˆ because he had so many requests for the song but knew of my very strong distaste for overplayed wedding fare. Also of note: We had no money for lighting, but to our great surprise, Gavin brought a handful of very tasteful, much appreciated lights with colored gels that really added to the mood of the dance floor. You owe it to yourself to at least get his quote.
We were lucky to have founder and co-owner of SBDJs to host our wedding. Gavin was very professional and made sure that we were happy at all times. He also had an online music request form where our guests could make requests prior to the wedding. We thanked Gavin for playing great music all night long and he told me that it was because of all the requests that my guests had made. He was such a pleasure to work with and we'd recommend him to anyone.
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1834 Bath St, Santa Barbara, CA
Gavin Roy Presents
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