5 out of 5 stars and 60 reviews
5
(60)Best of Weddings (4x).We are happy to travel any distance for your event!
About this vendor
Southern City Lights is a wedding musical act based in Heflin, AL. With over a decade of experience performing together, this talented ensemble of professional musicians is ready to fill your reception dance floor. Passionate, energetic, and versatile, they love providing once-in-a-lifetime celebrations with unforgettable musical moments.
Southern City Lights was established by frontman David Winkles, a charismatic bandleader who lives for playing live. Together with his band, David loves working with every couple to craft a personalized musical experience that aligns with their specific vision. They have compiled an extensive, genre-spanning repertoire of musical selections to choose from, including Motown classics, country ballads, Top-40 hits, and everything in between.
Southern City Lights can provide the perfect soundtrack to celebrations in Alabama and surrounding areas. David has designed a selection of lineup options depending on your specific musical desires and budget. From a guitar-and-violin duo for your ceremony to a seven-piece party band, he and his band will tailor their talents to suit your specific needs.
Details
Instruments
- Banjo
- Bass
- Cello
- Fiddle
- Guitar
- Harmonica
Music Genres
- Bluegrass
- Classical
- Country
- Dance
- Disco
- Folk
Music Services
- Live Music
- MC Services
- Recorded Music
- Sound Equipment
Wedding Activities
- Rehearsals & Parties
- After Party
- Wedding
- After Party
- Ceremony
- Reception
Awards and Affiliations
Reviews
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5
out of 5.060 reviews
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We loved this band! We were recommended this band from a friend who had them as their wedding band, and I’m so glad we did! David is super responsive and the band perfectly executed our special dance songs (which were not on their original list!) and really brought the house down night-of. We opted to add in the saxophone and were so glad we did, it really enhanced the songs! Our guests loved them, and so did we. If you’re scrolling through band reviews trying to decide who to contact and whether or not this band is worth the money, I 100% believe they are the best choice!
Amazing wedding band. Southern City Lights played both my ceremony and reception. I could not recommend them enough. They were extremely professional, accommodating, and SO MUCH FUN. They offer a wide variety of music and are sure to have you and your guest up and dancing all night. If you are looking to have the best night ever, I highly suggest choosing Southern City Lights to play at your wedding.
My husband and I got married last year, and we still talk about how much fun everyone had, thanks in part to Southern City Lights! I have recommended them to so many of my friends for their weddings, and they've all had the same, wonderful experience as we did. You need them at your wedding!
The positives: The musicians themselves were fabulous. We chose a 5 piece. Our guests were on the dancefloor 24/7. Their song catalogue was exactly what we were looking for (a blend of country, top 40, classic rock). I loved that they offered fairly priced packages, which included DJing the cocktail hour and ceremony. Lighting looked great and the sound was perfect throughout the venue.
The negatives: Communication with David started out great. Closer to the wedding was near non existent. My husband and I spent hours pouring through the song catalogue and meticulously selected both crowd favorites and songs that were sentimental for us. We definitely had more songs on our list than time allowed but several songs were played that were not on our requests (one of which is just a bad memory for my husband). As a former professional musician, I've written set lists for a decade and had hoped more of our requests could have been recognized. Our timeline was also disregarded.
Other than introducing us BY THE COMPLETE WRONG NAME, the most disappointing was when I asked to speak to David before the ceremony to confirm he had the correct songs (he did not confirm prior to the wedding, nor did he introduce himself to me when he arrived), he was super unfriendly and made me feel like I was wasting his time! He never thanked us, apologized for the screw up of our name, or even conversed with us day of at all. We told him months before that we would love to play a song with them because my husband and I are both musicians. No problem he said. When the time came, he acted like it was such a pain and just motioned to his guitar bag where my husband had to spend time getting the guitar out, tuning it, etc right in the middle of the set.
Writing this review because the saying is true: people will forget what you said/did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.
Southern City Lights was incredible, and I cannot recommend this band enough. Communication with David was easy, and he made the entire experience extremely simple. All of the band members were great and very professional. We got so many compliments about how good and fun the band was. If we ever are in need of another band, I will certainly reach out to David and Southern City Lights first.
If you want to have a fun event this is your band! For starters our daughter's wedding week was filled with stress; stepson's emergency appendectomy and a complete change to the wedding/reception venue. Of all the things I had to worry about, Southern City Lights was NOT one of them. David is very professional and the band rolled with the changes. They made the night so much fun and before the night was over 2 different people asked me for their contact. They know how to play the crowd and they truly seemed like they were having just as much fun as the over-served dancers. They learned 2 special songs that my daughter wanted for the first dances. Who does that? If we had to to it over again there are several things we would change about our daughter's wedding, but Southern City Lights wasn't one of them. They were incredible!
Southern City Lights is a truly amazing group. Three years ago, my sister used them for her wedding and I had to have them for mine as well. Our wedding was July 7th, 2022 and absolutely perfect. The band has such an easy to customize rubric for entrances, dances, and preferred songs which allows you to have everything you want in the order wanted. Also, David Winkles is so responsive to emails and messages. It makes the process so pain free and takes the stress away. On top of that, they sound great! They keep everyone dancing and all our guests raved about them. They truly helped make our wedding amazing and I highly recommend them to everyone.
David and the rest of Southern City Lights did the BEST job of making my wedding reception so much fun! All of my guests were thoroughly entertained all night, and the dance floor was always the place to be! David took all of my requests (even the strange ones) in stride, and the music and entertainment at my wedding was everything I ever dreamed it would be! My family is one to never leave the dance floor at a wedding, and so the band at my wedding was very important to me. Thanks to Southern City Lights, my guests, my family, my husband, and myself all had the most fun night! I would highly recommend Southern City Lights to anyone looking for fun, quality entertainment for any event!
BOOK THIS BAND!!! We had Southern City Lights for the wedding/reception and they will not disappoint. For the wedding, we had a guitar/violin and then for the reception it was a 5 piece band. Wedding was very sweet with violin and they kept the dance floor rocking all night long at the reception. David and his crew are phenomenal musicians. They have many different packages to choose from small to large pieces bands. David is easy to work and will help you pick the right one for what you are looking for. We have already recommended them to other friends that are getting married so. Can't wait to see them again at one of our own events or one that we attended. 10/10!!!!
HIGHLY RECOMMEND David and Southern City Lights! David was extremely communicative from the beginning and was always available to answer any questions we had as we customized the right fit for our wedding. Southern City Lights was the absolute hit of the reception, they learned a few songs especially for our wedding which made the night all the more special! Our guests are still raving about how good the band was. Thank you SCL for helping to make our day absolutely perfect!
Wow! I cannot speak highly enough of David and his team at Southern City Lights. I reached out to them to play at our wedding reception for June 2021. He was very good with communication and was always available to answer any questions my husband and I had. Even with us having to change dates because of the pandemic, David was very flexible and understanding. His team did an amazing job of setting up their stage area at the reception. We received so many compliments from our guests of how great our band was! Southern City Lights is an awesome band! They made sure the music matched the mood and kept everyone entertained the whole night! Book them for your next wedding or event…. I promise you won’t regret it! – Jena & Cameron Hooper
The band of my dreams!! I wanted my wedding day to be a complete fairytale! Southern City Lights played a major part in making my wedding dream come true! They covered everything! They sounded amazing!! We had so many compliments on how great the band was and the fun atmosphere they created!! We will be using Southern City Lights for all of our future events!!
David and his group went way beyond our expectations! We didn’t have to worry about one thing. David came in set up and when the ceremony was to begin, they were in place and ready! During the reception it was AMAZING! This group is the best I’ve ever heard any will be who I use in our next event!
This is the band you're looking for! When my now-husband first told me he wanted a live band instead of a DJ, I did not think it would be within our budget. It turns out Southern City Lights offered many different options for all price points and instrument preferences. We were able to pick and choose exactly what we wanted for our big day. David and his team were the epitome of professionalism, personalized touch, and SO much fun! David talked us through every step of the process, so communication and expectations were crystal clear. We opted for instrumentals during the ceremony and a five-piece band for the reception. Our friends and family are still talking about how much fun our wedding was - and we all know the music makes the party. SCL had everyone on the dance floor from Grandma Bebop cutting a rug to our toddler niece showing off her moves to all the uncles singing together. The only sad part was when it was over! The saying goes "where words fail, music speaks". Music has played a huge part in our love story, and there is no one we would recommend more than David and Southern City Lights. Reach out and get in touch. I promise you'll be glad you did!
10/10 and would recommend again! David was very professional from the very first conversation and throughout our entire wedding process. He worked with us and his team learned a few songs just for our wedding. He showed up on time and they were the absolute hit of the reception. It has been 5 months since our wedding and we still have guests raving about how good our band was. Thanks again David for being apart of our special day!
Look no further...this is absolutely the wedding band you want to hire. My wife and I got married 5/8/21 and while there many highlights of the night, our guests couldn't stop raving about the band afterwards. The mix of songs (both old school and new), the energy, the performance itself...it was all outstanding.
David was a pleasure to work with leading up to the event and truly went above and beyond with our coordination.
Thank you SCL for playing a very large part in making our day so special!
Southern City Lights was the best choice for our wedding. They were able to get our guests moving in the frigid weather and we all had so much fun. They were so easy to work with and David was more than helpful. My mom found them randomly and due to Covid, we could only watch the videos and hope they were as good as they seemed, and they ended up being better than imagined.
10/10!!!! Southern City Lights blew our expectations out of the water. We searched and searched to find a band that we thought would be a good fit for our friends and family. We booked them for our rehearsal dinner, ceremony, and reception and would do it all over again if we could. They were not only fantastic, but exuded professionalism and allowed every event to run smoothly. David was a pleasure to work with— easy communication, detailed spread sheets, and more! We got to customize our whole experience and loved choosing the songs we wanted to be performed at the reception. The whole band was friendly, hospitable, and WONDERFUL at performing. Our guests are still ranting and raving over how much fun they had and a huge credit goes to SCL. David, we can’t thank you and the band enough for being apart of our special day. We wish we could do it all over again just to have you guys there.
Southern City Lights was amazing! They did a great job, and were so easy to work with. They took into account what we wanted played and what we didn’t want played. Their enthusiasm was great. All of our guests really enjoyed their performance. I highly recommend them!
We could not have asked for better! Southern City Lights was so easy to work with and rolled with all the changes before and during the wedding! They kept everybody dancing all night- it was perfect!
I cannot recommend Southern City Lights more. They are professional, easy to work with, and phenomenal musicians. We received SO many compliments during our wedding and still have people asking for their contact information a week later. David went out of his way to help me figure out what kind of vibe we were going for and it exceeded all expectations. We definitely couldn’t have picked a better band for our reception!
David and his team were phenomenal!! We used them at our wedding reception in January. David was so great to communicate with and made the whole entire process run smoothly. They did a great job at keeping the atmosphere up beat but knew exactly when to keep it low key as well. Truly want to help you make your vision come true! Highly recommend!
BOOK THIS BAND!!! They were amazing at my daughters wedding !!! We had them play live with the acoustic guitar and the violin for the ceremony and it was absolutely beautiful !! The entire night was full of energy and the musicians were awesome !! David was great from beginning to the end and we talked several times before the wedding . You will not be disappointed they are incredible and I wish I could give 10 stars !!
Southern City Lights did SUCH a wonderful job at our wedding! I wanted to keep things mostly upbeat and they achieved the exact reception vibe I was looking for! People were on the dance floor all night, and we got so many compliments about the band! There were so many flexible options to choose from (4-piece, 5-piece, female vocalist, etc.) and they are affordable and easy to fit whatever your needs are! They sent out a questionnaire prior to the wedding date which made things super easy. They also let our ceremony musician borrow an extra speaker, which they didn't have to do but was much appreciated. David was easy to communicate with and very accommodating. Highly recommend!
Southern City Lights were the most professional and responsive group out of all vendors at our wedding. They didn't just provide a great show throughout the reception, they also communicated throughout the process and put us both at ease when it came to the entertainment part of the night. Our guests still talk about the band! I strongly encourage anyone looking for a great band to reach out to David and Southern City Lights, you will not regret it!
Absolutely amazing!! We were so happy with Southern City Lights and would choose them again a million times. They kept everyone on the dance floor and always chose the perfect song to fit the mood. They can play an incredible variety of songs, and if they don't know it, they will attempt to learn it for you! My husband and I wanted a song that wasn't on their normal list. They took the time to learn it, and it sounded perfect. We wanted a live band and we are so happy with our decision. Our guest couldn't get over how wonderful they were, and neither could we! Not to mention, we had to change our wedding date several time (my husband is in the Army) and they were so amazing with working with us and our coordinator. Hands down would recommend for any event!!
Southern City Lights Band was right on target for our wedding. Communication was easy, always responsive and David helped us create a timeline to fit our plans for the evening. The band was engaging and fun for everyone. Their music and performance was exactly what we wanted. They also assisted another fire performer by pulling out a mobile speaker and hooking her music up for her show. Truly a great decision on our part to hire Southern City Lights for our daughter’s wedding reception.
Southern City Lights is a wedding band from Heflin, Alabama with David Winkles at the helm. David was very professional in all aspects of working with us to schedule performances for our Friday night Welcome Party and Saturday evening Wedding. I can not explain the delight of having David perform solo at our outdoor Welcome Party where he entertained everyone during the dinner and afterwards. The next evening, he and his band were set up in the wedding pavilion where they played before and after the ceremony. Then they really rocked out and got everyone up and dancing for the rest of the evening! This made our wedding so special and fun that we can't thank them enough. From the ease of scheduling the band to coordinating our playlist and then to the final note, Southern City Lights was the perfect band for our wedding and will be for yours as well. Thank you, David & Southern City Lights!
David was amazing and so easy to work with for our song selections. They even learned our first dance song so we could dance it. My guests are still complimenting us on the band a month after our wedding. They had an amazing time rocking out to them all night! They can play any genre you need and they performed our ceremony too. It was beautiful!
The band was fantastic! David worked well with us fitting the songs that we wanted in to the wedding reception. Perfect touch to cap off a wonderful evening. Highly recommend!
They were awesome!!! I would recommend them to anyone.
We had a 3 piece band at our wedding. They were amazing! They were funny and interactive with the crowd. Every one danced and enjoyed the music. It made the night so incredible! We asked a couple weeks before if they could come earlier and play for the ceremony, and the lead pianist did an amazing job playing the worship songs we requested. They also learned our first dance song with not much notice, which we appreciated so much! Overall incredible night and the band made it even better!
If you want to have THE BEST TIME at your wedding, this is your band!!! Our dance floor was packed for the entire reception, everyone had a blast and wanted to know where we found David and his band! Being a musician, I was thoroughly impressed by their sound and their ability to sound consistently great in every different genre they played (not an easy feat!). David was very kind and responsive as we went over plans for the big picture down to all the important, little details. Despite the fact that my husband's and my song was not in their repertoire, they took the time to learn it and totally rocked it, which officially made the night for us, it was absolutely wonderful.
Southern City Lights was the BEST wedding band! The most important characteristic I valued in all of my vendors was communication and David Winkles was a great communicator! I think only ten minutes must have gone by from when I inquired about their availability and when I got a response! He was always so fast to respond to emails, dumb questions, texts, and calls! Other bands we had talked with charged extra fees for emceeing the wedding (literally just for saying “here’s the first dance, now there’s cake cutting, let’s throw the bouquet, it’s last call”), for DJing between breaks, for special requests, for providing sound for the ceremony.. David so eagerly helped us do all of this at no extra cost! We had Southern City Lights do our ceremony music (guitar and violin) and reception (we got the 5 piece band) and it was amazing! The ceremony music was the perfect, volume, was clear, and was exactly what I had hoped! We asked David and the violinist to learn “let it go” by Passenger and “Ho Hey” by the Lumineers for our ceremony and it was better than any instrumental youtube cover we could find! They also learned Skinny Love by Bon Iver for our last dance in addition to doing a special request for our first dance and transitioning to a different song part way through! They were great about taking special requests throughout the night! Our wedding had 180 guests and the band and dance floor were set up under a 30 by 30 tent. They set up the sound system and lights and it lit the tent up like a party! Southern City Lights was such a great value and we are so appreciative of David and his bandmates! Hire them today, you won’t regret it!
My husband and I could not speak more highly of David and his team! From the very beginning, he was on the ball and attentive to our style and song preference. He helped us plan a detailed outline of the music and made the time to do a run-through over the phone before the big day as well. He even changed up ALL the words to the Mother/Son first dance to accommodate us!
We used only three band pieces but they made it sound like so much more, I can't even imagine how great their full set would be! David also played instrumental for our ceremony and learned all new songs to play while we walked down the aisle! Our friends and family had the BEST time and I've already gotten so many requests for his contact information from our guests! You can't go wrong with Southern City Lights!!
I had a somewhat unique request for my reception music, as the reception was in a church with some musical restrictions I knew I was going to forego dancing but still want live, elegant, jazzy, music without a vocalist except for maybe one song for us to enter to, and no opinion or idea on what types of musicians I needed. Luckily I stumbled accross Southen City Lights on The Knot, contacted David, and despite my somewhat odd request, were able to surpass all my expectations. He guided me through what type and how many musicians I probably needed, sent me a song list prior to the event, and I had multiple guests tell me how wonderful the reception music was. Totally recommended!
Southern City Lights were wonderful! They worked with us and were very flexible and responsive. I had a particular vibe I wanted for the music, and they nailed it to a t. The musical quality was excellent and they helped the wedding coordinator pace the flow of the evening. I had lots of guests tell me they were one of the best wedding bands they’d experienced! Our reception ran very late, and David also stayed after the time was up and played music from a playlist to keep the party going. I would definitely hire them again and would highly recommend them!
David and Jon were a dream to work with. I have to give Jon some props for dealing with my crazy guests!! Haha! They were very professional to work with and I would recommend them to anyone!
I was very pleased with the band. They were very accommodating and had everyone engaged throughout my ceremony and reception. They led various activities throughout my reception exceptionally well. I would highly recommend Southern City Lights for any of your events!
They were wonderful! We had an acoustic guitar and violin for the ceremony and five-piece band for the reception. Super sweet, low maintenance, easy to work with. We got tons of compliments! Definitely recommend.
Southern City Lights played a huge part in our big day! They were professional, organized, and helpful prior to the wedding. When I initial reached out to Dave, he gave us advice on planning an outdoor wedding. Dave even travelled out of town to meet with us prior to the wedding. This showed my wife and I their commitment and dedication to us! It rained on the day of our wedding. However, that did not stop the band from playing in the rain. The music was pleasing to everyone. The band even had our crowd dancing! We were extremely honored to have them play at our wedding! You guys rock!
We hired David and his violin player to play live music. They were our band and DJ - all in one! Southern City Lights had many options of a larger set up, but we were looking for something smaller. From the first email and phone call I made to David, he was very informative and flexible about what he offered. I was more than pleased before we even hired him. The day of the wedding was amazing! He set up, played and took down everything on the time schedule we agreed upon. I had no worries before, during or after our wedding. Southern City Lights made it beautiful with their equipment set up, great music and lighting and interaction with the crowd. Thank you for making our wedding beautiful!!!!! -Andrea and Shane
Nothing but great things to say about these guys. First and foremost - FANTASTIC SOUND! Lots of guests gave high praise. David, our contact, was super easy to work with and very responsored to emails. Price-wise, toward the higher end of the estimates we got but worth every penny. Flexibility wise, didn't freak out when the hotel messed up their booking and wanted to charge them. All around terrific band that helped make our wedding so much fun!
Ceremony music and reception was great! Very easy to work with. Guests were bragging on how great their music was! Great experience!
We cannot express how great Southern City Lights were. From the planning to the day of performance, we couldn’t have imagined it any better! I worked with David on planning the event and he was awesome, he even came out to our backyard to help me plan where to set them up. We used them for the ceremony (classical) and for the reception and they were fantastic!
1st class experience from start to finish. The entire band was an absolute pleasure to work with. To top it off they put on an amazing show for our wedding. They went above and beyond to adhere to our wishes even last minute. Would strongly recommend to anyone looking for a great time at their wedding! A++
Not only was David incredibly kind and flexible, the band was AMAZING. All of my guests continue complement how great they were even two weeks after the wedding. Their price was out of this world as well!
I highly recommend hiring Southern City Lights for your wedding! I had no idea what music I wanted for the ceremony or reception and just gave David minimal ideas. He played acoustic guitar for our ceremony, and the rest of the band joined him for our reception. They killed it! Our guests were up dancing all night. He even let a friend of mine join in for a Taylor Swift song and played my alma mater’s fight song! David also handled all of the MCing for us by making announcements and giving our guests direction. They made it so easy on me by not having to worry about those things.
Southern City Lights has it all! SO easy to work with, accommodating for all of your requests, and best of all--they put on a great show! Our guests haven't stopped raving about them since our wedding :)
Southern City Lights played the ceremony and the reception at my wedding in late November 2017. They were awesome! They played everything we wanted and did a fantastic job entertaining our guests and keeping the evening going better than planned. They made sure that our big day was special and I could not have asked for more from a band. They let my dad sing with them!They accommodated us in every way possible. All of my guests loved them. They were very professional and friendly to everyone. David helped me plan the best flow and the night was great. Thank you so much for making our day so special!
Southern City Lights was exactly what we were looking for when we imagined our small wedding reception. David was extremely friendly and easy to work with. The band was very accommodating and helped personalize the day just for us. Our guests were very pleased and very complimentary of the band, too. Overall, we were very satisfied with Southern City Lights, and we would be happy to book them for another event in the future.
This band is PHENOMENAL!!! So much fun. They have a great set list, keep the crowd involved, and know how to keep the party going. Would use them for any event!
These guys were amazing... could not have gotten a better band! They provided extra speakers to play music for the ceremony, and downloaded he music we wanted played during the cocktail hour and dinner, and then performed live some of the best covers I’ve ever heard! And they were so attentive to our wants and needs in terms of what to play to keep the party goin. Hoping to have an excuse to throw a party and have these guys play again! Will absolutely reccomend to friends and family.
My husband and I highly recommend Southern City Lights! After eight months of planning a weeding, it was cancelled two days before due to hurricane Irma approaching the east coast. We quickly scrambled to throw a wedding in Atlanta, and were able to pull it off in 24 hours thanks to the help of several vendors who donated their services. David Winkles volunteered to play our ceremony music, and it was absolutely perfect. We could never thank him enough for being apart of our special day and making sure we were both happy. If anyone is looking for a genuine and fantastic musician, David Winkles is the guy!
I can't say enough wonderful things about Southern City Lights, it's members, and music! My contact was David and I can say that throughout all my wedding planning and booking processes he was the easiest most relaxed person to work with. Such a nice guy.
During the ceremony, as the Bride, I did 4 things. Kiss my new husband, dance, hug my guests, and answer the continuously asked question, " Where did you find this awesome band?".
Southern City Lights played the best music all night long! They could read the crowd and know when to keep the music relaxed and when to crank it up. I can't thank them enough for the show they put on and the beautiful acoustics they played for the ceremony. This band is where it's at!!!!
David and Southern City Lights were so much fun! They made our wedding day easy from the beginning. They knew exactly what we were going for in terms of a party atmosphere and we trusted them to keep the dance floor full all night!
I absolutely loved this band! We did the 7 piece, and I have never had so many people come tell me how much they were enjoying the band!! They were so easy to work with and super laid back when it came to planning. They played for my ceremony and reception, and they were excellent at both! I HIGHLY recommend!
David with Southern City Lights was a DREAM to work with!! Our guests are still talking about how fun our band was and they are asking about them for their weddings!! David sent me a song list that they can play (which is extensive to say the least!) and I picked from there. They even offered to learn any special songs that we wanted! I cannot recommend them any more highly.
Incredible music! Set the perfect tone for our wedding! Professional, versatile, seasoned and wonderful to work with!
Southern City Lights was everything we hoped for and more when it came to live music at our wedding. They offered us song suggestions and were willing to learn songs we wanted to be played, including our first dance song. They made our day unique and special, and I definitely recommended them!
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