Southwater Trio

We had the BEST time dancing to music played by Southwater Trio! The band is very professional and talented. I can't speak highly enough of our experience with them. Gabe was quick to respond to calls, texts, and emails. They were set up and ready to go on time. Each of the musicians learned a new song for our first dance, and they honored requests from our parents for the father/daughter, mother/son dance. When we hired a caller for a few square dance sets, they provided her with a microphone and practiced appropriate music for each of those dances. Many of our guests also had high praise for the skilled covers the band performed with bluegrass instrumentation. Some of our guests who were less inclined to dance appreciated that they could enjoy the music but still carry on a conversation. No one had to resort to wearing ear plugs because the band kept their volume at the appropriate level for the venue. I'm so glad we chose to hire Southwater Trio. TLDR: Amazing band. Definitely hire them!

Gabe and Southwater Trio we’re amazing to work with! Gabe was very communicative throughout the planning process and was able to accommodate special requests for our wedding day. They played for our ceremony, cocktail hour, and reception. We had such a great time dancing to their music!

The Real Deal - Had the joy of having Southwater Trio play our rehearsal dinner and boy did they deliver. Their energy, sound, and setlist set the tone for the evening (and probably the whole weekend) and had everyone on their feet dancing. We couldn't have asked for a better way to kick off our wedding weekend. Aside from the music, we found them incredibly professional, communicative, and accommodating. Would not hesitate to use them again or recommend them to anyone who reads this.

Southwater Trio was absolutely incredible. I LOVE bluegrass music, especially bluegrass covers of more modern music — and Gabe and the band delivered just that for us and our guests at our wedding. They even learned 2 songs that I love, one of which was used for our first dance, and it was just so special for us. I have watched the video of my husband and I dancing to this song many times now! Although our guests scattered during the reception and didn’t stay up on the deck for dancing, I continue to receive compliments about the music as everyone was enjoying it throughout the venue (either by the lake or the bonfire). The planning with Gabe was also fantastic. I started planning with him back in 2019 after I got engaged, but our wedding was delayed by 2 years due to COVID. He stayed in touch throughout that time and was super easy to work. Live music from a band is the way to go — you won’t regret booking Southwater Trio!

Absolutely phenomenal! our guests were extremely complimentary and loved the band. Easy to work with and played tons of music we wanted to hear! Strongly recommend!!

We had Southwater Trio play for our rehearsal dinner for our wedding and they set the vibe for the night in every way. They sent over a long list of songs that they can play a few weeks ahead of time and had us call out any songs that we specifically wanted them to play. The list was long and diverse and we had a great time picking out some of our favorites. They played more upbeat, vocal music during the happy hour, and then more instrumental and vibey music during dinner. They were lovely and we had every guest commenting on how wonderful they sounded and how cool they looked :). I would hire them again and again, a million times over- such an amazing choice for our special night.

Southwater Trio was absolutely amazing at my wedding. Not only was their musicianship beautiful but their ability to step in less than 2 months before my wedding was incredible. Their songs made even the shyest dancers get up and move! I also loved their bluegrass covers of popular songs. They were so professional—everything was perfect.

I don’t know where to start in describing how phenomenal Southwater was during our wedding reception…our guests enjoyed dancing the entire evening—adults and kids alike! Gabe was so responsive and communicative during the planning, and took several song requests and brought them to life beautifully during our reception. Our guests absolutely LOVED the music, and our families had such a joyous and wonderful time celebrating with us to Southwater’s beautiful, upbeat, FUN tunes! I cannot say enough to truly communicate how perfect this band was for our wedding in setting a joyful family environment during our celebration. Thank you endlessly to Gabe and the rest of the crew for helping to make our special day SO perfect!

Wow, Gabe and his crew were truly spectacular. Gabe was incredibly easy to work with, accommodating, and communication was strong. We had them play non amplified string music during our ceremony in one location, and the full band with amplified sound during our cocktail hour at another location. Our guests were raving about how good the music was. I cannot recommend them enough!

They did an amazing job! And were great with communicating

Gabe was extremely professional to work with thought the entire process. He responded to emails quickly and gave thorough responses. The day of, he and his band showed up early to set up and were extra helpful with playing music on their speaker and letting my dad use the mic to do a toast before they were supposed to start. I received so many complements on how talented they are! Everyone enjoyed the setlist and they even catered to special requests (to include allowing a 4 year old guest singer to perform her rendition of twinkle twinkle little star... adorable!!). I highly recommend Southwater Trio!

Southwater was excellent to work with and emailed back quickly every time I had a question for them. They are nice and professional. They even learned my father-daughter dance song just for my wedding!! I highly recommend Southwater.

These guys were amazing! I highly recommend them. Not only did they learn several songs for us (including a very unusual choice for the ceremony) they were easy to work with and a joy at the reception. I was a little unsure if they would be good to get people up and dancing but they had my whole family on the dance floor until they stopped playing. They even did a little shout out to my 3 year old niece who was in love with their music and then they promptly played wagon wheel (her request). They were honestly perfect and you should book them now.

Southwater Trio was the perfect sound for our ceremony and first dance! Gabe was accessible via email throughout, from first booking to communicating regarding song choices. Even as poor weather was predicted the week before our outdoor ceremony, Gabe was understanding and flexible! The Trio did a fantastic job giving classical pieces a bluegrass twist for the ceremony and we couldn't have been happier with their openness to learn our first dance choice. We would highly recommend this group!

We found out about Southwater Trio through The Knot and I cannot stress how satisfied with are with their services. From the minute we started working with Gabe, it was obvious he was a true gentleman and professional. He accommodated all of our logistical and musical requests and took a genuine interest in our wedding day. Over the course of our wedding night, guests continued to come up to ask us about the band. They loved the music and were thrilled to hear Southwater Trio play some of their favorite songs. Southwater Trio's music was an integral part of our wedding experience. My only regret is that we didn't have them play longer!

I found out about the Southwater Trio via this website actually. I had no referrals or recommendations of any kind, so I absolutely went into this process blind and on my guard. Our wedding was on the Eastern Shore so finding a band was not going to be easy locally. Based on the fact that the trio is from Charlottesville and that all of our communication could only occur remotely, it was easy to have doubts. However, throughout the process I maintained faith that everything would pan out, and I was not disappointed in the least. Gabe, with whom I did all of the planning and coordinating, was nothing if not prudent and timely with all of our email communication leading up to the event. He succinctly and amicably helped me plan and map out the music. He also sent me mp3's of their recordings as well as clips of their progress on my song requests that they needed to learn in preparation. From the moment they started playing to long after they wrapped up and departed, I was fielding constant questions from guests about the band. The Southwater Trio unexpectedly became one of the most memorable parts of our wedding day. I would highly recommend them to anyone interested in a bluegrass band, and would not hesitate to work with them again if given the chance.

I found out about Southwater through a good friend of mine when I told her we were looking for a bluegrass band to play at our wedding ceremony and when guests arrived to our venue. She suggested a band that a friend of hers was in called Southwater so I went ahead and contacted them about possibly playing at our wedding. This was one of the best decisions I made because they were fantastic to work with during the planning process. They were able to learn songs that I found on youtube and played them beautifully at our wedding, which I still think is amazing and allows for so much flexibility on the bride and grooms part when coming up with songs they want to use in their ceremony. Their flexibility even extended up to the night before the wedding when I made a song change for myself and my father's walk down the aisle. We reserved the Southwater Duo rather than the entire band for our wedding based on our needs and budget. We were extremely pleased with the professionalism of the duo and the way they presented themselves in dress attire. They arrived early to our wedding and their performance was even more beautiful sounding than we could have imagined. As I approached the ceremony site with my father I got teary eyed listening the song my wedding party was walking in to and I had to take a moment when they began playing the song for me and my father. Southwater helped to create the atmosphere we wanted for our guests as they arrived and were ushered to the ceremony site and we are still hearing about "that wonderful bluegrass band" from our family and friends! Our experience with Southwater was absolutely delightful and I would highly recommend them to anyone because their musical abilities are dynamic, their flexibility with regards to learning music you like and having a bigger or smaller band based on your needs and their reasonable pricing makes them extremely desirable in my opinion.