A String Quartet With A Twist: PopCulture Strings
Many years ago, we recognized the need to elevate the experience of a traditional wedding string quartet -- and Andy Kushner created PopCulture Strings. They are an acoustic quartet with a twist -- in that they not only excel at traditional, classical wedding standards, but also fluently perform cover songs in multiple genres from an awesome range of decades!
Their song list includes major hit songs from the 40’s, 50’s, 60’s, 70’s, 80’s, 90’s and through the top 40 hits of today. How'd the list get so extensive?! According to Andy, “I was meeting with a SoundConnection client, for an upcoming wedding, and was custom-designing the ceremony portion of their big night. The groom said he was a violinist and the bride’s father said his favorite music style was standards -- and he specifically mentioned Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Bing Crosby, and Tony Bennett. I knew that the bride’s father wouldn’t hear a lot of that style of music during the reception, so I thought it could not only be a great moment for him but also provide a very different sound for the family and guests if we included it in the ceremony! So, I asked him to name his favorite romantic songs and suggested having the string quartet perform them during the opening thirty minutes when the guests are arriving and taking their seats. I had the pleasure of actually being there at the ceremony -- it was awesome to see that the guests definitely took notice of the repertoire!”
For cocktail hours, PopCulture Strings often perform a mix of all the big dance hits of the past 50 years working their way up from the past to the current top 40 songs. The key is that they only perform super recognizable songs, but that they also are high energy while being sensitive and controlled in their volume, providing a backdrop that people can talk over and enjoy. They are also so fun to watch!
They also offer various other combinations - such as a string duo or string trio, and even including an electric cellist and violinist performing to backing tracks. Earlier this year, Kushner Entertainment was chosen by Washingtonian Weddings to provide the entertainment for their Unveiled19 Bridal Show. In addition to an all-star band consisting of members of SoundConnection, Rhythm6, and SoundNation, an electronic violinist and electronic cellist from PopCulture Strings performed for the fashion show backed up by tracks provided by one of our popular DJs. The response was tremendous!