Singing pianist

Craig Elliot

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(5.0)Read all 21 reviews
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About Craig

Craig is a highly In demand pianist and vocalist from cheshire. He regularly tours with Grammy winning artists. Band options available.
Singing pianist
Wigan
Public liability insurance of £10 million
Verified profile

Thankyou for taking the time to read a little more about me. My name is Craig and I'm a full-time professional musician, specialising in the piano. After spending four years studying at the Paul McCartney fame school, I left with my degree and went straight into performing at weddings and events. Since then I have literally played at thousands of events and have been fortunate enough to be asked to tour annually with The Four Tops, The Temptations, The Three Degrees, Tavares, Freda Payne and The platters to name but a few. If you have seen any of these acts at the O2 arena or any of the other large stadiums in the country, then you have already met me (although from a distance). I have many different options for your wedding or event which cover everything from solo piano, right up to a full band with DJ service. A few regularly chosen options are outlined here: Solo Piano Piano with Vocals Piano Duo with your choice of Upright Bass, Saxophone, Jazz guitar, Drums, Female vocals, Percussion Various band options from 3 piece upwards (including Jazz/Swing, Pop/Classics, RnB/Soul/Motown, Dance/House, Retro/Vintage) I specialise in tailoring my options exactly to your requirements and theme. This comes from a vast experience in weddings and events. I am also the musical director for the large Christmas events at Tatton Park, Aintree Racecourse and the ICC Birmingham so you may have experienced my work at these venues already. If you have any questions, please ask. Whatever ideas you have I promise to come up with a musical solution to create your perfect day/evening. For those looking to book me as a musician or MD for a project then my main instruments are Piano/Keyboards, Drums, Bass, Vocals (Composition and recording services are also available).

Craig
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5 out of 5
16 verified reviews
Satisfaction
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5.0
Professionalism
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5.0
Communication
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5.0
Punctuality
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5.0

Craig's Reviews

From Encore customers:

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Olivia N
1 year ago
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5 out of 5

Craig was amazing... his skills are just impeccable and we loved how he added so much to our day. Loved it and highly recommended.

CM
Chris M
1 year ago
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5 out of 5

Craig played a corporate social function / event for us in Manchester. He was a pleasure to deal with during the planning phase. Nothing was too much trouble. He was easily contactable and made sure to liaise with the venue in case of any logistical issues. He was very reliable and arrived early to ensure setup etc before guests arrived. His set was superb - all our guests reported that it was a highlight of the evening. Craig played during a dinner event and was able to create a nice, relaxed atmosphere without being the center of attention. Then after a few glasses of wine when people wanted to dance, he upped the tempo and kept them moving. We would have no reservations whatsoever with recommending him - Craig, you're a legend!

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David W
1 year ago
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5 out of 5

Brilliant in every way Top guy 👌👌

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Sarah M
4 years ago
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5 out of 5

Craig was our chosen musician for our wedding on Friday. He was polite and excellent with the children, ad-libbing the requested songs (mainly Disney or children's songs). Craig was courteous and professional. Numerous guests commented on how relaxed his music made them feel. Craig also used his intuition to keep playing whilst there was a delay with the legalities.

Read all 13 reviews

From other customers:

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Ellen S
5 years ago, for a Wedding in High St
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5 out of 5

We saw a video of Craig performing a set online and knew we had to have him at our wedding... we got in touch with him and straight away he replied - he was so down to Earth, responsive, welcoming, professional, and understood everything we wanted at our Big Day. Because of how good Craig was we decided we wanted him playing at the most important point - the ceremony. We chose 6 songs and Craig offered us professional advice on where to place the songs and in which order - this made our ceremony one to remember as his professional advice was correct and the positioning of the songs had the perfect impact when it was needed. I requested that I wanted to walk down the isle to an original piece of music and Craig kindly offered to play this through his system which was another thing we didn’t need to worry about. All of this was communicated by email - again Craig was very good at replying. Craig contacted us and set in Stone the plans for our wedding a few days before telling us exactly what he would be doing and asked us if we would like anything done differently to what his plan was... it was the perfect plan. Craig arrived in ample amount of time before the ceremony allowing his set up to be smooth and introducing himself to my husband and family. In person Craig was professional, friendly and easy to talk to. The ceremony was amazing, the comments from the guests were outstanding and we knew we had made the best decision booking Craig and not only for the ceremony but for another 1 hour and 30 minutes for the celebration drinks afterwards! After the ceremony Craig moved his set to another location where our guests were having celebration drinks - for this set Craig played a mixture of songs which we sent to him prior to the wedding. Again this set was outstanding and the guests couldn’t believe the amount of different genres Craig played throughout. All of the comments we had received about Craig made our day extra special and one to remember. If you want to make a special occasion extra overwhelming then Craig is the man for it - amazing. Thank you so much for everything you did for us Craig. It was the best day ever and you are responsible for helping that happen. Ellen & Dale xxx

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Laura D
6 years ago, for a Wedding in Mill Lane
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5 out of 5

Craig, we loved every time we met with you, you are such a warm fun person. From meeting you at Arley Hall when we knew straight away you were going to perfect for our wedding breakfast. Your jazzy romantic style is so modern yet classic and right up our and a lot of our friends and families street! We enjoyed meeting with you just before our wedding and on the day it was such a pleasure - you were a true highlight of our day. We hope to come and see you perform at The Grill on the Square sometime and enjoy your music all over again. Thank you for all your hard work and wonderful music - including all the dedications and requests we gave you. James & Laura x

Read all 8 reviews
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25 gigs
Pro: 25 bookings through Encore
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This act has been working with Encore for over 7 years
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Craig's Song list

500 miles
ain't no sunshine
Ain't not mountain high enough
a little less conversation
achy breaky heart
As
All of me
All my life
Always and forever
Always on my mind
American boy
Amazed
a nightingale sang in Berkeley square
A thousand years
At last
Autumn leaves
Babylon
Baker Street
bad moon rising
be my baby
Better together
beyond the sea
bittersweet symphony
Black and Gold
black magic woman
blueberry hill
Blue Christmas
blue moon
blue suede shoes
broken stones
Brown eyed Girl
Budapest
Cant buy me love
Canon in D (Pachelbels)
cant get you out of my head
cant stop the feeling
Can you feel the love tonight
cant take my eyes off you
cant take that away
Can't help falling in love with you
The christmas song
cooler than me
Chasing cars
Come fly with me
Crazy
Crazy little thing called love
Cupid
Dance the night away
dont fence me in
dont stop
Dont worry be happy
Don't know why
Easy
Easy
Endless love
Empire State of mind
End of the road
Everything
Everything I do (I do it for you)
Everybody's free (to feel good)
driftwood
Faith
Fly me to the moon
frontin
frosty the snowman
galway girl (steve Earle)
Georgia on my mind
Get lucky
Glasgow love theme
girl from ipanema
goodnight sweetheart goodnight
Gravepine
Hallelujah I love her so
happy
Hard Days night
hard tohandle
have i told you lately
I just havent met you yet
Have you met miss jones
have yourself a merry little xmas
Heatwave
Heaven
hey laura
Hey ya
Higher and Higher
Home
Ho hey
Hound Dog
How long will I love you
How deep is your love
how sweet it is
I love you baby
It must be love
I'm kissing you
I don't want to miss a thing
I'm yours
If I ain't got you
I say a little prayer
I want it that way
I want you back
i wanna b like you
Isn't she lovely
I wish i knew how it would feel to be free
i've got you under my skin
it aint over
it had to be you
it wasnt me
jailhouse rock
jingle bell rock
Just the way you are
king of my castle
Kiss
lady hear me tonight
lady is a tramp
last nite
Last request
let her go
Let It Snow
lets stay together
let there be love
lifted
little ole wine drinker
long tall sally
long train running
l.o.v.e
Love is all around
Love on top
Your Love gets sweeter every day
lovely day
love never felt so good
Make you feel my love
Marry you
Marry me
Misty
Million love songs
moondance
Moon river
Moving on up
mr bojangles
Mustang sally
my girl
mysterious girl
Nothing's gonna stop us now
neon
night and day
New York New York
New York State of mind
No diggity
no woman no cry
one for my baby
One day like this
on the street where you live
ordinary people
pencil full of lead
Perfect
pretty green eyes
Proud mary
Puttin on the ritz
Rappers delight
reet petite
regulators
Return of the mack
return to sender
ride wit me
rockin around the xmas tree
route 66
Rule the world
Santa claus is comin to town
Say my name
September
seven days
seven nation army
She said
show me love
Signed sealed delivered
sing it back
Sit down
somewhere over the rainbow
Songbird
stand by me
straighten up and fly right
Stuck in the middle
suit and tie
Sunshine of my life
summertime
sunny
Sunday morning
sway
Sweet caroline
Sweet home alabama
sweet home chicago
thats amore
these are the days
The snake
The way you look tonight
The way you make me feel
The wonder of you
Thinking out loud
this is how we do it
thong song
three little birds
tocas miracle
twistin the night away
U dont know me
Until you come back to me
umbrella
uptown funk
Use somebody
Valerie
waterfall
waves
what a difference
what'd i say
what is love
white christmas
When you say nothing at all
Winter wonderland
Wonderwall
Wonderful world
Wonderful tonight
You do something to me
You make me feel so young
You are the best thing
Your song
Youve got the love
youre still the one

Craig's Prices

Note: prices may vary based on travel distance. For an exact quote, click “Check availability”.

Standard Prices
Performance durationPrice
Short performance (up to 15 min)£300
Up to 1 hour£400
Up to 2 hours£625
Up to 3 hours£750
Customer questions

What do your clients love most about your performances?

The feedback is generally that my repertoire of music and styles is pretty extensive. Also clients love that I can play by ear and take requests from guests on the day. Even if i've not heard the song I can listen to a snippet on spotify and play a little bit on the spot right away as a little 'party piece'

Which venues have you performed at in the past?

Literally hundreds including the O2 arena (and all other Uk arenas), wembley stadium, Liverpool FC, Aintree racecourse, Tokyo blue note, Princes palace Istanbul, Lake Garda castle etc

Which artists have you been most influenced by?

I'd probably say Jamiroquai, Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, All motown and soul artists like Marvin Gaye, and Jazz artists such as Rat pack, Sinatra, Dean martin etc

What is the most high profile gig you've performed?

Four Tops and Temptations tour of UK arenas.

What if my timings change after I've booked you?

Generally time changes are no problem at all as long as I know in advance.

Can you provide an iPod/DJ service before and between your sets?

Generally there is no need as i'm performing but this is possible if agreed in advance and is between performances. Any additional time after performances can be discussed for an additional fee.

How much time do you need to set up?

Roughly 20 minutes to set up.

If I have a piano at my venue, are you happy to perform on that?

Yes I'm always happy to perform on the venues piano as long as it is in tune.

Can I pick the songs you play from the set list?

I have an extensive list to pick from and I'm always happy to discuss any additonal songs that aren't on the list.

Are you able to bring your own piano or keyboard?

Yes all prices include a white digital upright piano with the option of adding a large baby grand digital piano for £50

Can you learn song requests before the event?

Yes of course. Any special requests such as ceremony songs or first dances can be learned beforehand.
Musicianship
Genres:
Jazz, Blues, Modern jazz, Latin jazz, Jazz fusion, Gypsy jazz, Postmodern jukebox jazz, Ragtime, Swing, Gospel, Avant garde, Easy listening, Light music, Originals, Rock, Alternative rock, Britpop, Classic rock, Glam rock, Indie, Pop rock, Post rock, Rock 'n' Roll, Punk rock, Synth rock, Pop, Acoustic, Ambient pop, Americana, Funk rock, Funk, Disco, Covers, Hip Hop, Soul, Top 40, Motown, R&B, Vintage, Tribute, Folk, Folk rock, Irish rock, Bluegrass, Rockabilly, Country, 1920s era music, 1930s era music, 1940s era music, 1950s era music, 1990s era music, 1980s era music, 1970s era music, 1960s era music, Electronic, Electro-Swing, Ambient, Dubstep, Deep house, Ibiza club, Electronica, Garage, House, Triphop, Breakbeat, Drum 'n' Bass, EDM, Classical, Classical crossover, Contemporary classical, Film / TV music, Musical theatre, Early music, Christmas, Bossa nova, Reggae
See all genres
Event types:
Wedding, Wedding proposal, Funeral / Memorial service, Church service, Hotel / Restaurant event, Bar / Club / Venue event, Private event, Corporate event, Charity event, Concert, Recording session, Theatre / Show, Cruise, Burns night, Birthday party, Christmas party, New Year's Eve, Virtual event
See all event types
Other skills:
Arranger, Audio engineer, Composer, Lyricist, Orchestrator, Producer, Songwriter, Sound technician, Drum technician, Transcription, Fluent improviser, MC, Accompanist
See all skills