Featuring special guest Trevor Martin: Artist of “Wife You Up” and “Keeper”

Hiring a live musician to play at your wedding is really special. It’s a memory that you’ll hold on to forever and in this episode of the Wedding Duo podcast, Dominic and Serena chat with special guest, Trevor Martin, about doing just that. 

Trevor is a singer/songwriter in Nashville, TN and when he’s not playing at popular venues around town or writing his next best song, he loves bringing that magical experience of live music to weddings.

How did you get started playing music and playing for weddings?

Trevor: So I started singing at a very young age in church and when I was eight years old, I played for Orchestra Kentucky in my hometown of Bowling Green, Kentucky. It was a show called Motown Madness and I sang, “I Want You Back” by The Jackson 5.

So this pudgy little boy came out and sang Michael Jackson and the crowd just went wild and so that’s kind of where it all started for me.

In college, I played at a local seafood restaurant to help start getting my name out there and people started asking me to play at their wedding shower or their wedding reception. So eventually I started putting cards out and it turned into this kind of early job that helped me pay for rent here in Nashville. 

And then it turned into playing at people’s wedding ceremonies and that’s always a huge honor when someone says “Hey, will you be the voice I hear when I’m walking down the aisle?” It’s been a dream and just a really cool experience.

Will you only play country songs at weddings?

Trevor: Oh no. I try to be very open-minded. My style is definitely more pop country, Dan and Shay type of thing, but I truly believe that a perfect song for your wedding is whatever song is perfect for you. 

There’s just so many great genres of music and so many great songs in all genres, so I’m open to playing anything.

Tell us a little bit about “Wife You Up” and your inspiration for it

Trevor: “Wife You Up” is one I released about a year ago and it’s one that I wrote with a buddy of mine. His name is Spencer Crandall, who has a very large following on TikTok and has a pretty viral song called “My Person.” 

But we were hanging out at his place and chatting about songwriting and both us of had “wife you up. . . wife her up. . .” as ideas on our list. So we were just like, dude, we got to write it.

So we sat down, we wrote it and it was really cool. I loved how it turned out and I just remember Spencer and I walking away saying, “Dan and Shay would kill to have that one!”

What about your new song “Keeper”

Trevor: So “Keeper” came out just a couple of weeks ago and it’s probably my favorite song that I’ve ever written. I really enjoy singing that one to people. When I’m writing I just always try to think about what girls would want to hear and everyone wants to be told “they’re a keeper.”

I just really try to be as real as I can in those lyrics and say things that I really believe people would want to hear and I’m really excited about this one. So I hope people will latch onto it.

What’s a good way to find a live musician to play at your wedding or event?

Trevor: Where I get a lot of my weddings for people is on a website called GigSalad. There’s a lot of things on there that you can look up. If you want a full band, there’s full band options. Or if you want singing guitarists, like myself, or a one-man band, then you can look that up. 

You can also find DJ’s or another type of service like a bartender or Master of Ceremonies (MC). 

You just go in there, fill out your date, your time, and what you’re looking for it will search for vendors who are in your radius.

Do you ever get requests for custom songs or personalized lyrics?

Trevor: So I actually write for a personalized songwriting company that has kind of exploded over the last two years. It’s a company called SongFinch. And you can hire a songwriter/musician to write a personalized song for any occasion. 

It can be for a wedding, a proposal, anniversary, birthday, mother’s day, father’s day or any of those types of occasions. It’s a really great gift and a great way to connect with people! And there are some really talented artists on there, so check it out!

How long should you expect a live musician to play at your wedding?

Trevor: It really just depends on who you hire. Some live musicians charge hourly so you can get a little more specific about when to have the musician play. For instance, if you just want live music for the pre-ceremony. 

But for me specifically, I view it as, you have me for the entire night. And I’ll go over with you all the things I’d be able to do for you. I can go from the nice, “come to the altar” for the pre-ceremony music all the way to “Sweet Home Alabama” at 10 o’clock at night.

What’s the price range to hire a live musician?

Trevor: That also really just depends on who you are hiring, but just as a ballpark, I started out doing weddings at $1000 for the whole event. Now of course as demand has gotten higher and as some of my original songs have gained more popularity, the cost has gone up. 

Now I usually start out at about $2000. But I know that there are some people who charge anywhere between $5k – $10k. And there are other variables that can factor into the cost. Like whether or not you are paying for one person or five people in a band or whether or not they are having to travel, things like that.

Where can people listen to your music, connect with you, and hire you for their wedding!?

Be sure to check out Trevor’s newest song “Keeper” 

Happy Wedding Planning!

The Wedding Duo: A Wedding Planning Podcast