Live and luxurious – The Beldi Country Club, Marrakech
As one of the most challenging and ambitious events we curated in 2019, The Beldi Country Club in Marrakech provided a captivating and luxurious location for our wedding band performance.
Working closely with the couple, who live in Hong Kong, and the venue itself, we were able to visit the Beldi far in advance whilst in Morocco supporting our friends music festival The Beat Hotel, and managed to fit in a live DJ and vocal performance in one of Marrakech’s trendy restaurants and nightspots. After a long consultation, and the couple expressing doubts over the recommended production team, we were able to refer them to our trusted partners in Morocco to provide a professional and competitive quote for their big day, which they appreciated and decided to take.
As we were already booked to perform for a wedding in Ibiza on the night before, and finally got home at 2am, it came as a massive shock to find out that because of a personal emergency our Saxophonist Dominique de Larrard would be unable to travel with us. We received this news less than two hours before we flew to Madrid to meet our percussionist Rocky On Percussion, who himself had just travelled directly from a big club performance in Paris, to catch our connecting flight.
We had to find a solution, and as a baffling synchronicity our friends in Marrakech had their office and studio next door to the Beldi, and were instantly understanding and supportive for our situation. Before boarding our first plane at 7am, we received a heart-warming message from Abs that they had found us a suitable substitute Saxophonist – and they certainly didn’t let us down.
As we arrived for our soundcheck at 2pm, Abs and his team were on site building the stage and mounting the sound system and lighting. Their understanding of the venue meant that the couple got a privileged degree of spatial awareness and stress-free fluidity to the production.
Our substitute sax player arrived by train from Casablanca, we all had an hour our so to meet each other and get some well needed sit-down time and food. We talked through the planned sets and were instantly confident in Tim and his ability to provide a show stopping performance.
After the wedding ended at 2am, our team of three made our way back to our apartment for a few hours sleep before making our way back to Marrakech airport and our flights back to Ibiza. Both Rocky and Nell had to perform that day, and though the journey was as gruelling as it was adventurous and exhausting, both of them totally nailed their gigs that day.
It’s a measure of a creative person, musician or performer, as to whether they can successfully manage such a busy and professionally demanding schedule. Over that weekend, I personally became convinced that our process, our energy and our trusted performers have what it takes to deliver at the highest level.