“Everyone was blown away by the energy and sound from Eric Nicolas and One Love. There really are no words to truly explain how amazing they were. The dance floor was never empty and our guests have not stopped talking about how incredible our band was. We could not be happier with our choice to have Eric and his band play at our wedding. They went above and beyond to make sure that our night was perfect!!! They are talented and professional and they helped make our wedding a night we will never forget.”
Ryan & Samantha, 7/16/16 Legg Mason Building, Baltimore MD

Eric and his band played at our wedding and absolutely knocked it out of the park! Not only did my husband and I love the band, but we received SO many raving reviews about the band from our guests (so we knew we weren't being biased!). The band had guests up on the dance floor before salad was even served and it stayed that way the whole night! They played an awesome combination of music for both young adult and older crowds. The band even learned our favorite song which was not originally in their repertoire and totally rocked it. In addition to their stellar performance at the wedding, Eric and his team were super easy to reach and engaged leading up to the wedding - which totally put us at ease during the planning stage. If you are thinking about this band, LOOK NO FURTHER!
Liza & Jason, 6/3/17 Hunt Club, Westport CT

Eric Nicolas here, writing to tell you some basics about us, and to share excerpts from a few of the many rave reviews we’re lucky to have collected from our grateful clients. You can see more reviews on our page at weddingwire.com, which gets updated regularly with the latest outpourings of gratitude.

I started One Love in the mid-’90s, playing a few Fridays a month to crazy-happy dancing crowds at Manhattan’s legendary Le Bar Bat and at other clubs around New York. We didn’t call ourselves an “event band” or a “party band” or a “wedding band.” But we soon found that our way with a crowd did lend itself to those kinds of shindigs.

Through hundreds of shows and private events on three continents, we’ve secured our reputation as one of the reliably, truly great party bands of the East Coast. We love playing together!!

“This band is composed of real professionals who know what they are doing and clearly enjoy it, and that is a mood that extends to their audience. As an Executive Vice-President of Atlantic Records and the manager of several major international music artists, I feel qualified to tell you that this is simply the best wedding band out there.”
Phil Carson, former Sr. VP at Atlantic Records (signed Yes, AC/DC, Led Zeppelin…)
Ertegun Family Wedding 10/24/15 Private Home, Southampton NY

NYC has the deepest talent pool on earth. I’ve always been blessed with the greatest, most versatile and positive-minded players. Our members have performed and recorded with The Rolling Stones, Bon Jovi, Prince, Cyndi Lauper, Ray Charles, Britney Spears, and many others -- click here for a much longer list of our credits.

Despite the star power of our band members’ resumés, One Love’s main lineup has remained stable year after year, and band members make a point of maintaining their positions. When, as occasionally happens, a player must take leave for a tour, s/he is seamlessly covered by a One Love colleague. One former long-term member is currently (as of this writing) touring with Sting, another with Bruce Springsteen. That’s show biz...

“If you want an incredibly professional, tight, funky, accommodative, perfect band for your wedding, then One Love is the band for you. Since the wedding we've had numerous guests tell us it was the best band they ever saw at a wedding, and I even had one guest accidentally refer to our wedding as "a show" because the band was so good.”
Billy & Megan, 5/14/16 Ekwanok Country Club, Manchester VT

One Love’s secret weapon is our vast and very diverse repertoire. People ask me what style I “really” play; what do I like best? Truth: while we each may be “more” funk, or rock, or jazz (etc.) fans in our private moments, as a band we really love playing every genre-- as long as our audience is having fun, so are we.

We customize every event to our clients’ tastes, requests and desires. I’ve honed an ability to read a crowd and call the right song at the perfect time that’s pretty well-known by now: this keeps every dance floor full and the crowd going nuts until the very last song (and, not unusually, the encore song after that). Everybody -- our audience and us -- goes home wrung out and happy.

Through our brief meetings and conversations, they truly captured the musical vibe we were looking for and then clearly read the energy of the crowd. From bringing down the house at a restaurant on Friday night, to the intimate and beautiful meadow wedding ceremony, to rocking the tent at our home during the reception, they had our friends and family both captivated and moved by their extraordinary talent.
Kate & Sean, 9/24/16 Private Home, Nantucket MA

Every single event is important to us, and when we play for you, you are our top priority. When you want to connect, you have our full attention.

If you’re thinking about booking us, we’ll make time for a preliminary meeting or phone call right away, so we can start to get to know you and learn about the kind of event you are planning. Once you engage One Love you have full access to both me and managing director/bandmember Melissa Rodnon, and we welcome you to email, call or text us at any time, with any kind of question.

You kicked off the night with two of our absolute favorites and Tupelo Honey was perfect. Night Moves sounded like the motor city king himself and you truly made it next to impossible to leave the dance floor. Our friends and family are continuing to rave about your performance and I only hope we can find another opportunity to work with you again. We cannot appreciate your work enough and are so happy that you were part of our special day. Thank you again for an unforgettable night.
Rebecca & James, 9/19/15 Private Home, New Canaan CT

We come to every party as if it were the most important event we’ve ever done-- because right then, it is. Whether a wedding or any other kind of celebration, we know that your party is the most important night of the year for you, and we will give it the respect and attention it deserves.

A year ago, when we began our planning, we were resolute in finding a great band. Securing One Love, was perhaps the wisest decision we made. From start to finish it was a pleasure, and we are truly grateful for all that they did to make our dreams come true. Thank you!
Mother of the Bride, 9/24/16, Private Home, Nantucket

How big is the band?
One Love can rock a party at any size, from Eric’s popular solo acoustic guitar & vocal set to our full-strength 15-piece band. Our most popular band size is the 10-piece, including three lead singers and our crushing three-piece horn section.
See below for more details about band configurations and options for all kinds of celebrations.

Will you learn new songs?
YES. We customize the repertoire for every party, based on your requests and tastes.
While our song list is extensive across every genre, there may be a special song – or two, or five – that you want to hear that is not already on our list.
We’ll gladly learn your special requests.

Do you travel?
YES. While New York City is our home base, One Love has flown all over the US, and to Mexico, the Caribbean, Brazil and Europe to perform at private events. We regularly travel up and down the east coast, and our “local” area includes most of NY, NJ, CT & RI.

Do you carry insurance?
YES. We have a comprehensive $2M General Liability Policy.

Do you come with a sound system?
YES. We travel with a top-of-the-line sound system and our own professional engineer, who makes sure that the music sounds great – and is never too loud – all night long.

What if there’s a hurricane?
Many of you will be planning beautiful outdoor summertime weddings, and while we can manage every detail of the music for your party, no one controls the weather. In the event that your event cannot take place due to an extreme weather event or other civic crisis, we will work with you to reschedule, at no extra charge.

Eric, Melissa, and One Love are unbelievable. We received nothing but amazement, awe, and adulation for One Love's performance at our wedding. They absolutely killed and every single guest, old and young, told us specifically how much the band rocked. They played classical guitar and flute for our ceremony; bass, piano, and sax for our cocktail hour; and the full 10-piece band for the reception. Amazing, worth every penny!
Levi & Kristen 12/17/16 Central Park Boathouse

From solo guitar to our full 15-piece band (or bigger), One Love can be as big or as small as your party calls for, based on your budget, your desired repertoire, and the size of your party. Below are our most popular configurations for a full dinner-and-dancing celebration.

One Love 10pc - best for parties over 150 guests *most popular*
Guitar/lead vocal, bass, drums, keys, 1 lead male vocalist, 2 lead female vocalists, sax, trumpet, trombone

One Love 8pc - best for parties under 120 guests
Guitar/lead vocal, bass, drums, keys, 1 lead male vocalist, 2 lead female vocalists, sax

One Love 7pc - best for parties under 100 guests
Guitar/lead vocal, bass, drums, keys, 1 lead male vocalist, 1 lead female vocalist, sax

Popular additions:
Violin (rock, country, classical for ceremony)
Percussion (Latin, rock, acoustic sets for dinner)
2nd sax (for a full horn section)

Ceremony ensembles
While the traditional classical string quartet will always be a favorite, One Love offers some fun and unique options for your ceremony. In addition to classical music, all of our ceremony ensembles can play classical-sounding arrangements of your favorite songs, from Beatles to Top 40.
Ceremony pricing includes custom arrangements of any songs you request for your Processional, Bride’s Processional, and Recessional.

Classical guitar
Classical guitar with flute *most popular*
Classical guitar with violin or flugelhorn (classical trumpet)
Piano with violin, flute or flugelhorn
Classical string trio
Classical string quartet
Full chamber ensembles also available (5 pcs or more)

Talking to Eric and Melissa on the phone prior to our big day allowed us to get to know them and to share details with them about our wedding. They made sure that they knew what kind of music we wanted and they were excited to hear that our guests were definitely ready to spend the entire night dancing! They even made sure that we did some Greek dancing at our reception!
Ryan & Samantha Sullivan, 7/16/16 Legg Mason Building, Baltimore MD

Cocktail Ensembles
Most of our clients opt for a classic jazz trio for their cocktail hour. Piano, bass and sax offers elegant and lively background music while your guests are greeting each other and mingling, before or after your ceremony.

As with the rest of your party, we customize… we’ll talk about exactly what you want, advise as needed, and create a small ensemble for your cocktail hour to reflect any tastes. Some popular cocktail options include:

Brazilian jazz and bossa nova
American folk / country / roots blues / bluegrass
Singer-songwriter (piano or guitar)
Classical chamber music

FUN STUFF WE CAN ALSO DO

Classical and chamber ensembles
Traditional string trios or quartets lend elegance to ceremonies and cocktail parties. Our top-level players have an enormous classical repertoire and can also play classical-esque arrangements of your favorite songs.

Gospel
One Love partners with a roof-raising gospel choir that can be an unforgettable addition to any ceremony or party. Their repertoire includes traditional gospel as well as their own arrangements of R&B classics and any Top 40 that may be called for. Typical choir size is 8-12 singers, but can it be as big as fifty.

Big Band
The timeless sound of a Big Band orchestra is a perennial favorite, especially for retro/classy New York-themed parties. Orchestras can be as big as space allows.

Bagpipes
Whether your family’s roots are in the Scottish Highlands or you just like the sound, we have an authentic Pipe Major in a complete traditional uniform to welcome your guests for the Gathering before your ceremony, lead them to your cocktail hour afterwards, or perform at any part of your event.

Hora / Freilach / Jewish
One Love has done hundreds of Jewish weddings, from assimilated Reform to the strictest Orthodox celebrations minus female singers. Our horn section is led by our sax player who also plays authentic Klezmer on clarinet, and our hora sets can go as long as your families and friends can keep dancing.

Brazilian samba
Eric and Melissa’s long involvement with the music of Brazil has connected One Love with the best Brazilian musicians in New York, including Samba drum corps, Samba dancers, Maracatu drum corps, Brazilian jazz ensembles, Brazilian vocalists and more.

Traditional Greek music
One of our lead female vocalists is Greek-American, and though raised in Queens, NY, has lived in Greece where she had a successful career as a Greek pop star. She’s devoted to the authenticity of her culture’s music, and if you would like the Kalamatianos, Zebekiko, Sorti or Tsifteteli danced at your wedding, One Love can do it!

Italian, French, Spanish & more
Our love of world music and our fluency with Romance languages has delighted families with Italian, French or Spanish / Latin roots. Eric speaks and sings in fluent Italian, French and Portuguese, Melissa in French and Portuguese, and everyone can sing in Spanish. Eric has even sung in Japanese, which he learned syllable-by-syllable for a Japanese-American bride!

Huge THANKS to Eric Nicolas & One Love for making our wedding one that friends and family will remember as the best party ever. Eric and the band were phenomenal and their ability to play such an enormous range of songs kept the party going all night. Eric was also extremely accommodating in learning songs such as the tarantella which added a special touch.
Jason & Jessica Bortniak, 8/10/13 DeSeversky Mansion, Westbury NY