The Live Music Experience You’ve Been Searching For
Big Ray and the Kool Kats is a Charlottesville Wedding Band dedicated to delivering a highly professional, musically diverse, and multi-talented live music experience designed to lend sophistication and generate excitement for your event. Big Ray and the Kool Kats is from Charlottesville, VA, but regularly serves all couples throughout the country, such as Richmond, VA, Texas, Maryland, Tennessee, Washington D.C., and many more. We have even traveled overseas and will for you!
Find Out Why Modern Bride Magazine Named Big Ray and The Kool Kats One of the Best Wedding Bands in America!
Imagine the first notes of your perfectly chosen song filling the air as you take the floor for the first time as newlyweds. As the evening unfolds, with heartfelt toasts and blessings, now the party begins as your guests stream on to the dance floor to begin making memories, celebrating you as a couple all night long. Big Ray and the Kool Kats know just how to provide a once in a lifetime performance for your special wedding day and that’s with live music.
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Talented, experienced, and fun!
Everything you need in your wedding band
We Play your musical vision
From your personally chosen live music for the wedding ceremony to early evening cocktail and dinner selections at that perfect volume to the best in cross-generational dance music for when the party switches gears, BRKK always has available the greatest songs from every era.
- Versatile music to match your vision
- Top-performing musicians
- Award-winning performances
- Decades of experience in filling a dance floor
- Full event coverage: from ceremony to last call
- 100% live music, no prerecorded tracks
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“Welcoming, Professional & Exceptional. Big Ray and the Kool Kats were an absolute highlight of our wedding day. The band was phenomenal—musically, professionally, and personally. As a same-sex couple, we deeply appreciated how welcoming and affirming Ray was throughout the entire process. It meant a lot and made working with him all the more special.
From the very beginning, Ray went above and beyond to ensure the music truly reflected us. When I mentioned wanting a cello for our first dance, he made it happen without hesitation. He even treated us to coffee, during which he went over every note and question we had—which really speaks to his client-first approach. The band made the evening. At one point, a guest actually thought a live performance of “Pink Pony Club” was a recording because it sounded that good. Their energy, musicianship, and the way Ray interacted just the right amount with the audience kept the night fun and flowing. We’ve been to a lot of weddings, and this was hands down the best wedding band we’ve ever heard. We’re so grateful to have had them as part of our day!
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DaltonGroom
“A Total Gem — Best Wedding Band Ever!!!!!!!! Big Ray and the Kool Kats were unbelievably amazing — we feel so lucky to have gotten the chance to work with Ray and his team. We got married recently at Castle Hill Cider, and Ray knew more about the ins and outs of the venue than we did, which was incredibly helpful coming from out of town. They also really do it all — from first rate ceremony music (supplying all the equipment for an outdoor ceremony like mics etc) to cocktail hour jazz to an all time dance floor party. All of our guests are still raving about how awesome our wedding band was — numerous people have told us it was the best wedding band they’ve ever seen. The dance floor was packed all night long. Ray also took the time to learn my now husband’s alma matter fight song (Notre Dame, crowd push ups subsequently occurred!) as well as organized an incredible Second Line (a nod to the groom’s New Orleans upbringing) which was a total blast. All of this aside, Ray is also just an incredibly kind person — wedding planning can be stressful and Ray consistently made us feel at ease regarding everything band related. He was accommodating of special requests as well as an excellent emcee. This band is truly the best of the best — do not hesitate to book!!!!!!!! You won’t regret it :)”
EllieBride
“Perfect night with Big Ray and the Kool Kats. Big Ray and the Kool Kats were absolutely amazing and had our guests on the dance floor from the beginning of the night until the last dance! Everyone loved them! Ray could not be easier to work with and managed ALL of my daughter’s special request… they even learned a song from Hamilton for the father daughter first dance! It was perfect! He worked with us all year during the planning of the wedding to make sure he delivered the vibe that the wedding couple wanted! We couldn’t have asked for more!”
AmyMother of the Bride
