A husband & wife team who each perform on steel drums, professionally for almost two decades. Available SOLO to septet as well. We can bring our passion and the beauty of steel pan to your event, to add a whole new dimension to this "time-off" you've been looking forward to!


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The whole package: the musicianship, the passion, the professionalism, and experience, all come together to create the perfect mood so you and your guests can have some fun!

Obviously, you're looking at a number of bands or musicians. Maybe this is your first time hiring live music, or maybe you do this on a regular basis. Like other fields, there's a pretty big difference in steel drum players out there. Whether you know very little about music, or are a musician yourself, here's some important info you should know about us and look out for:

1. We are longstanding, accomplished musicians here in Los Angeles.

2. We take a lot of satisfaction in the fact that we've played for thousands of successful events. Yet, we have a special interest to make each one unique and memorable. Although we feel comfortable amongst other musicians, we delight in performing for people who just simply like this music.

3. Our specialties are steel drums and Caribbean music. Like other genres, Caribbean music has it's own grooves, phrasing, melodies, harmonies, improvisation, and nuance. Attention to all of this is what truly makes it "authentic."

4. The other musicians in our band - whether on bass, drum set, guitar, or keyboard - are also specialists in Caribbean music.

5. We love this music. We listen to it almost exclusively even in our personal lives.

6. Improvisation (this is a big one, believe it or not): Like jazz, this music relies heavily on improvisation; this is a talent that takes years of intensive training and experience to develop. During steel drum performances, well over 50% of the actual music is improvised (by the nature of this style of music - there are few exceptions). It is imperative to pay close attention to the sound of the musician(s). Are they simply playing the melody repeatedly? Or do they have a good example of improvisation? At the higher professional levels of steel drum performance, the mastery of the instrument AND music is very much revealed through what else the musician can "do" with their instrument (in other words, improvise) during a song. Improvisation makes it so no two performances are the same, and keeps the music fresh and interesting for musicians and listeners alike. Considering that over half of the performance will be spent on improvisation, this is important!

7. In regards to #6: our sound and video clips show our improvisational abilities and other aspects of performance. Please check them out.

8. Expressiveness: whether we're playing a mellow tune, or an upbeat dance groove, we get into the music, and *show* as such. This isn't a poker game.

9. We can perform solo to 7-pieces, instrumentally or with vocals.

10. We use instruments and audio systems that are of the highest, professional caliber to ensure a clean, well-balanced sound, whether we are playing solo or as a band.

11. The genres of Caribbean music we play include reggae, calypso, soca, and ska; we can also mix-in a little latin, Brazilian, and jazz to keep things interesting. And, we can play classical selections for weddings. *Now available: various music from Super Mario Bros for wedding ceremonies (yes, that's right!)*

****The whole package: the musicianship, the passion, the professionalism, and experience, all come together to create the perfect mood so you and your guests can have some fun!******

We have been seen on 'Outer Spaces','Ugly Betty, & 'Deal or No Deal.' Dan has also been the steel drum consultant to Steve Carell on a memorable episode of "The Office."


About our background:
We love pan- we have studied, traveled to, and played with many of the most accomplished steel drummers from Trinidad. As musicians, we've been playing most of our lives and are professionally trained & experienced percussionists. Abby and Dan respectively hold Master's and Bachelor's degrees in Percussion from the California Institute of the Arts (in the music community, CalArts is renowned for its magnificient world music program).


Please go to our nestasteelband website for info, videos, and sounds.

NOTE: Again, we are available for performances as a soloist, duo, or in larger groups with other steel drum players and/or live musicians.

***Our more established, "sister" profile (soloist to band) is at http://www.gigmasters.com/Music/Nesta-Steel-Drum-Band/