Which first dance songs suit a live band?
Songs that survive without studio production. A first dance played live has a singer, a few instruments and a couple standing three metres away, so the songs below are ones that hold up with a small line-up and can be shortened without sounding cut off. They are grouped by feel, because that is how couples describe what they want: "something slow", "something we can sway to", "something old", "not a slow one". Parent dances have their own group at the end.
The notes under "Where it fits" are our suggestions for where a song can sit in a set. They are not facts about the song, and the list is not a ranking or a measure of popularity. Titles, artists and years were checked against MusicBrainz or Wikipedia when this page was written. We list no keys or tempos, because bands change both.
Slow ballads
| Song | Artist | Year | Where it fits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Perfect | Ed Sheeran | 2017 | Slow first dance, guitar-led |
| All of Me | John Legend | 2013 | Piano and voice, nothing else needed |
| Thinking Out Loud | Ed Sheeran | 2014 | Slow dance with a gentle groove |
| Make You Feel My Love | Adele | 2008 | Short, quiet, easy to end early |
| Beautiful in White | Shane Filan | 2017 | Slow first dance or bridal entrance |
| Tennessee Whiskey | Chris Stapleton | 2015 | Slow, soulful, suits a strong singer |
| Amazed | Lonestar | 1999 | Country ballad for a full band |
Mid-tempo sways
| Song | Artist | Year | Where it fits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Better Together | Jack Johnson | 2005 | Relaxed sway for shy dancers |
| Lucky | Jason Mraz and Colbie Caillat | 2008 | Duet for two singers in the band |
| Let's Stay Together | Al Green | 1971 | Soul sway, guests can join halfway |
| Lover | Taylor Swift | 2019 | Waltz feel, suits a rehearsed dance |
| Say You Won't Let Go | James Arthur | 2016 | Acoustic start that builds |
| Forevermore | Side A | 1995 | Gentle sway for a Filipino wedding |
Older standards
| Song | Artist | Year | Where it fits |
|---|---|---|---|
| At Last | Etta James | 1960 | Classic slow dance, big vocal |
| The Way You Look Tonight | Frank Sinatra | 1964 | Swing first dance, grandparents join in |
| Unchained Melody | The Righteous Brothers | 1965 | Slow build, needs a confident tenor |
| Wonderful Tonight | Eric Clapton | 1977 | Slow, easy for a guitar band |
| L-O-V-E | Nat King Cole | 1964 | Short swing number, light and quick |
Upbeat first dances
| Song | Artist | Year | Where it fits |
|---|---|---|---|
| You Make My Dreams | Daryl Hall & John Oates | 1980 | Fun first dance, opens the floor |
| Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours | Stevie Wonder | 1970 | Upbeat soul, guests join quickly |
| Everything | Michael Bublé | 2007 | Bright mid-pace for non-dancers |
| Love on Top | Beyoncé | 2011 | Showpiece for a strong singer |
| This Will Be (An Everlasting Love) | Natalie Cole | 1975 | Joyful, good straight into dancing |
| Crazy Little Thing Called Love | Queen | 1979 | Rockabilly feel for a jive |
Parent dances
| Song | Artist | Year | Where it fits |
|---|---|---|---|
| My Girl | The Temptations | 1964 | Father and daughter, easy to shorten |
| Isn't She Lovely | Stevie Wonder | 1976 | Father and daughter, upbeat |
| What a Wonderful World | Louis Armstrong | 1967 | Slow parent dance, short as written |
| In My Life | The Beatles | 1965 | Either parent, brief and gentle |
| A Song for Mama | Boyz II Men | 1997 | Mother and son |
| I Hope You Dance | Lee Ann Womack | 2000 | Parent and child, country ballad |
| Have I Told You Lately | Van Morrison | 1989 | Slow dance for either parent |
Start a setlist with these 31 songs
Opens StageFloww with the titles typed in. Free plan, no card. Search can miss a song, and you can add it by hand.
How do the songs fit together on the night?
A first dance is rarely one song on its own. It is usually a block of three: the couple's dance, a parent dance, and the song that brings the guests onto the floor. Plan the three together, so the band moves from one to the next without a gap. Here are three blocks in different moods.
This running order is one suggestion built from the list above. Change it to suit your band and the room.
Classic
- At Last
- My Girl
- Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours
Modern
- Perfect
- I Hope You Dance
- Love on Top
Relaxed
- Better Together
- In My Life
- You Make My Dreams
The third song matters as much as the first. If the couple pick a slow first dance, an upbeat third song tells the room the dancing has started. If they pick an upbeat first dance, invite the guests up during it and go straight into your dance set.
How do you shorten a song and agree the ending?
Most couples do not want to dance alone for a whole record. Ask them how long they want to be on the floor by themselves, then cut the song to fit. The usual cut keeps the opening, one verse and a chorus, skips the middle of the song, and returns for a last chorus. Play the shortened version to the couple before the wedding, as a phone recording from rehearsal, so that anyone who has practised steps has practised to your version and not to the record.
Then agree three things with them and write them down:
- The start. Who announces the dance, and whether you begin when they reach the floor or when they nod.
- The join. Whether the MC or the singer invites the guests up, and at which point in the song.
- The ending. A held final chord is the safest. A fade is what the record does and what a live band cannot do cleanly. If the couple plan a dip or a lift at the end, find out which bar it lands on.
Give one band member the job of watching the couple instead of the chart. If they look stranded, that person calls the last chorus early.
Check the key with your singer before you promise anything. A song that sits well for the original artist may need to move for your voice, and a first dance is the wrong moment to find that out. A change of key does not bother a couple. A change of feel does, so keep the groove of the version they know.
What does StageFloww do for a first dance, and what does it not do?
StageFloww, the setlist and stage-lyrics app, keeps the block in order with the rest of the night. In the setlist builder each song has a notes field and its own duration, so the agreed cut and the ending cue sit on the song itself, and the set total reflects the short version once you enter its real length. The Free plan allows 40 songs per setlist, which is more than this whole list.
It does not choose the song, and nothing on this page is a ranking. The song search needs a connection and can miss a song, so add the couple's choices well before the wedding, not at the venue. StageFloww does not play backing tracks either: if the couple want the original recording for their dance, the DJ or the sound engineer plays it.
To see how long your dance sets run once the first dance block is in, use the set length calculator. For the rest of the day, see StageFloww for wedding bands.