Private events
Private party DJ in Toronto
Birthdays, engagements, anniversaries, mehmoonis and house parties that outgrew a speaker on a shelf. A party rig is not a small wedding rig. It is a different shape, and it goes into rooms that were never designed for it.
DJ from $2,500 Sunday to Thursday, With sound and lighting from $3,750
- Our own JBL sound and lighting
- On site from load-in to strike
- English-language service
- Toronto and the GTA
What it costs
The DJ fee is DJ Dynamite for up to five hours: $2,500 Sunday to Thursday, $2,750 on Fridays and Saturdays. If the room already has a usable system, that is the whole bill. If it does not, the production is added as its own line, delivered, run and taken away by us.
| Room | What we bring | From |
|---|---|---|
| Venue with a usable house system | DJ Dynamite on the house rig, Sunday to Thursday ($2,750 Friday and Saturday); our microphone package if theirs is doubtful, $275 | $2,500 |
| Home, condo party room or restaurant, around 75 | DJ, JBL EON sound with one wireless mic, two moving heads | $3,750 |
| Small hall, around 75 to 150 | DJ, JBL VRX line array with an SRX dual-18" sub, two moving heads, two wireless mics | $4,250 |
| Banquet room, 150 and up | DJ, the full JBL reception system with dual-18" subs, lighting, uplighting available | $4,850 |
The weeknight rate is for the DJ on a house system; the production rooms are priced the same any night. Extra time is $350 an hour, or $450 with the production crew, agreed in advance.
Condo party rooms: read this first
Half the private parties in this city happen in a condo amenity room, and almost all of those buildings have rules the booking form does not mention: a noise cut-off, a two-hour elevator window, a deposit, and sometimes a hard ban on anything on a speaker stand.
- Ask the concierge for the amenity-room rules in writing, not verbally.
- Book the service elevator both ways. Load-out at 1am is the one people forget.
- Check whether the room has two independent circuits. Many have one, and one circuit will not run a rig and a kettle.
- Find out the actual noise cut-off. It is usually 11pm and it is usually enforced by one neighbour.
Mehmooni
Persian house parties have their own shape: dinner late, dancing later, and a floor that does not need warming up. What they need from a DJ is patience for the first two hours and the sense to be ready for the moment the room turns, which is not a moment anybody schedules. We run these often; the Persian celebrations page has the catalogue and the shape of the evening written out.
Speeches, which is what people actually remember going wrong
Nobody leaves a fiftieth birthday complaining about the sub placement. They leave saying they could not hear the daughter's speech. A private room is almost always harder for speech than a banquet hall: low ceilings, hard surfaces, a bar running, and forty people standing where a microphone is pointed.
- A wireless handheld and a wired spare, always, on every booking.
- The speaking position agreed before doors, not decided by whoever stands up first.
- Music down and the bar warned thirty seconds before, which is a conversation we have with the venue rather than with you.
- Announcement cues and tested microphones for the host you choose.
What we will tell you no about
- A room under sixty people where a speaker on a stand would genuinely do the job. We will say so and you should spend the money elsewhere.
- Running past a building's noise cut-off. It is enforced by a neighbour, not by us, and it ends the party instead of shortening it.
- A rig sized for the guest count when the electrical supply is one domestic circuit. We will size to the circuit and tell you what that costs you.
- Adding hours at midnight. Extra time is agreed in advance, in writing.
Check your date
The first question is always whether the date is open. Start there: the rest takes two minutes.
Common questions
What is the minimum for a private party?
The DJ fee: $2,500 Sunday to Thursday or $2,750 on Fridays and Saturdays, for up to five hours in a room with a usable system. With our own sound and lighting for around 75 guests, from $3,750. Below that you are better served renting a speaker, and we will tell you so.
Can you play in a condo party room?
Yes, and we know the constraints: elevator windows, single circuits, and an 11pm noise cut-off in most buildings. Send us the building rules and we will size the rig to them.
Do you provide a microphone for speeches?
Always, and a spare. Speeches are the part of the night people remember being inaudible.
How long do you play for?
Up to five hours is standard. Additional hours are $350 for the DJ, or $450 when our production crew is on site, agreed in advance rather than negotiated at midnight.
Do you set up and take down yourselves?
Yes, and it is inside every production price. Setup is roughly ninety minutes, strike is forty-five. A building with no service elevator or a strike after 1am is quoted as its own line before you book.