Acoustic Ambience – Phat Strad Creates Atmosphere at Four Seasons Hotel

6 Phat Strad girls at Four Seasons Sarah Chaffee Megan Wingerter Duo

In a town like Las Vegas, it’s easy to get caught up in the ubiquitous club scene: famous DJs with residencies at every hotel, dance beats playing on the casino floor, pounding soundtracks during Cirque performers’ acrobatics, and even EDM blasting from cars and limos driving by! But classy hotels like the Four Seasons realize that sometimes you need a break from feeling like you’re at a party – and for that breath of fresh air, they gave us a call. In both the Four Seasons and Mandalay Bay hotel lobbies, six ladies of Phat Strad played acoustic duo sets with a rotating break schedule that ensured the music never had to stop. Guests were noticeably impressed with the upscale atmosphere created by beautiful ladies playing classical music, and the girls frequently garnered spontaneous applause and cheers from the patrons. Those enjoying the show would sometimes even throw the girls some song requests, which they were – more often than not – able to accommodate! It was certainly a lovely and unexpected acoustic afternoon on the Strip!

Salon Strings: Phat Strad Grand-Opens HUE Salon and Spa

What better venue is there for a fashion-forward female band than a salon? The ladies of Phat Strad, performing as a trio, felt right at home at the grand opening of Las Vegas’s brand-new HUE Salon and Spa. Playing our sets standing in between manicure stations and styling chairs, we had a blast entertaining the well-coiffed guests, providing an upbeat party atmosphere as they snacked on tasty hors d’oeuvres and browsed the salon’s trendy fashion and jewelry boutique. HUE’s website describes it as “a place where exceptional guest service, talent, and beauty come together,” and we like to think that describes us too…so with such a perfect combination, it’s no wonder the night was wonderful!

Phat Strad Electric String Girls: Happy In Hawaii For Hyundai!

DSC01165DSC01176

It’s nice work if you can get it! The ladies of Phat Strad were very excited to pack their instruments AND their swimsuits and hop on a plane to the beautiful island of Maui, HI. This exciting destination wasn’t just a getaway – the girls were honored to be chosen as the gala dinner entertainment for the Hyundai PGA Tournament of Champions, held at the Ritz Carlton in Kapalua. There, Phat Strad began the night with some mellow background music and gradually transitioned to an exciting rock n’ roll finale, providing the perfect lead-in to the night’s guest-of-honor entertainer, Kelly Clarkson. We had so much fun playing for some of the world’s top golfers, and soaking up the sun, sand, and surf was a spectacular way to spend our downtime, too! We can’t wait to go back!

Twice as Nice – Double Electric String Quartet in Vancouver

DSC01001DSC01012

On most occasions, a single electric string quartet is the perfect size entertainment for any party, convention, or corporate event. However, when your company requires a soundtrack on a larger scale, we can help you out with that too! Canadian restauranteur Keg throws some amazing parties, and this particular event was no exception. Employees flew to Vancouver, British Columbia, and then took a winding bus ride through the mountains to a luxury ski lodge in Whistler. With beautiful weather and amazing scenery, the Canadian town provided the perfect backdrop for the main event: a huge gala banquet set up in the middle of a verdant field. In order to seat all the guests, the table was several hundred feet long – but with a setup that large, how do you ensure everyone gets an equal view of the entertainment? Luckily, the Phat Strad Double Quartet was there to save the day! The girls were set up on multiple stages, which were spaced equally across the venue to ensure that the guests had a truly equal sound and visual experience. The girls rocked the party both as individual groups and as a whole Phat Strad orchestra, providing the party with a sound unparalleled by any other electric string group!

Phat Strad Fights Cancer with Las Vegas Fundraiser

IMG_3605 IMG_3652

One beautiful and sunny Las Vegas spring day, Phat Strad headed south of the Strip to the M Resort for an upscale gala event hosted by Gulf Oil. With its stylish and tranquil atmosphere and beautiful views of the desert scenery, the venue was the perfect place for the party – a fundraising benefit to support cancer research. The ladies of Phat Strad, sporting pink accents for the cause, provided uptempo background music for cocktail hour while guests mingled, chatted, and visited the booths of the various vendors in attendance. Once the guests headed inside for dinner, however, the string quartet went backstage to prepare for one last set: joining models on the catwalk for a charity fashion show, with a grand finale performance of Katy Perry’s “Firework” that brought the audience to a standing ovation. Truly a wonderful evening for a wonderful cause!

From Musicians to Models – Phat Strad on the Runway

Tootsies Fashion Show 2Tootsies Fashion Show 4It’s not every day that you encounter high fashion with a wild jungle twist! The ladies of Phat Strad were lucky enough to be special guests at the annual fashion show for Tootsies, a high-end Houston department store similar to Saks Fifth Avenue and Bloomingdales. After traveling to Houston, the quartet was surrounded by couture and outfitted in chic white gowns; the morning of the event, the girls arrived at the Royal Oaks Country Club and were styled with “lion’s mane” hairdos to go with the show’s jungle theme. For the grand finale of the fashion show, Phat Strad walked the runway alongside models and animal actors, and amazed the crowd, who thought the beautiful AND talented girls were just too good to be true! The electric quartet stayed on the stage afterward to entertain the guests – influencers, fashionistas, and the majority of Houston’s high society – throughout their brunch. This truly was a spectacular, memorable, and fashionable event!

Phat Strad Opens for Gavin DeGraw in Scottsdale, AZ

Scotts for Gavin DeGraw copyIMG_2565

Fall is always beautiful in Arizona, and it was an especially lovely day when the ladies of Phat Strad arrived in Scottsdale for an exclusive country club event. The stage was set on the rolling hills of the club’s perfectly maintained golf course, and guests mingled on the club’s back terrace. The scene was made even more beautiful by an assortment of top-of-the-line cars around the perimeter provided by Maserati, one of the evening’s sponsors. As the sun started to set and dinner was served, Phat Strad took the stage for an evening of well-known operatic themes, classic rock anthems, and sing-along pop hits (and most of the audience was indeed singing along by the end!). After the girls’ rousing sets, special guest star Gavin DeGraw took the stage…but we heard more than a few audience members whisper “shhh, don’t tell, but we liked Phat Strad better!” All in all, it was truly a night of real beauty and real entertainment!

Electric String Girls Run the “Real World” at the Hard Rock Hotel

IMG_2540Processed with VSCOcam with b1 presetThings got real at a party in the Hard Rock Hotel’s Real World Suite when the ladies of Phat Strad walked in! Surrounded by beautiful furnishings, pool tables, hot tubs, bars (for both drinks and cigars), giant fish tanks, and even an in-room bowling lane, guest couldn’t help but have high expectations for the party – and as usual, Phat Strad delivered. Playing four marathon sets of everything from classical standards to classic rock, the ladies provided a nearly non-stop soundtrack for the merrymaking, from opening cocktails until the last guests were walking out the door. Between eating the delicious food, relaxing in the luxurious surroundings, and singing along to Phat Strad’s versions of all their favorite rock n’ roll hits, attendees certainly had a night to remember…long after they had to return to the actual real world!

Electric String Girls Meet “High Expectations” for Forbes & Porsche

DSC00502 DSC00505

Go ahead, put us on a pedestal! In one of our most adventurous shows to date, Phat Strad serenaded guests and VIPs from fifteen feet in the air at an awards dinner for Porsche and Forbes Travel Guide. Stationed on their own platforms in each corner of the room, the four girls provided a surround-sound experience in multiple dimensions – in addition to encircling the dining area horizontally, the ladies were lifted and lowered during songs for vertical surround sound as well! The visual experience was also enhanced by cascading crystals hung under the platforms to resemble small waterfalls. Guests couldn’t believe their eyes when they saw this creative display, and couldn’t believe their ears when they heard our creative takes on their favorite classic tunes. We think it’s safe to say we exceeded their high expectations!

Classic Design with a Modern Twist for Rolex Bellagio

IMG_9357 IMG_9358

There were several reasons that Phat Strad was the perfect choice of entertainment for a small, VIP-only event at the Rolex boutique in the Bellagio Hotel. First, the group’s historical lineage mirrors that of the watches: the string quartet and the art of horlogerie both date back hundreds of years, begun by people who put the utmost care and respect into their craft and developed techniques and mechanisms still in use in the present day. Second, both Phat Strad and Rolex have taken their rich histories and created a modern variation that is fresh, visually appealing, and always classy. And third, both Rolex watches and the ladies of Phat Strad are great luxuries to have at a party! The girls, in elegant black cocktail, were able to deliver a great show and also sneak in a photo shoot with local photographer Darrell Craig Harris, who we have to thank for these pictures.