“Our wedding at Kleinhans was wonderful! Ryan did a great job and everyone had a blast.”
Buffalo, NY · Behind the decks since 1996
Nothing kills a party
like silence.
Finding the right entertainment for your night is tiresome. A good DJ reads the room, controls the flow of your event, and heats up the dance floor at exactly the right moment.
- Kleinhans Music Hall
- Silo City
- The Foundry
- Becker Farms
- Hamlin House
- Pearl Street
- Rabbit Room
- Lockport Locks
The standard
What makes a good DJ
Five things I hold myself to at every single event. If a DJ can't do these, the gear and the light show won't save the night.
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01
Reads the crowd
Interacts with the dance floor and weighs the mood, genre, and demographics before choosing the next record. That takes skill, experience, and versatility.
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02
Plays what guests want
When the time is right, get them dancing — then keep them dancing.
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03
Does more than press play
Every song is selected and mixed individually, based on the moment. A jukebox at least takes requests; a playlist is just a human iPod.
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04
Is good company
Courteous, social, and friendly to you and your guests from the first hour to the last.
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05
First in, last out
Dinner runs late, dancing gets pushed back — the party doesn't stop because a shift ended.
Ask the brides
Real weddings, real reviews
Every quote below is from a couple whose reception I played. Open any wedding to see the gallery and read the whole review.
“I had been to a friend's wedding with amazing music, where people couldn't stop dancing — we decided that we needed to hire that same d.j. for our own wedding. Ryan delivered; he was professional, understood our need to dance hard, play music that appealed to a variety of ages, and incorporated all of our favourite artists and genres without being top 40 heavy. Our guests have since asked for Ryan's contact information, so I anticipate attending a few more excellent weddings!”
“Simply put, our wedding reception would not have been as fun as it was without Ryan! There was not a single butt sitting in a chair once he got the party going. People still comment on how we had ‘the most fun wedding they have ever been to’ and my husband and I give Ryan most of the credit for that. We would recommend him to anyone who wants to have an upbeat and unforgettable night for their wedding.”
“Ryan was the perfect dj for our wedding in December 2012. For me, the most important part of a wedding is a good dance party and Ryan delivered. He was able to get the party started early and keep it going to the very end. We gave him a few suggestions and told him genres of music we liked and every song he played kept the crowd dancing. He played to all age groups — my mother and other family members STILL talk about how great he was and how much fun they had at my wedding. I highly recommend Ryan for any event where good tunes and fun times are needed.”
“Ryan rocked my wedding!”
“We are so happy with the way our wedding turned out. Ryan was a big hit, and he played the right songs at the right time.”
“Our Silo City wedding was magical, Ryan played tunes well into the night. We will never forget the wonderful time we had.”
“I met Ryan doing a gig at a private women's club downtown, and was very pleased with what I heard; not a lot of talking, but enough to try and get the crowd to have some fun; that was important to me. I manage wedding events and I have heard a lot of annoying announcers and knew what I wanted the outcome to be at my own wedding. We emailed back and forth and set a time to meet to finalize things based on his outline of what would be important to us. I got to give him a DO NOT PLAY list and things really were just smooth sailing.”
“Ryan also took a special request from my brother to play a song in memory of our Dad. It was a surprise to me as well as all my guests. After that slow dance, we spent the night on the dance floor, sometimes with Ryan. Ryan is thorough, reliable, and a great person to work with — I would recommend him to anyone.”
Services
All I need is a table and an outlet
I provide the music for your event. You don't need to rent equipment or set anything up — sound and setup are handled.
Weddings
We break the evening down musically into cocktails, dinner, and dance, then talk through the mood and the vibe you want for each one.
We cover the must-plays, the do-not-plays, and the special songs — intro, first dance, last song, and anything else that matters to you.
After one or two short meetings you can check music off your list, and you have one less thing to worry about.
Everything else
Same service, usually less detail: parties, birthdays, fundraisers, and anniversaries.
We talk about the nature of your event and the music you'd like to hear, and go from there.
- Full sound system provided
- Setup and teardown included
- Mixed live, all night
About
Thirty years of reading rooms
My name is Ryan McNamee and I started this musical journey in May of 1996. That was my first DJ gig, and I've been doing it ever since.
I grew up in Buffalo, NY, but I'm originally from Calgary, Alberta. In September of 2003 I went back to Canada for a degree in music production, audio engineering, and live sound.
When I returned to Buffalo in 2006 I was a well-rounded audio engineer with over a decade of DJing behind me — house parties, bars, clubs, concerts, birthdays, you name it. Whether the audience was 20 people or 2,000, I always enjoyed it.
How I ended up doing weddings
Through my twenties I developed a general dislike for wedding DJs. Sometimes that was my ego talking — but not always.
Some would play songs back to back off a predetermined playlist, without blending, without reading the audience. At least a jukebox takes requests; these guys are just a human iPod. Then I started noticing how often bad music gets covered up by, literally, smoke and mirrors: huge lighting and fog rigs, awful music.
Worst of all, some DJs shut down the second their shift ended, no matter how good the party was. Sure, they were only paid until a certain time — but maybe dinner ran late and dancing got pushed back. Nothing kills a party like silence.
Then my friend Emily asked me to DJ her wedding. I'd done so many events, but never a wedding, and I was nervous about saying yes. When I thought about what kind of goofball she might hire if I declined, I realized this was no different than any other event — and I knew exactly what Emily wanted.
So I did it, and I knocked it out of the park. It felt wonderful to make that kind of impact on the most important day of someone's life. I loved all of it: the well-dressed guests, the families coming together, the love in the air, and the giant pile of women's shoes on the side of the dance floor.
It was amazing. From that point on I thought, I could really get used to this.
— Ryan
Why choose me
- I enjoy what I do and take pride in my work
- I work with you to customize your event
- We'll have a plan, so there are no surprises
- My goal is to make your vision a reality
Contact
Let's check your date
Tell me when and where, and I'll get back to you about availability. The more detail you send, the more useful my first reply will be.