Piano Bar vs. Guest Entertainer

By On June 28, 2008 · 17 Comments

It was good to hear from a few of you this week. I understand T. is putting together a demo and audition for a few talent agencies, and I think our friend M. should be on a ship by now.

I was emailed a question this week from M.B.:

Could you please tell me how the work as a guest performer differs from the standard piano bar work? I am not talking about the living/lifestyle conditions, but what the performance entails and how it differs. Many thanks.

That’s a good question and I can definitely answer that.

We just got a new piano bar performer this week, as a matter of fact. He’s one of the best piano bar performers I’ve ever had the pleasure of seeing. His lounge is packed every single night with standing room only. If you want to go see him, you almost have to take a number and wait in the next room over for a space to clear. I think he’s the most popular act on the ship.

The piano bar gig is very specific on ships. On every ship I’ve seen, there is a dedicated piano bar lounge that includes a piano, a microphone, a bar and several dozen seats. On my current ship he lounge is out in the open, right in the middle of everything on deck 5. On my last ship is was a little room off of the casino on deck 4.

The piano bar entertainer performs 6 to 7 nights a week, 3 to 4 hours a night. They must sing and play piano. They take requests and banter with the audience all night. Often, the passengers get to know the piano bar entertainer on a personal level that is not often possible with the other entertainers on the ship because of the interaction and the amount of time they perform each night. Some passengers come to the piano bar every single night, and by the end of the cruise, the piano bar entertainer is often the most popular entertainer on the cruise.

I’m not certain what they get paid, but I understand the compensation can be lucrative. Bear in mind though, that these entertainers work an awful lot by cruise ship standards. Singing 4 hours every night can really get to your vocal cords. I don’t know how they do it.

What is sung and played in the piano bar is mostly up to to the piano bar entertainer. Sometimes you have a piano bar not unlike the pop/rock piano bars on land – like Jelly Roll’s in Orlando or Howl at the Moon in many other cities. More often than not, though, the piano bar on ships will be more like a cabaret of jazz songs, or R’n'B hits, or musical theatre. Our current entertainer plays primarily old school R’n'B and contemporary musical theatre songs. The personality and repertoire of the piano bar is entirely controlled by who’s playing in there.

Being a guest performer is another gig entirely. Guest performers perform on the main stage, not the piano lounge. While the piano lounge usually seats 25-75 in a casual atmosphere, the main stage seats 500-700 in formal theatre seating. Guest performers put on one 45 minute performance, usually twice a night for 2 separate seatings (i.e. 7:30 and 9:30 pm).

My current position on the ship is a guest entertainer. I, and the group I perform with, put on two separate shows during the week – Tues. & Fri. We typically have a run-thru in the morning and two shows each night. Sometimes we only have one show Friday night, as it’s the last night of the cruise.

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David J. Hahn

David J. Hahn is a Broadway conductor and keyboard player. He co-founded MusicianWages.com with Cameron Mizell in 2008. Visit his new project, Songwriter.fm and sign up for his songwriting newsletter.

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17 Responses to Piano Bar vs. Guest Entertainer

  1. john poppy says:
    January 30, 2009 at 7:40 pm

    Are guest performers on contract also? We have an accoustic show that I’m interested in booking on ships,also how much does the md have to do with what I would be playing? Is all PA supplied?

    Reply
  2. David J. Hahn says:
    January 31, 2009 at 12:45 am

    Hi John –

    Yes, guest performers are on contract with the cruise line, but the MD usually doesn’t have anything to do with your set lists. The MD may be your point man for scheduling in your room, but if there’s any question on material or whatever, guest performers typically deal with the cruise director (the head of the entertainment department).

    Check out these two articles:

    Who’s My Boss?
    Provided Backline Equipment

    Reply
  3. Ryan Ahern says:
    August 24, 2009 at 6:31 pm

    Good info here, but there is a lot more to be said. Im a headliner on 7 cruise lines and I’ve been a normal ship board musician too. That job sucks, the piano bar guys play 3-4 hrs a night 6-7 days a week like this article said. They get paid about 600-700 bucks a week, sometimes less on cheaper cruise lines. But Royal Caribbean, Princess, Cunard all pay in there and you’ll find thats standard, you’ll never get less than $550 and never more than $800. But the CD sales is more $$ for you so make damn sure you have atleast one ready to go. So, thats 18-28hrs behind the piano for 700 dollars. Now the headliners or guest entertainers as they’re called make a lot more and work alot less. We are somewhat celebrities or extreme talents as they say. Average weekly pay is $2800 week. You’ll never get paid less than $2200, and rarely over $3000. Unless you’ve got a big name, or are in serious demand or are a proven entertainment slam dunk, like me, then you can get $3500-$4000 if your lucky. But most of the time they know that they don’t need to pay that so they always try to cut your balls off at $2800. But thats okay if your working 40 weeks a year. The guest ent plays one night a week (on average), 2 shows that night. So thats an hour and a half to 2 hrs a week behind the piano (or whatever you do) for 2800. But you really got to be damn good to hold these gigs. Plus you’re on the ship for a week or two, tops! Maybe even a couple days. The piano bar guy has to live in that microcosm of power hungry management and deal with the heriarchy of big headed brits who love the “class system”, for up to 4-6 months. And they have jobs to do on board, like safetly drills and stuff (sometimes not). The guest in is a passenger, with a dining room table (on some cruises), and freedom to go and do anything they want. But, you know what, we’ve earned that. Being a piano bar guy is easy, learn a few hundred songs, take a seth riggs vocal course and you’re in as long as you’re drug free. A headliner has to be in the top 2% of his field and sacrifice and dedicate themselves unlike any other.

    So, I hope this is helpful, I know everything there is to know about the cruise line industry, especially entertainers. But, I gotta go.

    Thanks!
    Ryan

    Reply
  4. Allison says:
    September 17, 2009 at 3:24 pm

    This is a really informative website…Bravo!
    I am thinking about opening a piano bar in my city. Very much along the lines of Don’t Tell Mama and Brandy’s in New York. I noticed that having the right musician is key for success. Not sure yet whether my city has this pool of talent. Hence my question….do piano bar musicians travel from city to city? And are there any agencies or group that I can turn to for recruitment?

    Thanks
    Allison

    Reply
  5. David says:
    October 19, 2009 at 5:50 am

    Hello!! just a quick question tho..

    Where would i audition for jobs like this? i live in london so was just wondering where i would find out about where the next one is?

    Reply
  6. Win says:
    November 17, 2009 at 8:00 pm

    What if you want to be a piano bar “gal”? Are there such things? (I look like a guy…if that helps)

    Reply
  7. Paula says:
    December 29, 2009 at 2:39 am

    Hi and thanks for all the interesting and very good information. I’ve heard that a non-famous Guest Entertainer can earn $3000-5000 and a more famous one can earn above that. Is that true? I guess it depends on what cruise company you works for. I also wonder if anyone has got any contact info to booking agencies or direct to the cruise lines to send promo material to. Thanks a lot! /P

    Reply
  8. Edward Sutter says:
    January 19, 2010 at 3:02 pm

    I was reading the comments Ryan Ahern. I got a link to his website and saw his performance. I thought he was a terrible pianist. And he gets paid that much? I don’t know the cruising business, but if this is the quality of the entertainment on cruise ships, the people who hire these terrible acts should be fired.
    I used to have my own entertainment agency booking entertainers mostly in New York, Las Vegas, London and Monte Carlo and has been retired now for a number of years. But I still know when an act is good or not.

    Reply
  9. Marvin Mallari says:
    January 25, 2010 at 2:55 am

    This is in reply to Edward Sutter.

    I have been a sideman for a number of years and played with very mediocre guest ents to very talented ones. I think its a little harsh to say Ryan’s playing is terrible as the video is not the best quality to hear another musicians work, I have played his show on the side and I think in terms of most guest ents on ships, he is good, with a Liberace style, not the Bill Evans kind of playing that I prefer, but good for the audience.

    I am surprised to hear how much someone makes to play very little amount of time on stage, and I have seen much worse talent on stage with some companies that I thought would have much better talent.

    Guest Ents also tend to play similar set lists with some variations here and there but the audience doesn’t really care. I think for the cruise ships, audiences are trapped, they didn’t really pay to see any particular show as most normal audiences would on land, rather they’ll accept whatever it is on stage. Thus many outside the cruise ship circle might not be able to understand how guest ents are selected. Probably because they have connections to those who hire! Talent helps as well. So basically, there is no set path in how talent is selected. Just send in the demos and hope for the best!

    Reply
  10. barnaby says:
    February 6, 2010 at 2:31 pm

    I’ve played for Ryan Ahern, and yes, he’s got one of the strangest shows around. Weird mix of stuff completely unknown to the audience, and showy but not interesting obscurities.

    The fact that the guy makes as much as he does is infuriating. The fact that he brags about it by name is unconscionable.

    Shame on you, Ahern. You’re a lame pianist! And you wear too much jewelry.

    Reply
  11. Maryanna says:
    June 30, 2010 at 11:53 am

    Hi,
    I’m looking at potentialy working on the ships as a piano bar entertainer singing/playing, just getting my rep up to scratch and wondering what to prepare myself for…Do the ships require the use of backings with the songs?….as my performance is all accoustic.

    Thanks
    Maryanna

    Reply
  12. James says:
    August 27, 2010 at 4:02 pm

    I currently work as a piano bar ent. and am in the process of becoming a guest ent. I just wanted to say that in my experience everything I’ve read is basically correct with one large exception. As a piano bar ent. the salary is more like $1000/week to start and a nice large (by cruise ship crew standards)cabin to yourself. Every line is different, but I am able to get short contracts — 5 weeks max. I cannot sing for 4 hrs a night 7 days a week for months.

    And yes, there are female piano bar ents, and some lines allow you to use backing tracks, but I don’t know of any who require it.

    Reply
  13. Paul Lamoureux says:
    April 3, 2011 at 1:23 am

    Great website with subject-specific relevant info, such as this piano-bar stuff.Keep it up David! I have a reaction (positive) and a couple questions.

    As a sax player (and lifetime keyboardist) in the process of building up my piano-bar repertoire with the goal of working on ships,I was relieved to hear from at least one of your readers that the pay is close to the $1000 range. Any less than that would not be much of an incentive to work that hard and leave home for months at a time. I live in a great city (Toronto) but I would love to open new professional doors, especially as an alternative to the cold Canadian winters.

    My first question is about electronics. I enjoy playing along with drum machine for the rock & roll and latin tunes, or anything really rhythmic or drum-oriented. Do the cruise lines expect the piano-bar people to be strictly acoustic?

    Second question: Since I’m a sax player who plays along with tracks, do you think I should promote myself as someone who can do both, or should I try to fit their piano/vocal model?

    Thanks,

    Paul Lamoureux

    Reply
  14. martin orbidans says:
    October 10, 2011 at 10:42 am

    Hi

    Been cruising 3 years.(Musician 37 years on piano) Done crew job, now guest ent)..Sacrifices.. Lots! Money good if continuously working without big gaps etc. About $1000 per week as guest entertainer (piano bar) on the better lines. But expensive to buy drinks even with 20/50 per cent discounts. CD`s don`t sell well if the shop obscures them. However doing 2 CD sets do very well. ($20) Guest ents can have family visit`s on many better ships with better cabins. I have seen all the ports now and so life on board has lost some of it`s excitement. I enjoy seeing much personal improvement working every night. Often there is tension in relationship with crew. The perception being that we don`t have to do drills and have a nice cabin and work so little etc. And we are very close to the guests, so are `watched` behaviour wise. Not fair, and a very difficult pressured position to be in sometimes, so you have to be on your guard. Guests might complain over the least little thing. Like if you go for a bathroom break just as Mrs complainer walks into your bar.

    my question to them all being “how long did it take for you to get ready for work tonight?” It`s taken me 45 years! Really life ashore in comparison can seem a very nice dream sometimes. But hey that`s me! On stage, my lights come on and that is the reason I stay on ships, plus a reasonable income. SO long as it`s steady. And yes pa is supplied, but be prepared to arrive after 24 traveling, go straight on stage and start, even if the pa sounds awful. You may not get help to sort it out.

    Reply

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