Backthird Entertainment

Our wedding DJ/​MC was Kelvon. He was fantastic. Working with him was really easy, he is super professional and has a very laid back style. From his organization during our initial conversations with him, to his follow up, to the day of — it was great. He kept the day on schedule, organized everything, kept folks calm, nevermind the back lighting was amazing. :)
I would strongly recommend Backthird & Kelvon in particular, for anything you might need a DJ/​MC for.

My (now) husband and I were searching for a DJ/​emcee for our wedding and discovered Backthird Entertainment through an online search. Backthird received very positive reviews so we thought we would take a chance with them.
We were so glad we did. We were so pleased with the service provided by Backthird and, particularly, our DJ — Ethan.
Ethan was terrific. He was prompt, pleasant, professional, and perfect for our wedding. My husband and I met with Ethan a few weeks before our wedding to discuss music requests and reception details. Ethan was happy to accommodate these requests and executed everything perfectly and exactly as we had discussed. We did not have many specific song requests but we did provide Ethan with our general likes and dislikes in music. He really listened carefully because his playlist was classic, classy, romantic, fun, hip, new, and old, and we loved it all! He did a great job engaging the guests during the dancing portion of the evening. Following the event, several family and friends commented on how impressed they were with Ethan.
I was also impressed with Backthird Entertainment’s reception «planner» provided to us several weeks before our wedding. This online planner allowed us to detail everything from the specific music genres and song requests for the event to the wedding party and toast details (names, order of toasts, etc.). This not only helped us think about the order of events surrounding the event but also prepared Ethan prior to us meeting with him. When we met with him, we felt like he already knew what we wanted. Backthird made the process easy and as least stressful as possible.
Backthird Entertainment comes with our highest recommendation for music, DJ, and emcee services for not only weddings but any special event. My husband and I were extremely pleased with the top-​notch service and professionalism.

Backthird seems to be merely a company that sets you up with entertainment for your events. This means they do not always have a handle on who those performers or entertainers are.
For my wedding, I used two different Backthird services:
1– Cellist and pianist. Benjie (the talent rep) set me up with Dan (Cellist) and Ruth (pianist) to perform at my ceremony. I used Backthird’s online planner, which was awesome! It was so organized. About six weeks before the wedding, Dan reached out to me via email and phone to finalize all the music. My biggest worry was awkward silences. Dan reassured me and he delivered. People loved their variations of classic Beatles songs prior to the ceremony and the performers really added emotion to the vibe. So glad they were a part of my special day.
2– Stephanie Policarpio (DJ). Unfortunately, I had a different experience with Stephanie. She was unprofessional during initial meetings. After talking over the phone and correcting her schedule, she sent me an updated schedule of the reception events that was completely wrong. The worst part was when she announced my husband and I at our grand entrance into our wedding reception… mispronouncing our new last name. She continued to create awkward pauses and the music volume was too soft overall. The one thing she does know is music. There were several more details that added to the weirdness. She knows what songs to play when, and she is really good at it. Unfortunately, to be a DJ, it requires more then just playing songs. I wish I would have requested another DJ or just used a ipod.
Overall, I would use Backthird again, but I would do more research on my individual performers/​entertainers. The company does a great job of providing support and great deals. Their online portal was great for mapping things out. Shout out to Benjie and Dan for doing a great job and contributing to my perfect day!

Back Third knows how to please a customer and how to run a business. We didn’t have to tell them anything twice, and they followed through with everything they said they would. I would recommend them to anyone planning a wedding or event.

We got into touch with Backthird Entertainment via our reception sites preferred vendor list and were extremely pleased. We had a jazz trio for cocktails and dinner followed by a DJ for all of the dancing.
The trio was fantastic! They really set the mood for the evening and I was very surprised a couple days before that it also included singing by the pianist.
Our DJ, Vince, also did a fantastic job. Based on the reception planner we used ahead of time, Vince really understood the kind of music we wanted played at our reception and definitely delivered. Mind you, my husband and I only spent about an evening putting in the specifics and then providing a handful of suggestions, mostly based on the lists provided in the planner.
Backthird was also super helpful in planning the timing of events at the reception as well which was definitely very appreciated.
We loved working with them and are so thankful for the part they played in making our reception the ultimate, classic-​rock dance party that it was.

This review is long overdue, but we used Backthird for our wedding and it was great! We really clicked with our DJ. Backthird has a website that allows you to program in your do-​not-​play, must-​play, play-​if-​possible lists and select genres you really like, kind-​of like, and hate. This helps your DJ create the right playlist for the night. You can program in your schedule for the event and they have all these prompts to ensure you don’t overlook anything. It made planning the event so much easier, in fact, aside from just picking music. It’s very detailed.
Although we had a small wedding, our DJ ensured our dance floor was never empty. Our guests still tell us how much fun they had and how good the music was («It was a PARTY!» is a direct quote from a guest).
Although our particular DJ moved away from IL shortly after our wedding, so I can’t recommend him personally, I’d still recommend Backthird for the overall quality of customer service.

This is a mixed review: we worked with Reece as our DJ, and Twin Strings as our ceremony music.
DJ Reece: The guy worked with us on a separate setup for dinner, and a full setup for dancing — he kept us on schedule as much as possible. He was also extremely flexible with regard to music — lots of people literally brought USB sticks with Bollywood music (mixed western and indian wedding) and he happily and comfortably obliged, mixing it well with the western music he/we’d selected.
He managed the crowd well, with one minor negative note — the intro to dancing was a bit jarring (straight into Daft Punk). Fast recovery though :-)
Twin Strings: We booked the Twin Strings for the ceremony itself. I admit, we were too busy running around to interact with them much during the ceremony itself, but they were pleasant and professional leading up to the event. Joy reached out about two months in advance of the date to advise on music selection, we chose our pieces, and they arrived on time and performed as requested. Not virtuosic, but beautiful just the same.
The only downside was that we could only choose from a pre-​set list of pieces — any other requests cost extra.

This is a quite late… so my apologies!
My wedding was June 2012. I work in the DT Aurora area and was referred to Backthird by my boss — who raved about them. My then-​fiancée and I went in for a consultation and were looking for a fun and upbeat DJ as well as something for the ceremony & cocktail hour.
We chose Louise Kelly for the ceremony and cocktail hour. She was AMAZING! I can’t tell you how many lovely comments we heard about the cocktail hour (which I wasn’t present for because we were taking photos). She was really awesome to work with regarding our ceremony. My husband and I just kind of gave her an idea of what we thought would be nice… and Louise had the best suggestions and gave us some unique options. The ceremony couldn’t have been better!
Now on to the DJ — We chose Mark who was equally as amazing as Louise. He went through intros like a pro — and yes, we had a lot of hard to pronounce names. Every song that I had chosen for a specific part of the night was played. The only thing we missed, was our dad’s toasts. I don’t think this was fully the DJ’s fault though. I’m not sure if this was the DJ or the coordinator that missed this. My husband and I didn’t realize this was missed until too late :(
We had about 215 people at the wedding and it seemed everyone was on the dance floor after dinner. I remember loving the energy and the music. It was a great mix and people were able to give suggestions. Also — no chicken dance was played at my request — even though I KNOW people asked for him to play it. I’m glad he kept with my wishes by excluding that horrible tradition.
The booking and planning with this company went very smoothly. Anna and Benjie are great people who really cared about our wedding and did everything to accommodate what we were looking for. I would highly suggest using Backthird Entertainment if you are looking for a wonderful experience booking, planning, and having a memorable wedding day!