176 Keys Dueling Pianos

176 Keys Dueling pianos IS FUN!

The 176 Keys Dueling Pianos show is a rockin’ good time for the audience and the performers. We play the fun songs you want to hear, and encourage you to sing, clap, and laugh along. At your request, we will also make time to give a few light-hearted roasts to friends and family.

176 Keys singalong dueling pianos shows are a unique form of entertainment you can’t find anywhere else - music, comedy, and crowd interaction tailor-made for your audience. Rated anywhere from ‘G’ to ‘R’ as specified by the client and dictated by audience requests, this show is a hit for every event including corporate parties looking for an extra punch, weddings, and fraternity parties seeking a raucous good time. More impressively, we can play for audiences with a mix of all ages. The shows are tailored to your audience, by your audience: We take popular songs, requested by the audience, and encourage singing along and other participation. You will hear comedic lyrics in place of some standard lyrics, fun with audience members on and off stage, and a high-energy mix of music and comedy.
Whether you’re 18 or 80, a rocker or a redneck - you’ll have FUN with a 176 Keys show.

176 Keys Dueling Pianos Show is legitimate. Hundreds of references, fully insured, members of the BBB…not to mention that we have done more traveling dueling pianos shows than anyone else you will find. (ok, we did have to mention it!)

176 Keys Dueling Pianos IS NOT…

176 Keys Singalong Dueling Pianos is not two piano players trying to out-perform each other. Rather, the two players work together to provide a high-energy show in which the audience is as much a part of the entertainment as is the performers. The show may be better termed ‘duo pianos’. By any name, you won’t find another form of hired entertainment that can match what we do.

176 Keys Singalong Dueling Pianos is not a concert. Our players are not on stage to entertain themselves, or sing opera. We are there to have fun WITH you.

176 Keys Singalong Dueling Pianos is not two piano players with a couple keyboards and creating a website with the term “dueling pianos” to capitalize on the popularity of this style of music. This show is not easy, and the entertainment aspect of the show is one few musicians can pull off. Additionally, the road show is different on-stage and off-stage, including travel logistics, corporate/wedding content, set-up and many other factors. Our show puts us in a small class of traveling shows that deliver a fun, quality show for the audience. Adding in our unmatched road-show experience, and we are your best choice to bring a dueling pianos show right to you.

176 Keys Singalong Dueling Pianos is not a talent agency. You won’t be dealing with an agent. Talent agents book many different kinds of shows, don’t know the ins and outs of the dueling pianos traveling show, on or off stage. Many times, they also seem not to care, doing anything to get contracts and sending anyone who can play piano and sing to a client, making everyone involved unhappy with the whole experience (except themselves). With 176 Keys, you will deal directly with me: owner and lead player Sam Ferguson. I’m also 50% likely to be one of the players on your gig. The other players I have on staff are all players I have worked with many many times and trust to do the quality job I demand of 176 Keys shows.

Evolution of Dueling Pianos

The original: The first dueling pianos show is at Pat O’Briens New Orleans, started in the 1930s. Here, the players read from books and will try almost anything. While singalong is encouraged, it’s not quite “in your face”, and the show is relegated to song-playing. There is little comedy in this show and few or no occasions for bringing audience members on stage for some fun.

The two-piano rock & roll singalong & comedy dueling pianos show: This concept started almost 30 years ago in Texas. This is what 176 Keys prefers to do. In this show, the magic and skill of two pianos and two piano players leads the audience through a show of energetic singalong, comedy, and audience participation on stage and from the audience. This version of dueling pianos has the most audience participation, and is (to us) the most fun.

The dueling pianos band show: Many dueling pianos clubs chain’s are quite popular and involve singalong. They also have drums and guitar(s) throughout most the night and don’t do a lot of comedy. There is some variance from this from club to club. Often times these shows turn into a dance-club feel more than audience participation.

Traveling dueling pianos shows: While there have been a few regional acts that would travel for corporate parties, in 2004 176 Keys took it to another level, providing high-energy singalong comedy dueling pianos shows to corporate parties, weddings, and clubs anywhere in the lower 48 states at competitive prices. In the years since, many agencies have jumped on the bandwagon, including some that for some reason boast 150+ players. Some even consider it an advantage to be “international”. We are not a talent agency, we know all the players we work with, and we know that you don’t care if we’ve sent shows to Italy, you want to know if you’re going to get a great show. We book dueling pianos shows, period. There are only 20 or 30 players in the country that are very good at entertaining in this concept, some of whom are locked into house gigs at their clubs, while even fewer have extensive formal party experience. Because of this, we will stick with the dozen or less guys we know will do a good job with us and for you…or we won’t take the contract. No other major traveling dueling pianos show has been started by a veteran dueling pianos player, is currently run by one, or is dedicated solely to dueling pianos. 176 Keys is all three.