bobby j

When it came to choosing songs and performers for their October wedding ceremony and reception, Barkley Rafferty and Christopher Tidmore didn’t know what they wanted right away. 

Christopher took the lead on music choices. “He's a lot more invested in music than I am,” Barkley said. “My parents — Katie and Shaun Rafferty — and I definitely had our opinions, but he was the organizer. 

“We went through lots of options until we were both really overwhelmed and needed to make a decision, especially for the reception.” 

She remembered a band she loved from a friend’s wedding five years ago. “I'm not a huge dancer, and I remember dancing all night at this wedding."

Christopher really wanted to see the band in person before booking it — a hard proposition without crashing random weddings.

The duo was at a parade party on the Saturday before Mardi Gras and something sounded familiar to Barkley. It was the same band as the one at her friend’s wedding: Bobby J and Stuff Like That.

“They were nice enough to play a couple of songs that Christopher requested,” Barkley said, “and he was super impressed.” Barkley asked for the band’s business card, and the duo’s wedding coordinators emailed the band the next Monday. 

Christopher was in charge of special songs, with the couple dancing to a Randy Travis tune, "Forever and Ever, Amen," for their first dance, followed by Barkley and her dad, and Christopher and her mom, dancing to “Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans.”

“One of the best parts of the night was when Bobby J sang ‘Loch Lomand,’ an old Scottish song,” Barkley said. Christopher is interested in Scottish history and culture and asked Bobby J — who added a Motown twist to it — to learn it for the wedding.

THE END RESULT:

“I challenged Bobby J to play the traditional Scottish wedding song Loch Lomond--something far outside of his normal R&B repertoire. He and the band not only rose to the challenge, but put a New Orleans spin on this very Celtic song which kept it both true to its roots and made it the highlight of the evening for our audience of rock 'n' roll enthusiasts. Bobby J knows how to satisfy everybody!”

— Christopher Tidmore

Read full story in THE ADVOCATE