Most corporate event bands will tell you they can play any venue. That’s probably true - plug in, play the hits, pack down. But ICC Wales isn’t just any venue, and if you’re booking entertainment for an event there, the details matter more than you’d think.
We’ve just come off stage at ICC Wales after playing a surprise reveal for a staff conference. The 11-piece Brotherhood showband, hidden behind a partition in the main hall, revealed to 1,000+ guests who had no idea we were there. Two hours of back-to-back hits, a full lighting rig, enough glitter balls to stock a disco museum, and DJ Sam Tweaks keeping the party going until 2am.
Here’s what we’ve learned about making corporate entertainment work at ICC Wales.
The Main Hall Is Built for This
ICC Wales sits in the grounds of the Celtic Manor Resort in Newport - the same site that hosted the 2010 Ryder Cup and the 2014 NATO summit. The main hall is a vast, flat-floor space - around 4,000 square metres that can be configured however the event needs it. Dedicated production access and loading at stage level, green rooms, and a proper production storage area.
What that means in practice: you can get an 11-piece band, full backline, lighting rig, and PA into the venue without wheeling flight cases through a hotel lobby. There’s room to soundcheck properly. There’s space to build a stage setup that actually matches the scale of the room. And because it’s a flat floor, the event team can lay out the dancefloor, tables, and staging exactly where they want them. That’s rarer than you’d think at corporate venues.
Big Rooms Need Big Sound
A flat-floor hall that holds thousands is a different animal to a hotel function room. The sheer volume of space means a four-piece band with a couple of monitors will sound thin and lost.
This is where band size matters. Our 11-piece showband fills a room like the ICC Wales main hall properly - brass section, full rhythm section, multiple vocalists. The sound hits every corner without needing to push the PA into distortion. If you’re hiring a band for a venue this size, ask them what they’ve played that’s comparable. A band that’s brilliant in a 150-capacity barn will not necessarily translate to a hall hosting 1,000+ guests.
The Surprise Reveal Works Brilliantly
The event used a format we’d recommend to any corporate client at ICC Wales: conference in one section of the hall, band set up behind a partition in the other. When the conference wraps, the partition opens, and suddenly there’s a full showband ready to go.
The reaction is worth it every time. There’s a moment - maybe two seconds - where the audience processes what they’re seeing. Then the energy shifts completely. They’ve been sitting in conference mode for hours, and now the room has transformed. It’s a far better transition than “please make your way to the bar area while we set up.”
Production Makes or Breaks It
ICC Wales can handle serious production. The venue has its own AV infrastructure, but for a corporate event with live music, you want to bring your own PA and lighting. The dedicated production access means you can load in during the day while the conference is running in another part of the building - no awkward clashes, no rushing setup during a coffee break.
For this event, the client invested in proper production - full lighting rig, quality PA, the works. That investment shows. A band playing under strip lighting with a basic PA is a completely different experience to a band playing under a proper show rig with intelligent lighting. At a venue like ICC Wales, the room deserves - and rewards - that level of production.
Location Works in Your Favour
ICC Wales is just off junction 24 of the M4, with over 1,000 hotel rooms across the Celtic Manor Resort next door. For corporate clients, that’s a huge advantage - delegates can walk from their rooms to the venue, enjoy the entertainment until 2am, and not worry about transport. No taxis, no logistics headaches, no early departures because someone needs to catch a train.
For us as a South Wales band, it’s a home venue. We know the load-in, we know the production access, we know the room. That familiarity means less time problem-solving on the day and more time making sure the set is right.
What We’d Tell an Event Planner
If you’re organising a corporate event at ICC Wales and considering live entertainment:
- Match the band to the room. A hall this size needs presence. Think 8+ musicians minimum for an evening event.
- Use the partition. The surprise reveal format is tailor-made for this venue.
- Invest in production. The venue can handle it, and the difference between basic and proper lighting is night and day.
- Book the DJ too. A two-hour band set followed by a DJ until close gives you the best of both - live energy up front, seamless transition to party mode after.
- Brief the band on the event. We always want to know the audience, the tone, and the running order. A management conference crowd that’s been in sessions all day needs a different opening than a Christmas party.
We play corporate events at ICC Wales, Celtic Manor, and venues across South Wales and nationwide. If you’re planning something and want to talk about what works, get in touch.
