| Description | Price |
| One Full hour of Solo Steel Drumming with Vocals and custom Backing Tracks | $250 (USD) |
| One and a Half - Two Full hours of Solo Steel Drumming with Vocals and custom Backing Tracks | $350 (USD) |
| Two and a Half - Three Full hours of Solo Steel Drumming with Vocals and custom Backing Tracks | $525 (USD) |
| Three and a Half - Four Full hours of Solo Steel Drumming with Vocals and custom Backing Tracks | $700 (USD) |
| Private Virtual Live - Cast to Anywhere in the World via Internet by the hour | $150 (USD) |
Chris Arpad Solo Steel Drum Entertainment brings a touch of the islands to everything he plays. He’s a one-man, laid-back beach party with Calypso, Reggae, Tiki, Hawaiian, Bob Marley, Jimmy Buffett, Santana, Yacht Rock, Motown and so much more…it’s good for what ails ya!
= free travel (up to 90 miles)
Over the many years, I’ve gathered an eclectic mix of over a thousand tunes largely from fans' requests. Here is a sample list of music that I have at one time or another, performed as a steel drum soloist. If you find something you like let me know & I’ll be happy to try to play it for you, or if you have a suggestion - I’m always up for new things! That’s how this list grows. As always, Thanks for your tips, I greatly appreciate it!!!
I’ll have mine with a twist of island…
311
Love Song
4 Non-Blondes
What’s Up
Aerosmith
I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing
Andrea Bocelli
Besame Mucho
Antonio Carlos Jobim
Black Orpheus (A Day In the Life of a Fool)
Girl from Ipanema
America
Horse With No Name
Sister Golden Hair
Tin Man
Ventura Highway
Amy Winehouse
Girl from Ipanema
B-52’s
Love Shack
Beatles
All You Need Is Love
Back In the USSR
Here Comes the Sun
Hey Jude
Imagine - John Lennon
Twist & Shout
With A Little Help Of My Friends
Beach Boys
Barbara Anne
California Girls
Help Me, Rhonda
Kokomo
Ben Harper
Steal My Kisses
Big Mountain
Say Hey, I Love You
Bill Withers
Just the Two of Us
Blondie
The Tide Is High
Bob Dylan
North Country Girl
Bob Marley
3 Little Birds
Buffalo Soldier
Could You Be Loved
Get Up Stand Up
I Shot the Sheriff
Is This Love
Jamming
Legalize It
Lively Up Yourself
Natural Mystic
No Woman No Cry
One Love
Positive Vibration
Redemption Song
Stir It Up
Trench Town Rock
Waiting In Vain
Who The Cap Fit
Bobby Bloom
Montego Bay
Bobby Darin
Beyond The Sea
Bobby McFerrin
Don’t Worry Be Happy
Bob Seeger
Old Time Rock & Roll
Bobby Vinton
Sealed With a Kiss
Bread
Make It With You
Bruno Mars
Uptown Funk
Calypso - Traditional
Day O / Banana Boat Song - Harry Belafonte
Hot Hot Hot - Buster Poindexter
Island In the Sun
Jamaican Farewell - Harry Belafonte
Jump In the Line - Harry Belafonte
The Hammer -
Yellow Bird - Harry Belefonte
Lion Sleeps Tonight - The Tokens
Mary Anne
Matilda - Harry Belafonte
Shame & Scandal In The Family
Sugar Bum Bum
Under The Sea
Who Let The Dogs Out
Chrissie Hynde
I Got You, Babe
Christopher Cross
Ride Like the Wind
Christmas
Angles We Have Heard On High
Blue Christmas - Kelly Clarkson
Christmas in the Sand
Christmas Island - Jimmy Buffett
Christmas Time is Here - Ray Parker Jr.
Coventry Carol
Driving Home For Christmas - Chris Rea
Feliz Navidad
Frosty the Snowman
Happy Christmas, War Is Over
Hark The Herald Angeles Sing
Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
Holiday
Holly Jolly Christmas
I’ll Be Home For Christmas
Jingle Bells
Jingle Bell Rock
Joy To the World
Last Christmas - Wham
Mele Kalikimaka - Jimmy Buffett
Mistletoe - Justin Beiber
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
Santa’s Boogie Woogie Choochoo Train
Shake Up Christmas
Silent Night
Sing With Me - Forest Blaak
Walking In a Winter Wonderland
White Christmas
Coldplay
Clocks
Commodores
Brick House
Easy
Connie Francis
Never On A Sunday
Country
Achy Breaky Heart - Billy Ray Cyrus
All My Exes Live in Texas - George Strait
Almost Jamaica - The Bellamy Brothers
Blue Eyes Crying In the Rain - Willie Nelson
Boot Scootin Boogie - Brooks & Dunn
Friends In Low Places - Garth Brooks
If I Said You Had a Beautiful Body - Bellamy Brothers
One Margarita - Luke Bryant
She Wants To Rock - Warren Brothers
Silver Wings - Merle Haggard
Stardust - Willie Nelson
Take Me Back To Tulsa - Bob Wills
Tennessee Whiskey - Chris Stapleton
When The Sun Goes Down - Kenny Chesney
Two Pina Coladas - Garth Brooks
Wrong - Waylen Jennings
Creedence Clearwater Revival
Bad Moon Rising
Down On the Corner
Have You Ever Seen The Rain
Proud Mary
Cyndy Lauper
Girl Just Wanna Have Fun
Dobie Gray
Drift Away
Don Henley
Boys Of Summer - slow acoustic version
Duran Duran
Hungry Like the Wolf
Ed Sheeran
Perfect
Eddie Grant
Electric Avenue
Elvis Presley
Blue Spanish Eyes
Teddy Bear
Eric Clapton
Knocking On Heaven’s Door
Tears In Heaven
Wonderful Tonight
Fleetwood Mac
Dreams
Foreigner
I Want To Know What Love Is
Frankie Ford
Sea Cruise
Glenn Campbell
I Love How You Love Me
Gregory Isaacs
Cool Down The Place
Night Nurse
Guns & Roses
Sweet Child of Mine
Hall & Oates
Maneater
Harry Nilson
Lime In the Coconut
Hawaiian
Aloha ‘Oe - Traditional
Baby Be Mine - Booost
Beyond The Reef - All-Star Hawaiian
Big Ship - One Groove
Blue Hawaii
I Can’t Help Falling In Love With You
Ku Uipo
Country Roads Take Me Home
Hawaii Five O’
Hawaiian Paradise
Hawaiian Rollercoaster Ride
Hawaiian War Chant
Honey Baby
I’ll Remember You
Lava - Disney
Let’s Talk Dirty in Hawaiian - John Prine
Little Grass Shack
Lovely Hula Hands
Mekanani Kaupo
Menehune Beach Bum Boogie - Imua
The Hukilau - No Shirt, No Shoes, No Service
Pearly Shells
Sophisticated Hula
Tiny Bubbles
What a Wonderful World/ Somewhere Over Rainbow
Howard Livingston
Blame It On the Margaritas
How Bout Tomorrow
Magic In KeyWest
Mangrove Mama’s
Inner Circle
Bad Boys
Sweat
Jack Johnson
Girl, I Wanna Lay You Down
James Taylor
How Sweet It Is
Jan & Dean
Surf City
Surf Medley - Jr
Jason Mraz
I’m Yours
Jean Knight
Mr. Big Stuff
Jesse Rice
Go Away Cloud
Hammock In Havana
Jennifer Lopez - JLo
Let’s Get Loud
Jimmy Buffett
A Pirate Looks at 40
Another Saturday Night
Barometer Soup
Boat Drinks
Brown Eyed Girl
Changes In Latitudes
Cheese Burger in Paradise
Christmas Island
Come Monday
Fins
Grapefruit, Juicy fruit
I Will Play for Gumbo
It’s Five O Clock Somewhere
Jamaica Mistaica
Hey Good Lookin
Last Mango in Paris
Livingston Saturday Night
Lovely Cruise
Manana
Margaritaville
Mele Kalikimaka
One Particular Harbour
Son Of A Sailor
Southern Cross
Why Don’t We Get Drunk and Screw
Jimmy Cliff
You Can Get It
Johnny Nash
I Can See Clearly Now
KC & The Sunshine Band
Boogie Shoes
I’m Your Boogie Man
Keep It, Comin Love
Please Don’t Go
Shake Your Booty
That’s The Way I Like It
Kool & The Gang
Get Down On It
Let’s Go Dancing Reggae
Laid Back
Sunshine Reggae
Led Zeppelin
Please Don’t Go
Stairway to Heaven
Leo Sayer
You Make Me Feel Like Dancing
Linda Ronstadt
Blue Bayou
Long Beach Dub All Stars
Saw Red
Looking Glass
Brandy
Lou Bega
Mambo #5
Luis Fonsi
Despacito
Lynyrd Skynyrd
Free Bird
Magic
Rude
Malo
Suavacito
Marc Broussard
Cry To Me
Marcia Griffiths
Electric Boogie
Marvin Gaye
Let’s Get It On
Men At Work
Down Under
Miami Sound Machine
Conga
Michael Buble
Sway
Music Explosion
Little Bit O Soul
Musical Youth
Pass The Dutchie
Misc
Baby Shark
Bailando Marimba - Sebastian
Cha Cha - Chelo
Danza Kuduro
Happy Birthday
Groove Is In the Heart - Deelite
If You’re Happy and You Know It
Iko Iko
It Is Well With My Soul
Monster Mash - Bobby Boris Pickett
Pachelbel's Cannon in D
Tequila
The Tiki tiki tiki Room - Disney
You Are My Sunshine
You’re So Cool - theme True Romance
Neil Diamond
Sweet Caroline Reggae
Neil Young
Harvest Moon
Ottis Redding
Stand By Me
Sitting On The Dock of the Bay
Ottmar Leibert
Barcelona Nights
Starry Night
Paris Hilton
Stars Are Blind
Paul Simon
50 Ways to Leave Your Lover
Peter Frampton
Baby, I Love Your Way
Pink Floyd
Another Brick In the Wall
Rod Stewart
Maggie May
Mine For Me
Rolling Stones
As Tears Go By
Honky Tonk Woman
Roy Orbison
Pretty Woman
Rupert Holmes
Escape - Pina Colada
Sam Cook - Ben E King
Spanish Harlem
Santana Carlos
Black Magic Woman
Contigo
Evil Ways
Game of Love
Maria Maria
Oye Como Va
Put Your Lights On
Smooth
Turn Your Lights Down Low
Santo & Johnny, Betsy Brye
Sleepwalk
Shaggy
Angel
It Wasn’t Me
Sheryl Crow
All I Wanna Do
Sinatra
Fly Me To The Moon
My Way
Smokey Robinson
Cruisin
Solomon Burke
Cry To Me
Spyro Gyro
Morning Dance
Stealers Wheel
Stuck In the Middle With You
Steve Miller
The Joker
Stevie Wonder
Isn’t She Lovely
Superstitious
Sting
Love Is The Seventh Wave
Styx
Babe
Sublime
Badfish
Santeria
Smoke 2 Joints
Sugar Ray
Fly
The Alarm
Rain In The Summertime
The Contours
Do You Love Me
The Doors
Light My Fire
The Drifters
Under The Boardwalk
The Eagles
California Hotel
Desperado
I Can’t Tell You Why
Lyin Eyes
One Of These Nights
New Kid In Town
Peaceful Easy Feeling
Take It Easy
Tequila Sunrise
Witchy Woman
The Heptones
Sea Of Love
The Kingsmen
Louie Louie
The McCoys
Hand On Sloopy
The Monkees
I’m a Believer
The New Seekers
Never Ending Song of Love
The Starlite Orchestra
Put Your Head On My Shoulder
The Temptations
Just My Imagination
My Girl
The Young Rascals
Grooving
Three Dog Night
Joy To The World
Tom Petty
Free Falling
Mary Jane’s Last Dance
You Don’t Know How It Feels
Tony Bennett
In The Middle Of An Island
Toto
Africa
UB40
Bring Me Your Cup
Good Situation
Groovin
Here I am
Impossible Love
Rat In Mi Kitchen
Red Wine
The Way You Do The Things You Do
Watch Dogs
Van Morrison
Crazy Love
Domino
War
Cisco Kid
Low Rider
Wild Cherry
Play That Funky Music
Willie Nelson
Blue Eyes Crying In the Rain
On The Road Again
Stardust
Wilson Pickett
Mustang Sally
Zac Brown
Island Song
Toes In The Sand
Ziggy Marley
Drive
I provide all necessary sound equipment for most events. If performing on a large stage with P.A. provided I can provide a stereo line out to a direct box.
For most events, I arrive with my sound equipment set up and require one standard electrical outlet for power. I travel with a 5'x8' equipment trailer and a Jeep. So parking arrangements are always helpful.
I am a self-contained performer, usually rolling in with one cart of equipment. I have all the necessary sound equipment, I use a Bose speaker system, and will require just one standard electrical outlet, and a dry, flat-shaded area to perform - Indoors or Outside is fine.
Steel drums are susceptible to detuning in the direct sun, hence the request for a shaded area outdoors.
The staging area is best with a 10' x 10' area, however, as a solo act I am capable of working with a smaller staging area. So let me know what you are working with and I'll see what I can do.
Over the last 4 decades, Performed with and for many major acts including, Jimmy Buffett, Santana, Bonnie Raitt, Sinbad, Hootie & the Blowfish, Foreigner, Los Lobos, Head East, Rain Makers, Tower of Power, Steel Pulse, Marcia Ball, Jeff Healey, Stanley Jordan, Beardo,
I love all kinds of events, grand and small - but I really appreciate performing and creating the perfect ambiance for private events. I'm an entertainer at heart.
Started playing music at age 10, then performing professionally at age 14 in a country band. Continued teaching and performing while attending Wichita State University, where I met and studied with Ellie Mannette, the creator of the instrument of steel drums. It's been a whirlwind life of music every since. I managed and performed in a steel drum band, Stainless Steel in Kansas. Branched out as a soloist and moved to Los Angeles where I performed full time for 27 years, now for the last few years I have migrated to the Sonoran Desert life in Tucson, Arizona.
I love the soulful Latin vibe of Santana, and the spirit of Bob Marley's reggae makes my heart sing. Meeting and performing for Jimmy Buffett was very impactful to me, his lifestyle entrepreneurship and drive in creating his own genre of music inspired me a great deal. And I treasure my earliest days with Stainless Steel, which was my longest running band experience. Great musicians, Benjamin Munevar's Colombian music always has a special place in my heart. I cannot choose a greatest song of all time! Mercy me!
Generally, I only require 20-30 minutes, however, I tend to arrive an hour early to set up for my performances. I will begin promptly, if not earlier than scheduled, and perform continuously unless otherwise directed.
Outside performances are fine for me, the steel drums require shade from the direct sun, the metal heats quickly with the chrome finish and they will sound out of tune, so Shade please! Other than that, a dry, level playing surface is preferred. You will find me poolside, court side, on patios, yachts, islands, and more! Try me!
I have over a 1,000 songs in my repertoire and am constantly learning more. I love to have a clients input for their event, even if it is only a genre or a suggestion of a style. I can work with that, and if you have a specific song in mind let me know in advance, I'll do my best to have it for you. I often take requests, and rarely do set lists. I prefer to play to the moment and the crowd.
" I feel like I am in the islands, on vacation!" " I love that I can hear myself and enjoy a conversation, the music is always at just the right volume." "You made our Party!" " I love your selection of music, you cover so many styles." " You always look like you are having such a great time when you are performing!"
Arizona Stitch Lab - Tucson, AZ
Catalina State Park - Tucson, AZ
Craft Republic, Tucson, AZ
Charron Vineyard, Vail, AZ
Fairwinds Desert Point Senior Luxury Living Resort
Fini’s Landing, Tucson, AZ
Fork & Fire Smokehouse + Tasting Room - Tucson, AZ
Kingan Gardens, Tucson, AZ
Kivel Kampus of Care, Phoenix, AZ
Lake Havasu Area Chamber of Commerce
La Sonora at Dove Mountain, AZ
London Bridge Resort Convention Center, Havasu City, AZ
Maricopa Multi-Cultural Festival - Maricopa, AZ
Oro Valley Social & Business Club, Oro Valley, AZ
Saguaro Buttes - Tucson, AZ
SKP Saguaro Co-op, Benson, AZ
The Buttes at Reflections Weddings and Events, Tucson, AZ
The Lakes at St. David, AZ
The Landing - Tucson, AZ
The Pit, Tucson, AZ
The Tucson Mall - Tucson, AZ
Thunder Canyon Brewery, Tucson, AZ
Tropical Smoothie Cafe locations Tucson, Phoenix
Tucson Racquet Club, Tucson, AZ
Ventana Canyon Club & Lodge, Tucson, AZ
John Steward’s Home, Sedona, AZ
Watermark at Oro Valley
Watermark, Fountains at LaCholla
Watermark, The Inn
Wildfire Wings Company - Tucson, AZ
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