Joel Nelson Productions

We couldn’t have asked for a better company to work with for my daughter’s recent Bat Mitzvah. Admittedly, we were a bit clueless on the planning of the big event, so thank goodness Joel and his staff knew exactly what to do. He offered the perfect recommendations to make sure kids and adults would get out on the dance floor. JJ, the host and party motivator kept the party moving and on schedule the entire evening. Thanks to JJ and crew, our guests thoroughly enjoyed themselves.

We couldn’t have asked for a better DJ than DJ Lo (Julio). He was amazing! We loved his energy, attention to detail, and song choice. This was our third bar/​t mitzvah party for our family and he was the best DJ (and we even liked our other ones too). I loved how he was dressed as well.
Julio was able to incorporate our song choices and wishes into his routine in a seamless, totally fun way.
Joel Nelson and Joseph were great in organizing the details and DJ Lo was the perfect choice as our DJ.

Joseph is awesome! These guys have it all when it comes to an event. DJ, airbrush tattoos, live music — everything and anything! Whether it corporate, wedding they do it all! Highly recommend!

If you want a real party that covers all kinds of music, then hire Joel and his team. We used Manhattan Towers and they were simply the best for our wedding in July 2015. Our one request was to have a party and get everyone up to the dance floor after dinner, and that was accomplished! Joel was willing to work with us as we planned a long distance wedding and met with us over the phone to talk about our needs and timelines. Remember he has done this about 5000 times so he knows better than anyone how to get people moving. One of the best and most repeated compliments that we get from our wedding was «That was the most fun I have ever had at a wedding» We have Joel and his team to thank for that!

I have used Joel Nelson Productions multiple times for large events because they are truly the best entertainment production service in the Bay Area. I am a very particular customer (not always easy to deal with), and Joel and his crew have come through EVERY SINGLE TIME. They recently entertained at my son’s 8^th grade promotion dance, and the school said it was the best dance that they have witnessed ever. In fact, another son of mine is having his Bar Mitzvah next year, and I have already booked the entertainment with Joel. His staff is highly professional, his equipment is top-​notch, and his MCs/​DJs are extremely experienced and know how to get the party started. I host a lot of events, and I will not use any other company.

We had Joel and a band full of extraordinary musicians perform at our daughter’s wedding last Saturday night. Their performance was simply amazing. We had 150 people at the affair and more than a dozen went out of their way to tell my wife and I how much they loved the music. Thanks to Joel and team!!!

My daughter just had her Bat Mitzvah at Cinnabar Hills golf club in San Jose and although it was raining horribly in the beginning Joel and his DJ got their on time and created an amazing atmosphere of games, music and entertainment! Everyone from kids to adults commented on how great he was. I’m very grateful for all his guidance and he even played his guitar during havdallah. Can’t recommend him enough.

My wife and I had our wedding in July at The Kaiser Roof Garden and they used Joel Nelson as their music and entertainment. Joseph setup everything for us and he paired us with DJ Roy and he was great! We had several phone conversations prior to our wedding with Joseph and DJ Roy. Several weeks before the wedding we sent in a song list with our Introduction song, first dance, last dance and request from our guest. He also asked for our timeline to familiarize himself with the sequence of events. DJ Roy played the majority of our music mixed with some of his beats. He kept our guest dancing all night.
There was only one little tiny hiccup, somehow the wire lines were switched and the microphone wasn’t working for our introduction. For us that was not a big deal, our guest knew who we were and our music was playing when we walked out, so we were fine. It was quickly worked out and the mics were working for the remainder of the night! We would definitely recommend Joel Nelson and DJ Roy, they were AWESOME!!!

Joel and his team did a great job on a on a Bat Mitzvah party for my twin girls. It was not a trivial undertaking since my girls wanted a big fun party, but they also didn’t want the music too loud and they were a bit shy about dancing. Joel sent a DJ, emcee, and a photographer and they really made it work. Their sound and lighting brought the room to life. They really listened to our request on music wholesome for 13-​year olds, but also up-​to-​date and lively. The emcee moved the activities along nicely, and was flexible with last minute changes. We had dancing and games which were perfect for the kids and adults, lots of activity, and a balance for dancing and talking. The parents enjoyed to opportunities to dance with each other and the kids. We heard for weeks from our friends about how much fun they had. At the end of the night our twins didn’t want the party to be over, so what more can you ask?

Absolutely fantastic. Joel is a great guy and an incredible musician. He did my wedding and my sister’s. Everyone agreed: Joel is a 10!

Joel Nelson performed at a very important event for our company at a local winery. Joel (keyboard) and Roger (saxophone) were excellent to work with and played wonderful jazz music, which we had requested. We had a couple of changes throughout the evening and they were flexible about it – great professionals and gentlemen. Their music played an important part in the evening turning out successfully and beautifully.

Hi there.
My wife and I were married in May 2014 in Sacramento and worked with Frank Goldstein and the Manhattan Towers for all our musical needs. To say that we recommend Frank would be an extraordinary understatement — Frank was by far the most professional, warmest, most accommodating and kindest of any of our wedding vendors. His work and effort really brought our wedding together.
We wanted a wedding that mixed traditional Jewish music with fun wedding music and of course were on a budget. In Northern California, there weren’t a lot of choices for us in terms of musicians that can manage the music for a Tish, a Jewish processional/​recessional, a jazzy cocktail hour, several Horas, and then some fun party music. Not only did Frank knock each of these out of the park, he did so while working within our budget — reusing musicians when he could, filling gaps with DJ music, and doing his best to meet us where we wanted to be in terms of spend. It’s never cheap to get live musicians, but Frank brings such great value and experience that every penny was worth it.
Anyone planning a wedding knows that it’s a stressful process to say the least. Everyone has an opinion, and (if you’re lucky) you haven’t done this before so you don’t know what the hell is going on. You rely on vendors to guide you, but vendors also are out for themselves and are often trying to work every dollar out of your pocket. We all are adults and go into the process understanding this is the case. Hopefully when you plan your wedding, you run into someone like Frank Goldstein — someone who advocates on your behalf, someone who you trust and admire, someone so professional, you can’t help but listen to them. Someone who never says ‘No’ to you — unless ‘No’ is really the right answer and that’s what you need to hear.
If you’re looking for an amazing band, with an amazingly professional bandleader, look no further than Frank — he’ll make your wedding truly amazing.

We used Joel to do the lighting for our wedding. We had bistro lighting strung above the dining area and then uplighting in various areas on the main venue.
The lighting installed was so gorgeous and made everything pop perfectly. I couldn’t have been happier with how everything looked.
Joel was very easy to work with, reasonably priced, he never tried to push anything on us and the end result was professional, elegant, beautiful and romantic.
Thank you so much Joel!
~Kristen and Jesee

I hired Joel Nelson productions for my wedding in July and look forward to having them DJ my wedding as I have heard nothing but great things from my wedding planner and other event planners in the area. The staff is attentive and great at returning emails/​phone calls quickly and are very helpful and can give ideas as to how to make your event, or in my case, wedding, very special and specialized to your needs.

I had contemplated for very a long time whether to write this review or not (our wedding was in September of 2013), and I’ve finally decided that I should share my experiences so other Unilocalers can be well informed.
The majority of my communication with Joel Nelson Productions since the beginning was with Jason Mitchell, who was extremely wonderful and sounds like he would be a great DJ. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to book him in time for our wedding, so it was unclear whether the person assigned to our wedding would be just as good (although Jason reassured me that he would never use a DJ that he couldn’t use at his own wedding).
We also decided to use the same company later on for lighting because the other company we had contacted never got back to us. I really appreciated that Jason had visited our venue to ensure that our lighting options would work well and would have absolutely no issues.
What happened next was what ultimately resulted my review being a glowing 5 to a 1 (I honestly wanted to rate my DJ a 0, but sadly I couldn’t)…
About a month or two before our wedding date, I began to receive sporadic communications with 2 other people — one responsible for our wedding timeline and another is our actual DJ. The coordinator was great and was able to pump out our timeline within a few day’s time; however, what had irked me greatly was how our DJ responded every time I tried to reach out to him.
Our DJ and we had incompatible schedules due to work, so it was already hard to get in touch with him to begin with — I totally understand & took that into consideration by contact him very early on about a month before our wedding date. Instead of being open to a discussion and prepare for our wedding day, our DJ brushed me off and asked me to call him closer to our wedding date.
I waited until about 2 weeks before our wedding date and tried MANY times to get in touch with him — when I finally did get in touch with him, he again said it’s not a good time to talk in details but he would appreciate it if I send him our «wedding song» list so he can research the songs and made sure he would have them available for our wedding.
I promptly sent the song list & again waited — keep in mind that in all this time period, I never had an in-​depth discussion with our DJ as to what we wanted/​liked and not wanted/​liked for our wedding. When we finally had our final phone conversation about 3 days before our wedding day, our DJ reassured me that he knows what he’s doing and that he has experiences from «1500 weddings a year» so there’s absolutely NOTHING to worry about based on the song list & the timeline he had received.
On the DAY OF our wedding…
1. My then-​fiancé and I were getting ready at the hotel & I get a phone call from my DJ saying that he CANNOT find the mp3 of one of our songs (for my bouquet toss)!!!
2. We had asked that he make announcements for group photos right after the ceremony and he was NOWHERE to be found — our bridesmaids/​groomsmen had to take over for him
3. For our wedding party introduction, we had specifically told him what to do both in the timeline AND the song list he received, yet he had NO idea what he was doing and had to confirm with me minutes before our introduction
4. Our DJ had reassured me that he would play song selections that were «similar» to the song list that I had sent him; instead, he played EXACTLY what was listed then started playing random OLD songs that our wedding guests could not relate to… as you can imagine, the wedding was pretty much dead when we tried to start the dance hour. When my MOH asked him to play more contemporary songs, our DJ rudely told her that she had «no idea» what she was talking about and that the crowd was feeling the music…
Despite all the positive experiences I had during the 1^st part of our planning process, it’s really unfortunate that our wedding didn’t end up the way it was promised by the company.

I want to tell you that Adam Goldstein rocks! I met him through my day of wedding coordinator and was so impressed by his personality and professionalism. His MC skills truly made our wedding reception a party! He even was able to blend two songs to make our first dance truly memorable. A huge thanks to Adam and his team our wedding would have not been the same with out you!
Occasion: my wedding
Date: June 29^th, 2013
Location: St Francis Yacht Club

Joel Nelson productions is the best in Bat/​Bar Mitzvah entertainment you will find in the Bay Area! We just had our daughter’s Bat Mitzvah in Lafayette and our expectations were exceeded. To start, Adam and Aaron are completely professional follow through and ability to listen and customize the experience. I had unique ideas about how I wanted the event to flow — combining live music with the DJ. The incredible, adorable Emcees Aaron and Youni were a hit with everyone. Adam and Aaron provided excellent insights into what really works for this age group and absolutely knows how to make a party a success.
My objective was to make the party (evening/​sit down/​formal) fun for every single person — all ages. I have never seen 150 people on the dance floor at once but Aaron with his incredible personality had everyone involved and having THE time of their life. The DJ can make or break the party and you can feel confident that Joel Nelson has the professionalism and experience to make the event a success. We added the fun elements of lighting and party box and I would definitely suggest these options.
I was very happy to have Joel Nelson at the event as another DJ has quite a bit of business in this area and at least 10 friends with B’nai Mitzvah age children asked me for their number and information — if I must say so myself… it was probably the best party/​Bat Mitzvah I have been too ever. To me, the catering and the music are essential and I can assure any parent that you will have the best experience with Joel Nelson Productions.
Lastly, I work in corporate events and my expectations of suppliers is huge. From a personal and professional perspective I would not only hire Joel Nelson again for private, social events but absolutely for my corporate events as well. Thank you Adam, Aaron, Youni, DJ and Joel for making our special day the best ever!

We hired Joel Nelson Productions for our Wedding and couldn’t be happier with the results. Music was a very high priority for us, so we had a vision for what we wanted for Ceremony Music, and Joel made it happen.
We wanted a Guitar and Violin Duo, which isn’t your standard affair. Joel himself came out played guitar, and the violinist was amazing! They performed flawlessly. For the rest of my life whenever I hear Wonderwall I will think about walking down the aisle.
My Dad has been a musician for the last 3 decades and had nothing but praise for the Ceremony Music.
Thanks Joel!

Joel Nelson productions almost ruined my wedding. The lack communication from their event coordinator, Jason Mitchell was completely unacceptable. They did not have a DJ assigned to my wedding until 2 days before the event and often would not return phone calls and emails. I had signed a contract agreement months in advance or would have fired them on the spot. Thankfully the DJ that took my event and who actually has his own company was amazing. (I wish I would have hired him directly)
I paid top dollar for professional services and received almost no service at all.
I caution anyone thinking of hiring this company and strongly recommend that you don’t.

My husband and I were very happy we chose Joel Nelson Productions for our wedding. The prices were reasonable, the staff was friendly, and they always responded quickly. They also accommodated our play and most importantly do NOT play list.
On the day of we had Rick and he was great! He was on time, played everything we wanted, helped us stay on our timeline, and kept the energy up throughout the night.