We used Fourth Estate Audio (ask for Larue!) for our wedding on October 2nd, 2010 in Golf, IL. They were everything we could ask for. Their prices were extremely reasonable compared with the competition and their web-materials were very intuitive and easy for wedding-planning. Their song selection set-up and questionnaire is pretty much the most "plug and play" you can get for a wedding event. But most important was the execution. They really listened and took to heart every song recommendation we made on our original list and happily fielded recommendations from friends and family on the floor. Our DJ, Larue, was top of the line--very professional, personable, and knowledgeable. Not only did he use the songs on our list, but he knew WHEN certain clusters of songs would be best, WHAT would be best to start with (to make sure all generations felt included), and what ADDITIONAL similar-genre songs to work in at various points. It felt like we had our very own iTunes Genius program being put to work for us in real-time! Finally, this was a young wedding with many people in their 20s and we wanted to avoid some of the corny and trite material that usually shows up in wedding playlists. Larue was GREAT about this--he had a sense for the style we wanted and really made it work. Moreover, he was very good about coordinating the introductions and speeches--not overbearing but not invisible, the perfect balance. I should add that if someone WANTS all of the usual corny stuff (Electric Slide, Chicken Dance, etc.), I'm sure they'd be happy to go whole hog on that too. Basically, they take your vision and execute it and that's what I was really impressed with. When all of my friends were turning to me and saying on the dance floor, "Wow this is so YOU GUYS," I felt that Larue and Fourth Estate Audio had really come through for us. I recommend unreservedly and whole-heartedly! read more

If you are searching for a top notch DJ for your wedding, one who will go above and beyond to make your wedding the most memorable night ever, then stop right here and book Fourth Estate Audio RIGHT NOW!!! We booked Fourth Estate because of all the amazing reviews they had on so many review sites. My husband and I booked this company also because, after meeting with Jay, we felt like they really cared about us and making our night special and they really love DJ'ing and are passionate about it! At the beginning of the process, Jay helped answer any and all questions that we had in the months prior to our wedding on May 20, 2016. He was so thorough, clear and understanding. He assigned Scott to be our DJ, and people are still talking about how amazing he was! Scott went out of his way to help out when a couple things with the venue got a little off schedule. He was 100% there to help out and make sure things ran smoothly. He was always attentive and communicative with me and my husband. Scott was 100% ok with playing many of our recommended songs and the one request I had was that I want the dance floor packed all night....THE DANCE FLOOR WAS PACKED ALL NIGHT UNTIL MIDNIGHT!!! It was the wedding of my dreams and Scott and Fourth Estate Audio are a top reason for that!! The day after the wedding I heard from my guests, "that DJ was the best ever!", "omg where did you find this DJ?", "we have never been to a more fun, exciting and entertaining wedding than this!", "my feet hurt from dancing the whole night!." Our families and guests were so impressed by Scott's professionalism, but most importantly, that he gave 100% attention and commitment to making this a celebratory and memorable day. And he was having a blast doing it!! Thank you thank you to Scott and Fourth Estate Audio! It was the most perfect night! More than 10 stars... I give 100!!! read more

I have never used a DJ before, so I was somewhat nervous trying to select a DJ for our wedding ceremony and our reception. I decided to try Fourth Estate Audio based on the excellent reviews that I read online. And I'm so glad that I did! The experience with Fourth Estate Audio was OUTSTANDING from beginning to end. Jay responded to my initial inquiry right away, and our first meeting with him was very helpful. My fiance and I really appreciated his many years of expertise and his helpful suggestions. Jay is very professional, and he made us feel comfortable right from the start. The Fourth Estate website made it easy for us to select our songs and give all of the details that our DJ needed to know. Scott Andre was the DJ for our wedding, and he was terrific! He was well-prepared with all of the songs we wanted for the wedding ceremony and for the dancing at the reception, but he was also flexible to change things up when we wanted to. We wanted to do some square dancing and some Israeli folk dancing at the reception, but we didn't know in advance where these dances would fit with the overall flow of the reception. On the day of the wedding, Scott did a great job switching between regular dance music to square dance music to Israeli dance songs, at a moment's notice, and everyone had a blast! Since our wedding reception was on Sunday afternoon and we didn't have any alcohol at our wedding, we were wondering if many people would be dancing. Thanks to Scott, there were people dancing all afternoon! Many people commented on how much fun they had dancing and on what a great dance list we had! Thank you, Scott, for making our wedding reception so much fun! I highly recommend Fourth Estate Audio for any event that you may be planning. The prices are very reasonable, and they do a GREAT job! read more

Fourth Estate Audio is top notch all the way. Jay was very responsive to all of our questions and concerns. Every single email I sent was met with a prompt and courteous reply. They have a very user-friendly online system for putting together your song list, reception fact sheet, etc. Fourth Estate Audio has successfully done this so many times they've literally thought of everything. The DJ for our wedding was Scott Andre and he was simply amazing. We could not have asked for a better DJ and emcee. He played all of our must play songs, didn't mess up a single name during the introductions, made the announcements we requested, and kept the party hopping all night long. (He actually told us before the dancing started that if the dance floor looks a little empty he plays a slow song to fill it back up. I thought "That's not gonna work." Well it did work. Every. Single. Time. Note to self: don't try to out-DJ the DJ. He knows what he's doing.) Scott also played a lot of guest requests. My personal pet peeve is when my request never gets played at a wedding so I was glad our guests didn't have that experience. He even downloaded "Turn Back Time" during the reception just because my mom requested it (she's a huge Cher fan). AND he gave my mom a special shout out when the song played. He's just, like, the best DJ ever. Our guests did have one complaint the next day...that their feet were sore from dancing all night! Seriously though, I strongly suggest you hire Fourth Estate Audio. You and your guests will not regret it. Working with them was the easiest and least stressful part of wedding planning. If I could give them a million stars I would. 5 hardly seems like enough. read more

Jay was consistently responsive and supportive throughout our entire wedding planning process. From the moment we signed the contract and began discussing the details, he was diligent in addressing every single question and concern we had. About a week before the wedding, we had a phone call with Jay to finalize event details and our music list. During that conversation, he made us feel at ease, assuring us that there was nothing to worry about. This was a huge relief, especially considering how busy we were preparing for the big day. While there was a minor issue that arose the day before the wedding concerning the USB drive we provided, which contained the music for the reception, Jay immediately contacted us to resolve any potential problems. Since we are not professionals when it comes to choosing dance music, we provided Jay with a rough description of our preferred music style and trusted him to take charge of selecting the exact songs. It turned out to be an excellent decision because most of our guests thoroughly enjoyed the music that night. Jay's ability to curate the perfect playlist added an extra layer of joy to our celebration. It's worth mentioning that our wedding was entirely in Chinese, with some Chinese songs included, and Jay seamlessly incorporated these elements into our celebration. So, don't hesitate to consult with him, even if you're planning a non-English wedding. As this was our first wedding and Jay was our first DJ :D, we didn't have much to compare or reference. However, Jay's service exceeded our requirements and expectations. He played a significant role in making our special day memorable. read more

First off- I've worked in the music industry for approximately 16 years. I know "real deal" guys from hacks. Jay is absolutely "real deal". Let me get this out of the way- you might find a cheaper DJ.... but, at what cost to the wedding experience? I've seen too many cheap DJ's ruin weddings. Heck, almost every wedding I've ever been to has been hurt by the DJ. Thankfully, not our wedding! Jay is a pro. We had ours at Katherine Legge in Hinsdale. He knows the place inside and out. He even handled 2 separate soundtracks that I created for him- on separate floors- at the same time! This is a company that does great business, gives solid advice and is 100% professional during the wedding. Jay worked with me on every aspect of the music... even going as far as to download songs for the wedding that I gave him corrupt files for. He helps run the evening wonderfully- everything from quiet "hushes" to joyous announcements. Even when things slipped a little off schedule, he rolled with it all beautifully and brought us back onto track. I could rave forever about his skills with the guests and choices of dance music (from our selections). I'll leave it at this- if you want a superior MC, solid music choices, great lighting, a skilled manager of resources, high end sound and a guy who works with you every step to ensure your happiness- hire Jay. Fourth Estate Audio is worth every penny. read more

Every party needs some type of music. Every party needs Fourth Estate Audio. Whether you want background music for your cocktail hour, fabulous dinner music, and the best dance music ever, Fourth Estate Audio can provide it all. And they did just that for our party. Jay, the DJ, was an excellent Emcee for our party. He arrived early to setup, just as he said he would. He was extremely organized, very professional, and very accommodating to any time line changes we had throughout our party. He really did an outstanding job. He has a vast database of songs from all eras - making it easy for you to select all your favorite songs, to create your song list for your event. And, what was important to us was - would he play the songs we requested on our list ? Jay, did indeed, play the songs we requested. Since good music really sets the tone to any event, you do need a DJ. And since your Party DJ needs to be one step ahead of the game, throughout your event, you need an experienced DJ. I would highly recommend Fourth Estate Audio for your Wedding, Birthday party, Anniversary party, Corporate event, Holiday party, etc. Thanks to Fourth Estate Audio, our party was a success, and a memorable event, and yours will be too. read more

We had Fourth Estate Audio as the DJ for our wedding in Chicago. They were very punctual in getting there and getting set up. In preparation for our event, we had one conversation with the president of their organization and then had a call with the actual DJ that would be at our event the week before. They were very adamant about having a robust playlist of songs, so definitely make sure you have a great selection of material picked out for them to play. We love country music and at one point during the night that was all that was being played and the rest of our wedding guests weren't feeling it. We were able to ask the DJ to change it up and the vibe of the wedding definitely picked up. We appreciated their ability to be flexible and go with the flow. At the end of the night, the party was really fun and everyone was enjoying themselves so we paid extra to extend the party from 11:30 to Midnight. Not a big deal, but definitely glad we asked before they just shut down the party. It was nice again that they were flexible to extend the night by a half hour on short notice though. Overall we had a great nice and it was nice to have someone there to keep the energy of the group up and make sure we had a good time! read more

NOTE: I had my wedding in 2009 in the Chicago burbs, but I am helping a friend with her friend's wedding and am recommending my DJ so I just wanted to put my review out there. In-Short: Professional, on time, well priced, played the music I requested, avoided the music on my "do not play" list. Helped out during the talking points. Details: I was looking around for a DJ and my price was a bit limited. I finally chose Fourth Estate Audio through their references on their website and called a few. Communication with the owner was easy and setting the details (duration of music, names during the introduction, etc.) was also simple. The DJs were up to date with the music I had selected. They played the music we had on our list (I think, but we were away for an hour) and, during some talking points, helped out to move the event long (you can tell they were experienced with weddings). Overall, they kept it simple and it was what we wanted. I would recommend them to friends and family. Random Note: The DJ caught the bouquet because it was thrown too far...overall a good sport. read more

For me the most important part of our wedding was the music. Fourth Estate Audio and specifically Jay Congdon provided probably the best experience we could have hoped for. Jay was extremely diligent in setting up meeting times and promptly sending out email with detailed questions. He responded back to every one of our emails within a day, something that is very rare amongst most djs. Fourth Estate's website was easy to navigate and their were links to where we could build our own playlist and fill out a reception detail sheet for the specific things we wanted. They provided microphones for our ceremony and reception and their speakers provided excellent sound for the room we were in. DJ Jay took our playlist and made into something I could have never even imagined. He read the crowd and knew exactly when to throw in a slow song or a sing along song. Fourth Estate Audio and DJ Jay provided us with peace of mind and we were told our music was some of the best of any weddings people have attended. Do not hesitate to book Fourth Estate for your wedding!!!! read more

Jay was amazing. We found him online and met with him in person, after meeting with him we could tell he was professional and very knowledgeable, we booked with him the same day. Jay's website makes everything easy leading up to the wedding, from creating your timeline, to picking your music for the big day. We loved how he provides you with a flash drive if theres any music that you would like him to play that isn't in his library. We had Jay for the ceremony and the reception and he kept the whole night flowing seamlessly, I wanted a very specific part of a song to walk down the aisle to and he assured me timing wasn't going to be an issue and just cut and faded the music when need be, our sand ceremony ran long and the song I chose was ending but he did an amazing job at looping the music without it being noticeable. For the reception he handled the cake cutting, speeches, dances amazingly and once the dance floor was open he kept people on the floor all night long. We had absolutely nothing to worry about when working with Jay. Highly recommend!!! read more

Jay is the Man ! Fourth Estate Audio has a very easy, interactive website that was extremely helpful in setting up our music list. We had a Spanish/English reception and Fourth Estate's selection was huge. Even when there was an obscure song that wasn't listed, Jay was able to locate it. He even located the obscure version we wanted ! When we were looking for a DJ service, we wanted someone dependable and professional, because if there is no music, there is no reception in my opinion. Jay really helped out too in getting us organized. He was patient and able to roll with last minute changes in the program. We were a bit overwhelmed and having normal wedding day craziness. Jay remained calm and took the reins which is what you want. Our guests were very complimentary on Fourth Estate Audio and loved the music selections. Jay also sent us a beautiful video which incorporated pictures from the reception I can't recommend him enough ! read more

Jay was the DJ at our friend's wedding a few years back. Typically I don't remember DJ's at weddings but he was great so we figured we would reach out to him. He turned out to be the first and only DJ that we interviewed. From the start he made us feel comfortable and confident that he would do a great job and he did! He was super easy to work with throughout the process as well as the day of our wedding! Through all the madness of wedding planning it was nice to not have to worry about Jay and to just know that he would be great. He doesn't come with much equipment which I was a little worried about, however, it was no problem! His equipment is small but mighty! We got married in a large space and the acoustics sounded wonderful! Jay played a great mix of music we requested a head of time as well as music that kept everyone on the dance floor all night long! I cant thank Jay enough for doing such a wonderful job! read more

My fiance and I looked at a number of DJ services for our wedding, and ultimately chose Jay and FirstAudio. The reasons are nearly limitless, but talking with Jay and then Scott, well frankly they were professional, courteous, confident, and fun to work with. The website was incredibly easy to work with, and the entire event went off without a problem from them.This was the second time we had seen them perform as they had been at other weddings that we had attended. I must say we were very impressed. Scott was our DJ for the evening and he did a fantastic job. He introduced everyone and was super fun for the whole evening. He did a fantastic job motivating people on the dance floor, and for the tosses. He had a tough crowd, and he definitely worked his magic with us. The sound was great, the setup was awesome, and the mood was set just right by him. I would recommend them to anyone looking for a DJ service. read more

I would highly recommend this DJ. He made our wedding very special. With great selection of music, the lighting was perfect, great sound equipment for the speeches for both inside and outside parts of our ceremony, but best of all Jay provided a cost you cannot beat. If anything I feel we got way more than we paid for. He was easy to do Business with and got our guest on the dance floor. I was also satisfied on how professionally and on point the music was executed for all the main parts of the wedding (exp walking down the aisle, first dance, mother son dances, cake cutting, and grand entrance to the venue.) he took what me and my husband wanted and put it to life. One of my concerns was that I'm Hispanic and my side only speaks Spanish but he gave us access to great songs for my Spanish guest as well as English. He even found the exact Spanish song for my mother son dance which is a rare song. read more

With any wedding, there are so many decisions to be made, from the clothes, food, venue, who to invite, invitations, all of it, and I must say that Jay and his company Fourth Estate Audio made the DJ decision the best ever! He was was quick and efficient in his communication, his interface and technologically advanced website, and the overall feel of this company was above par. We even lost our usb drive in the mail the week of our Wedding and Jay stepped in and took care of that too providing all the songs we requested. The day of the wedding, he sent Scott to DJ our event on a yacht! Scott was polite, on point, and very fun and accommodating. He was super fun too and catered to our guests as we requested he do. If you are having a wedding in the Chicago area and are looking for the best, these guys are it! Thank you Jay and Scott, we appreciate you guys more than you know! read more

Our whole experience with Fourth Estate Audio was outstanding. All our questions/emails were responded to quickly and the value of the services we got was outstanding. Jay was our DJ and he was phenomenal. He included all of the music we requested in the online form and was able to create an environment our guests felt comfortable in to let loose on the dance floor. We were also able to add any of our own music by using the usb drive he gave us. He did a great job working with us to keep everything organized day of and even let us make a change or two last minute. (Thanks for the Star Wars Theme when our ring bearer walked down the aisle!) We had so many people compliment our DJ service after the wedding. We were able to dance outside all night thanks to Jay and the lights that he had available to us. We highly recommend Fourth Estate Audio for your wedding or event! read more

My wife and I used Fourth Estate Audio for our wedding. Jay made organizing the details very easy. Enter the type of music you like and all your wedding particulars on-line. We then got matched with Jim as our DJ for the event and he did a great job. We have a couple friends play music and sing for our ceremony (outside, windy, chilly) and Jim nailed it. The sound was perfect and was not in the way of the photos or anybody's view. The reception went great as well. Our cake was late coming out and Jim did a great job of adjusting to make sure we got to dancing. And boy did we dance. We had a mix of 20-somethings and 50-somethings but Jim kept us all out on the dance floor all night with a great mix of music everybody could enjoy. Fourth Estate was a great choice for our wedding. Good price, everything we wanted, no hassle, and made for a fantastic evening. read more

We wanted a fairly low-key bat mitzvah, and we were happy to find Fourth Estate Audio, which would give us music, music, music. Our DJ, Jay, was very easy to work with, very accommodating and professional. Co-ordinating a brief photo montage worked like a charm, and so did the few announcements we made. Before the event, Jay had worked with us to put together a playlist that was a lot of fun for our group, which was composed of both young teenagers and adults. The sound quality and the pacing were great. Jay's equipment allowed him to focus the sound on the dance floor, so people sitting at tables a short distance away could talk comfortably and still be heard over the music. The pricing was very reasonable compared with other DJs we interviewed, especially given Fourth Estate's reassuring depth and experience. All in all, it was a great experience. read more