Craig Smith Biography | UK Pianist & Musical Director
About Craig
Craig Smith is a professional UK wedding pianist, session musician and musical director with extensive experience performing at weddings, live events and studio sessions. Known for elegant piano performances, lively entertainment and versatile musicianship, Craig provides high-quality live music tailored to each couple and event, combining technical skill with a warm, professional approach. Find out more below!
Craig is an experienced and multi-skilled professional musician based in Preston, Lancashire. His primary instruments are piano and keyboards (synths, workstations, Hammond organ etc). He also plays rhythm guitar, Latin percussion and bass, and sings backing vocals.
He is recommended by venues up and down the country as a wedding and event entertainer and is available for destination work too. He is available as a soloist, but also has a number of other musicians he teams up with on vocals, sax and strings, dependent on the needs of the client.
Working freelance in many musical disciplines, Craig is available as a live musician, a theatre and film composer/arranger, and musical director for live touring bands and theatre. He has toured extensively throughout the UK and much of Europe.
Craig is husband to Lauren, a proud dad to four boys, and enjoys nothing more than getting creative in the kitchen: "when music is your life, you need something else to help you unwind!"
Please read more about his career to date and projects past and present below:
Early Years
Craig was born in Preston in 1986 and took up keyboard and piano lessons aged eleven at the local branch of the Technics Music Academy (TMA) at A&C Hamilton Musical Instruments. He sped to grade 5 piano and music theory within three years and was a winner two years running in the Technics Music Festival, where he discovered sequencing and programming. He played his first professional aged 16 during his final year at school.
Craig studied Music Technology at Preston College, where he was introduced to musical direction. At this time, and by now playing beyond grade 8 standard, Craig was offered a job teaching piano and keyboards and took his first residency at a classy city centre restaurant, quickly establishing himself as a professional musician alongside his studies.
Top Class Training
It was musical direction that in 2004 won Craig a place at The Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA), at the time one of the world's premier performing arts institutions, co-founded by Sir Paul McCartney (from whom Craig received his degree three years later).
During his first year as a musical director on LIPA's Performing Arts Music degree, Craig developed a passion for both popular music performance and production, and discovered his potential as a composer/arranger.
He transferred to LIPA's Music degree for his final two years, during which he worked with several pop acts and theatre productions as musical director or performing on piano, keyboards and percussion; he was commissioned as a composer scoring a musical to celebrate Liverpool's 8th Centenary; and produced records for various singers and bands, with some of this work now available world-wide.
Whilst at LIPA, Craig met many of the top class session musicians he now employs on various projects.
Life as a Full-Time Pro
After graduating from LIPA, Craig forged a successful career as an instrumental tutor, building the North West's largest mobile music academy.
Alongside the music school, Craig developed a fantastic reputation as a full-time professional musician, eventually relinquishing control of the academy to focus on live performance and musical direction, with work for and alongside a wide variety of artists including Paloma Faith, Pixie Lott, Andy Abrahams, Tinchy Stryder, Bastille, Spin Doctors, The Noisettes and more. Craig's most notable studio recording session saw him recording for Bryan Adams.
Craig is available for composition and arranging commissions - working with local, national and international production companies - and has made various media appearances, either performing or discussing the music and wedding industries.
Family life saw touring lose its attraction around ten years ago, and at this point Craig gradually moved away from it and into private event and wedding piano entertainment, where he is now firmly established as one of - if not the - most sought-after event and wedding pianists in the UK. Touring will probably form a part of his portfolio again in the future, but for now he's having the time of his life making people's special days that little bit more special!
Chris & Craig: Violin/Piano
Craig works regularly with Chris Demetriou within a high-end duo of piano and violin for weddings, events, restaurants etc., "Chris & Craig".
Chris' CV includes work for/with Trevor Horn, Seal, Counting Crows, The Corrs and many more. He's one of the top session violinists in the country.
Together, they specialise in arrangements of popular pop, soul and rock covers, with classical and jazz/swing repertoire thrown into the mix too, and pride themselves on their musical versatility.
Recent client requests have included songs as diverse as Can You Feel the Love Tonight by Elton John, November Rain by Guns 'n' Roses, Sky Full of Stars by Coldplay, Halo by Beyonce, My Girl by The Temptations and We Go Together from Grease!.
For more information and prices, please get in touch.
Past Projects
The Vintage Boys
Craig toured dates as musical director / band leader on Contempo Productions Ltd's The Vintage Boys Rock 'n' Roll Show until 2020.
With immaculate 3-part harmony, slick choreography, sharp suits and the backing of an incredible live band, the boys perfectly capture the look and sound of the golden era and will have you singing along and dancing in the aisles with their high-energy performance.
Featuring over 40 hits from stars of the 50s and 60s including Chuck Berry, Eddie Cochran, Del Shannon, Bill Haley, Dion, The Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, The Beatles, Elvis Presley, and many more!
Craig played piano, organ and guitar on the show (sometimes within the same song!), and was also responsible for the musical arrangements.
Jessicas Ghost
Craig played regularly with Jessica's Ghost from 2012until 2019, making a five-piece folk-rock originals and classic covers band, popular on the festivals scene, live music scene and at private parties and corporate functions.
Their last original album, 'Losing Track of Time' was released in 2012 to rave reviews and regular radio play. This led to invitations to open for a plethora of household names at live music events and festivals. See www.jessicasghost.co.uk for more details.
Opera Boys
Before moving to The Vintage Boys, Craig had toured on and off as musical director for the UK tour of classical crossover show Opera Boys since 2015.
The UK's answer to Il Divo, the show is primarily a cruise ship entertainment show, placed regularly on P&O and Cunard liners. It features four of the country's top classically trained tenors including West End leading men, with vocal harmonies that must be heard to be believed, performing opera and pop hits from Nessum Dorma to Oh What a Night. There is also plenty of comedy mixed in for good measure! It's still well worth a visit for a night of fun, music and laughter.
As well as MD'ing the Opera Boys show, Craig has contributed to Contempo Productions' projects by arranging band parts, recording backing tracks, and writing vocal arrangements in the pre-production phases, most recently for a project adapting modern hits into blues and jazz styles.
See www.operaboys.com for their forthcoming tour dates and cruises.
Soundsmiths Promotions Ltd
Craig was until 2022 a director of Soundsmiths Promotions Ltd, a North West based production company that produces musical theatre and live music events, and promotes session musicians.
Depending on the project, Craig either worked in a performance role, usually as musical director, or in a creative production capacity: musical supervisor, or overseeing design, creation and rehearsal of the production.
The company enjoyed a close relationship with many top session musicians all based in the North West on keys, vocals, guitar, bass, drums, horns and strings, who were regularly contracted on Soundsmiths Promomotions Ltd projects, be they tours or one off events.
Theatre tour concepts included the Gary Barlow Live Tribute show and Adelation, a night of Adele's hits.
Simply70s: Ultimate Classic Rock, was produced to tour theatres throughout the UK. The show was a high octane gig packed full of the best, most recognisable, 70s classic rock anthems from bands and artists including Pink Floyd, Fleetwood Mac, Meat Loaf, Led Zep, The Who and more.
Craig's role on the production was principally an executive one: as a co-producer, he worked as creative director and musical supervisor, also responsible for overseeing set and lighting design. He also recruited most of the musicians and singers, who had performed with some top household names including Phil X, Bryan Adams and The Osmonds.
Craig performed the keyboards and backing vocals on the show's 2015 promotional material, which contained Bat out of Hell, Bohemian Rhapsody, Walk this Way and School's Out.