Reviews and Testimonials
"We have NEVER had so many positive comments for any band we have ever had. You were a big hit with our group!"
(rehired for Dec 2017, 2018, 2019,Jan 2023, Mar 2024)
John Schultz, President Solivita Dance Club Kissimmee FL Dec 2016
A Taste of Love has also performed for the Solivita Biker Ball for 2016,2017,2018,2019,2021,2022 , 2023, 2024 as well as the Solivita Shalom Club for 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024
"Bart and Jan put on a great New Year's Eve show. Our Sweetwater Community thought they were great. They read the audience very well and played all types of music to satisfy our wide variety of age groups. Everybody danced up a storm all night. We most definitely want them back here."
(rehired for New Years 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020-cancelled due to covid, Mar 2023, New Years 2024)
Diane K. Activity Director for Sweetwater Golf and Tennis Resort, Haines City, FL New Year's Eve 2013
Comments from Carnival Cruise Passengers 2019:
Yes music was diverse and very entertaining... Jan and Bart were my faves... Danced every night.; Enjoyed Jan & Bart by far.; very talented and audience friendly; Taste of love was fantastic!!!!!; Loved them; A Taste of Love: outstanding! ; loved dancing to A Taste of Love, helped make the cruise for us. they really supplemented the carnival musicians. without them the cruise music would have been very mediocre.
"The main event is the Kentucky Derby Dance w/ Live Music by A Taste Of Love. If you haven't been to one of their Kentucky Derby dances, you really need to make the time. They put so much time and effort into and it really shows. You will always have a good time with A Taste of Love on stage."
Ted Hadley, Cove Resort Owner Kissimmee, FL 2015 ( ATOL performs 8+ shows a year here at this private Kissimmee Resort. (See our schedule for upcoming shows)
"Our guests call to see when Bart and Jan are coming back, it's always a fun time when they are here"
Saude Creek Winery, New Kent, VA
"Jan and Bart were very professional and entertaining. They arrived early and accomodated to all of our needs and desires. We received compliments about our wedding entertainment from our guests and even the Vinoy Hotel staff!. We highly recommend A TASTE OF LOVE to anyone looking for party entertainment"
Jennifer B. (bride- wedding at The Vinoy Hotel - Tampa, Florida)
"Jan and Bart were absolutely perfect for our member's New Year's Eve party. They were never too loud in a room with terrible acoustics. They kept everyone entertained and they rarely took breaks!"
Meredith R. Banquet Manager - Black Diamond Ranch Gold Course Lecanto, Florida New Year's Eve 2011
"What a wonderful couple! They arrived early and were well prepared for the evening. They kept our crowd dancing all night. We will have them back again!!!" ( ATOL has performed many dances here including New Year's Eve 2014, 2021, 2023, 2025
Al A. - Club Manager Live Oaks Resort - Arcadia, Florida
"They were fantastic. Kept the dance floor full. Great vocals and song selection. Would love to have them come back again."
Kathy T. - Club Manager Tarpon Springs, Florida New Year's Eve 2012
My residents cannot stop talking about how great the dance was on Friday and how your band was the PERFECT touch! We cannot wait to have you back again in September (2024) and for Valentine's Day again next year (2025).
Jessica Smith, Lifestyle Coordinator
Holiday RV Park Leesburg, FL
"We found priceless jewels when we discovered 'A Taste of Love' with Bart and Jan. If you like great music, great sound system and two of the best singing voices around, then you will absolutely fall in love with Bart and Jan's style of performances. They are professionals in every sense of the word! We always look forward to having them at Lake Como."
Arlene Reed, Activities Director, Tampa Florida
Comments from the general public via FACEBOOK:
-Great couple that plays an extremely wide variety and what so great is they play to the crowd!!!!
- Great band with the ability to read the crowd and play music that will get people out of their seats and on the dance floor!
- A great couple with wonderful musical talent. Great mix of music to dance to or listen to. Go and hear them, You won't be disappointed!
June 2019 | Pete Williams Staff Writer for Travel Publication
Bart and Jan Holloman have been on stage for nearly three hours and show no signs of slowing down or taking a break. It’s a Friday night in late March 2019 in Clearwater, Florida, and the two-person band –clad in matching blue sequin outfits – already has ripped through a set of covers of everyone from The Beatles, Bob Seger, and Neil Diamond, to Shania Twain, Carlos Santana, Bruno Mars, and the Village People. Jan, 60, sings lead mostly – an energetic brunette moving in front of a massive light curtain backdrop the couple sets up to give their show a bit of Vegas flavor. Bart, 62, sings and plays a keyboard that’s part of a 16-track sequencer from which he’s layered the other instruments needed for hundreds of songs from oldies to modern music.
Tonight they’re at On Top of the World, a sprawling 55-and-over retirement community named as such not far from their Florida home in Central Florida. They could be at one of dozens of other resorts around the country where they’ve performed, or they could be aboard a Carnival cruise ship where they have been performed for private charter cruises. If it sounds like a dream retirement or second career, the Hollomans would agree. Their music business – “A Taste of Love with Bart and Jan” (www.atolmusicllc.com) accounts for about 60 gigs a year, mostly between Virginia and Florida.
They met as music majors at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond in the late 1970s, and both played in bands and symphonies. Bart played in rock bands for weddings and beach bar gigs, but eventually focused his music efforts on running a church music program with Jan that included performing contemporary Christian rock. That dovetailed with their business operating four Christian schools in the Hampton Roads area. “When you have two young sons, they need Dad around on weekends,” Bart says. While on a cruise to Hawaii for their 25th anniversary, they watched a couple perform one night; she sang and he played keyboards. A light bulb went off. “We can do this so much better,” they thought. A Taste of Love was born just as they were looking to downsize, moving into a smaller home in Virginia and buying a home in Kissimmee Florida. Bart began building a song library; it takes between eight and 30 hours to program all the instrumental parts into his Yamaha Workstation keyboard for just one song. Over the last decade, he’s built a song catalog of 13 hours – plus two hours of holiday favorites. “Most bands only have four or five hours of music,” Bart says. “We sometimes play wineries where we’ll pass out our complete song list and take requests.” Bart says he and Jan do not begin a show with an established set list, preferring to change styles, speeds, and genres depending on the crowd reaction. As for the light curtain, that’s a key part of the act. Not only does it produce a Vegas big-show vibe, it also can help them stand out on big stages. So, too, does their matching sequined outfits. “We have a room in our house with clothes racks from stores with 50 dresses for Jan, matching outfits for me, and I don’t know how many shoes,” Bart said. The couple continues to split time between Florida and Virginia, with a larger van carrying equipment in Florida and a smaller one in Virginia. This enables them to fly between the states as needed. They’re on the road more in the summer season, taking a 28-foot travel trailer as they move around the country performing at clubs and resorts in Indiana, Michigan, Colorado, Pennsylvania, Virginia, North Carolina, Florida and Ohio. The light curtain takes 45 minutes to assemble before a show and about a half hour to break down after. They don’t take it on cruises, of course, since they share stages at sea with other bands. Playing on the cruises has introduced them to several resort owners who have invited them to perform at their clubs.
“We’ve met so many wonderful people in our travels,” Bart said. “We’ll go into an area a day or two before, get to know everyone, and then hang out before the show. Most bands go in, set up quickly, and get out as quickly as possible. We’re personable, and we’ve gotten to meet a lot of people we now consider close friends.”
