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Ceilidh

Katie & Tim's wedding, September 2013

Here you can book or make enquiries about ‘The Bespoke Ceilidh Band’

A ceilidh [kaylee] is the Scottish/Irish counterpart of the more well know barn dances of England.

Matt can help you to create a live band that suits your event and your budget. The ceilidh band will include a “caller” who will get everyone up on the dance floor showing you what to do. Finally a fully working and tested PA with engineer meaning that this package is ready to be delivered to your doorstep.

Here is a brief video of one of Matt’s line ups having an acoustic ‘mid dance jam’ from a recent acoustic ceilidh. This will give you a good idea of the kind of sound and musical quality you can expect. Our caller was busy chatting with the hosts at the time!

 

“I’ve been meaning to write to say what a brilliant wedding we had at the Old Rectory on 7th September. Our guests loved the music, and we had so many lovely comments. The band really helped make it a memorable event (and we really appreciated everything you did to make it all happen, so please pass on our comments). It was above and beyond what we expected! Many people have even said it was the best wedding they have been to!

                                                                                  Tim and Katie

3 wedding photos

Tim and Katie’s wedding

» All above images are courtesy of Ellie Gillard photography

“Matt organised a ceilidh band and caller for our August wedding at River Cottage HQ, Devon. The band was fantastic, and gave a lively performance of a range of ceilidh songs, which had all of our guests up and dancing. Matt was very easy to work with and organised the evening exactly as we wanted. I would highly recommend hiring Matt for any event.”

Mark and Sarah, River Cottage HQ

You could choose from:

  • Fiddles
  • Uilleann [pron. ilen] Pipes (not to be confused with their louder cousin the Highland Bagpipes)
  • Flutes
  • Whistles
  • Accordions
  • Acoustic Guitar
  • Bass – upright or electric
  • Drums – either full kit or a single Bodhràn [pron. Bowron], the Irish drum  for a more traditional sound
  • Last but definitely not least, a Caller
The River Cottage Ceilidh Collective, River Cottage HQ

An example line up would be:

  • Fiddle
  • Uilleann pipes/flute/whistles
  • Acoustic Guitar
  • Bass
  • Drums
  • Caller
  • PA system + engineer

Instrumentalists are subject to availability and whilst Matt will always endeavour to find the required player he cannot always guarantee their presence.

As mentioned above, Matt also provides a fully tested and working PA system with an engineer to operate it at a very reasonable rate. This normally comes as standard with the band, unless otherwise specified in the contract.

This PA is more than adequate for anything up to a medium sized venue (500 people) and is also suitable for playing all manner of musics as it comes equipped with subs. (DJs, dance music, iPads etc.) All technical aspects of the PA can currently be viewed on request.

For all enquiries regarding pricing and availability, please contact Matt.