Ceilidh Bands - for your Event

Live Music Booking Service for Your Party, Wedding or Event from - Midsummer Music - the music people


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About Ceilidh Bands

The Ceilidh Band pages, above, list bands that are available in your area. People are occasionally unsure of the difference between a Ceilidh dance, a Barn dance & and a Hoedown. In case you're uncertain, to find out what style of dance band would be ideal for your wedding day or event in your area, click the link below:

The most difficult thing for many people is pronouncing the word 'Ceilidh'. It is said like 'Kay-lee'. Before you read the bit about ceilidh and a barn dances, let's look at the bands in more detail. You might expect a Ceilidh Band to play predominantly Celtic tunes (Scottish & Irish mostly). But this may not be the case as a lot of bands that call themselves Ceilidh Bands play a mixture of musical styles, sometimes as diverse as Eastern European and Klezmer. In fact about half of all bands will use ceilidh and barn dance interchangeably to describe themselves. To an extent it is a fashion thing, what is the current in word. Celtic music has been in fashion, so the celtic name for traditional folk dancing tends to get used more.

Therefore, make sure you read what the bands have said about themselves and listen to their audio tracks so that you are aware of their style and can decide whether or not you like them. (all the bands are good Ceilidh Bands, but you will like the sound of some and not of others. Styles of playing are very different as are the instrumental line-ups.)
If you want a specific style of music and band e.g. Irish or Scottish, then use the drop down boxes at the top of this page to choose either Irish Ceilidh Bands or Scottish Ceilidh Bands. These bands will either be bands that include a substantial amount of the relevant folk music and dances, or are out and out specialists i.e. entirely Scottish or entirely Irish.

If the dance is not intended to be specifically a Scottish or Irish evening, it can be a sensible option to go for a band who play a range of musical styles, so that there variety.

A Ceilidh Band can be great fun and is brilliant for Wedding Receptions, Birthdays, corporate entertainment at conferences etc. At a wedding it helps both sides of the family and friends to get to know each other and the volume is such that people can still hear each other speaking - (Unlike when there's a DJ in full swing!)

The band often get the dance under way by playing some instrumental music to set the mood.

For a Wedding Ceilidh dance a Ceilidh Band would normally start with a first dance that involved the Bride, Groom and all the guests. The Caller would ask everybody onto the floor to join the Couple. (No one can refuse, as it would be rude). The Caller will make the first dance very easy so that even those people who were nervous of dancing or frightened of the prospect, find they could do it. This gets the Ceilidh going. (Some couples like to do a first dance to a waltz, then ask everyone to join in, or alternatively do their first dance to a track provided by them on a MP3 player. This can work well too.)

For a birthday party Ceilidh or corporate event, it is very similar. The first dance is generally very simple, so that the Caller can gauge whether dancers are first timers, or experienced, how quick on the uptake they are, and how fit they seem. The guests become more sure of themselves, and the caller can gauge the best level of dances that would run well for the Ceilidh.

Ceilidh Bands always have a Caller who teaches the dances, so even those who have not been to a Ceilidh before can get involved. The Caller invites people to get into sets, often not knowing what dance to do until they see how many people have come up. They will explain the dance, running the dancers through the dance slowly. They might run them through all or some of the dance a second time, based on how challenging it is and how whether the dancers still seem confused. Then the band play a brief introduction and the dance begins. The caller keeps an eye on what is going on, perhaps calling directions and sorting out those who have got tangled up or got lost. Mistakes are part of the fun, so don't take it too seriously!


Normally there is be an interval half way through the Ceilidh for a hog roast or buffet, so that people can get a rest and stump up some more energy for the remainder of. If there are some expert dancers, the Caller {could include a few harder dances for them, but in general they will make sure that everyone is managing the dances and {having a good time.

Not everyone understands the difference between a Ceilidh dance and Barn dance. The fact is they are essentially the same thing. They both include a caller who teaches the dancers and the band will play traditional folk music to dance to.

Ceilidh is the Celtic terminology, so this would tend to cover Scottish Ceilidh Bands and Irish Ceili Bands. (Notice the different spelling. Other spellings are Caleigh, Kaley, kaylee, kayleigh etc. so you can't really spell it wrong!) The bands would mostly play Celtic folk tunes. Many songs are claimed by the Americans, Scotts, Irish and English, but the style of performing them would be different.

Barn Dance ends to be the English and American terminology, where English or American folk tunes would be played. However, a lot of the dances are the same for both a Ceilidh dance or a Barn dance.

Many bands play a range of music and do dance that suites all styles. This is particularly suitable for a wedding ceilidh or birthday barn dance, where styles need to be catered for. For an event lake a Irish St Patricks night, or a Scottish Burns night, then a specialist band would be more suitable.


Other types of music

All Female String QuartetsEnglish Barn Dance BandsNew Year Party Bands
American Barn Dance BandsFolk Solos And DuosParty Bands
Barn Dance BandsFunction BandsPop Bands
Ceili and Barn DancesHarpsScottish Ceilidh Bands
Ceremony Music For WeddingsHire Local Live BandsString Quartets
Classical DuosIrish Ceilidh BandsWedding Ceremony Songs
Classical GuitaristsJazz BandsWedding Entertainers
Classical Music For WeddingsJazz DuosWedding Music Bands
Classical PianistsJazz GuitaristsWedding Songs
Classical SingersJazz PianistsWedding String Quartets
Classical Solos Duos And TriosJazz QuartetsWind Ensembles
Covers BandsJazz Solos And Duos
Covid or Lockdown MusiciansJazz Trios

Locations where our musicians play:

Ceilidh Bands: AldridgeCeilidh Bands: HerefordshireCeilidh Bands: Staffordshire
Ceilidh Bands: BedfordshireCeilidh Bands: HertfordshireCeilidh Bands: Suffolk
Ceilidh Bands: BerkshireCeilidh Bands: HuntingdonshireCeilidh Bands: Surrey
Ceilidh Bands: BerwickshireCeilidh Bands: KentCeilidh Bands: Sussex
Ceilidh Bands: BuckinghamshireCeilidh Bands: LancashireCeilidh Bands: the East Midlands
Ceilidh Bands: CambridgeshireCeilidh Bands: LeicestershireCeilidh Bands: the East of England
Ceilidh Bands: Central ScotlandCeilidh Bands: LincolnshireCeilidh Bands: the North East
Ceilidh Bands: Central WalesCeilidh Bands: LondonCeilidh Bands: the North West
Ceilidh Bands: CheshireCeilidh Bands: Mid WalesCeilidh Bands: the Scottish Borders
Ceilidh Bands: CornwallCeilidh Bands: NorfolkCeilidh Bands: the Scottish Highlands
Ceilidh Bands: County DurhamCeilidh Bands: North WalesCeilidh Bands: the South East
Ceilidh Bands: CumbriaCeilidh Bands: NorthamptonshireCeilidh Bands: the South West
Ceilidh Bands: DerbyshireCeilidh Bands: NorthumberlandCeilidh Bands: the West Midlands
Ceilidh Bands: DevonCeilidh Bands: NottinghamshireCeilidh Bands: Wales
Ceilidh Bands: DorsetCeilidh Bands: OxfordshireCeilidh Bands: Warwickshire
Ceilidh Bands: EnglandCeilidh Bands: ScotlandCeilidh Bands: Wiltshire
Ceilidh Bands: EssexCeilidh Bands: ShropshireCeilidh Bands: Worcestershire
Ceilidh Bands: GloucestershireCeilidh Bands: SomersetCeilidh Bands: Yorkshire
Ceilidh Bands: HampshireCeilidh Bands: South WalesCeilidh Bands: Yorkshire and the Humber