Here I’ll try to answer some of the questions we are often asked, to save you some time. If you are looking for a wedding Ceilidh band then check our wedding page which has more in depth information on what we can do for you.
Q. How long do you normally play a Ceilidh for?
A. Four hours with a break is the usual set length for a wedding. For example 8pm till midnight with our break during the buffet. We can negotiate anything longer if needed.
Ipods, Laptops and Mp3 players
Q. Can we hook up an iPod or play a CD through your sound system during the break?
A. It is very easy to connect your iPod or Mp3 player or Lap top through the P.A. to play your own play lists during the break if you’d like to. We have a cable that will suit most of these generic devices that would have a mini stereo jack output on them. You must be sure that you have the batteries fully charged or have the mains adapter with you. We no longer carry a CD player with us as CD’s are almost obsolete these days. If you ask us in advance we can provide one if necessary but we don’t carry one around with anymore.
If you have an iPhone 7 or later, please check you have the standard audio output adapter with you. The built in iPhone 7 output changed and you need the small adapter supplied with the phone. Ask us in advance if you are not sure.
Ceilidh and a Disco?
Q. Can you provide a Ceilidh Disco package?
A. Yes. We can offer our own Disco along with the band for an additional fee.
See our Ceilidh Disco page for more info
Do you have a dance caller?
Q. How will we know how to do the dances as many of our guests have never been to a ceilidh before?
A. We always have a dance caller with us who will take you through any of the dances we play so you have an idea of what you are doing but don’t get too concerned about dance steps as the ceilidh dance is about enjoying yourself and most of the fun is from taking part and dancing with people you would never normally dance with including perfect strangers and that Old ‘Auntie Grumpy’ you never liked. A Ceilidh is a great way to mix up the company.
Ignorance will be no excuse for not dancing at our ceilidhs! 🙂
Do you play pop covers?
Q. Do you play any pop covers or other music.
A. No pop covers, we are a Ceilidh Band. (It’s like asking a plumber to do your books.) We can play any pop music you want during the break on a iPod or with our Disco option. We do play some folk songs and some other dances like an occasional quickstep or foxtrot, waltzes etc. The line up of our band and our musical ambitions are not compatible with popular mainstream music. It’s not in our heart to play anything other than ceilidh, folk, world and maybe some country music. Fred is a famous Punk Rock legend. We struggle hard to keep him under control. He might get angry if we ask him to compromise his musical standards.
Stage Lighting
Q. Do you have stage lighting?
A. YES! we have tasteful DMX controlled (colour controlled) flood lights of 1500w for large stages and we make use of L.E.D. technology in our par cans and disco style lights. Which use very low voltage making them a very Green alternative to the traditional energy guzzling par can which we also use if in a suitable venue. The LED parcans emit no heat, so they are much safer and they wont overload your power circuits causing blackouts during the proceedings! Which can happen with the traditional alternatives. We can make the stage look very professional and very bonnie. Unfortunately we canna improve the looks of certain band members without the use of curtains 😉 Please check our stage gallery pics.
PAT testing & Public Liability Insurance Cover
Q. Are You P.A.T. tested? Our venue stipulates in our contract the band must have their sound equipment P.A.T. tested.
A. YES! All our equipment is P.A.T. tested regularly
.Q. Do you have Public Liability Insurance?
A. YES! We have our own fully loaded policy for Public Liability Insurance which covers our responsibilities. Some of us are also members of the Musicians Union, which also comes with a separate personal public liability per MU member though it does not cover the whole band which is why we have a special bespoke public Liability policy which covers all of our musicians. However, we have never damaged any property in all our years playing or harmed anybody – this policy has become a necessity due to the demands of many of the venues we play. In 25 years we have never had a problem.
Special requests?
Q. Do you do requests?
A. If you ask us. (ha ha) IF we can we will. If you have something special you’d like played let us know in advance and we can have some time to practice it if it is suitable of course.
– Another great resource for Scottish Dancing is ScottishDance which includes instructions to many dances.