Iron Broo Ceilidh Band

Tag: Videos

  • The 1st Doric Film Festival

    The 1st Doric Film Festival

    Weel, Weel!  

    I hiv tae say that yer meely moo’ed Hollywood hisna got a look in when it comes tae the Doric Film Festival. It was grand affair indeed.

    Hosted by Frieda Morrison, attended by VIPs and distinguished guests…

    For your viewing pleasure… Here are the edits of the event held at the Belmont Cinema in Aberdeen on the 2nd of July 2019.

    A celebration of our doric culture, music and song. Some great poems and scripts.

    Part 1 (schools)

    Part 2 ( Individuals & community groups )

    Here is our shortlisted entry Directed by Duncan Harley. “Awa we gaed tae Aikey”

    Awa we gaed tae Aikey.

    You can also buy our Aikey Brae song online. It costs less than a fancy bag o’ tattie crisps. Ye can find a’ the popular download links here… https://ironbroo.scot/cal-records/aikey-brae/

    The doric film festival was a great thing to see. There’s something that grabs your heart deep inside and gives it a kick. It’s intimate like a childhood memory of your mother whispering something close to your ear. It reminded me of a distant childhood memory I had forgotten about. What hit me the most was realising that in our everyday lives we never hear our own tongue portrayed on the big screen unless it’s a comedy or derogatory. If it is heard spoken in the news reports of the mainstream media it would also be sub-titled to emphasis how ignorant and uncultured us heathen doric speakers are. Nobody can understand us even when we speak English. To hear your own people speak on screen in the language that we all understand is a breakthrough. Doric is a powerful language and carries more depth and emotion than English can. We can get away with much less words. We also have words where English equivalents don’t really exist. Di yi ken fit hozzlin is? or Knap Darlich?
    The intonation and the use of cursing is an art form in doric and Scots. Swear words are adjectives, nouns and verbs.
    From a young age, in Scotland, we were taught not to speak our own words. We were often punished for using them in class, for example. Sometimes enthusiastically by overzealous teachers that felt they were a class above us. Even though they were Scots themselves. If you wanted to get on in life, “dinna spic lik at min”
    This is why it makes the Doric Film Festival something unique and groundbreaking in my eyes. It was difficult not to be moved by it. I think there is now a recognition in some places that our language is special and should be celebrated. It’s more than just part of our identity and shared history. It is the spirit of the North East of Scotland.

    We had great fun making Aikey Brae and are looking forward to the next film festival and are researching our next project for an entry.

  • Doric Film Festival

    Doric Film Festival

    “Awa we Gaed tae Aikey”
    Directed and written by Duncan Harley. An Iron Broo film performed by Charlie Abel & Fred Wilkinson. Narrated & edited by Charlie Abel. Doric supervisors Alison Abel (my ma fae Turra) and Grace Banks.

    It’s the day after the 2nd of July 2019 and today we can release our shortlisted entry to the first-ever Doric Film Festival. “Awa we gaed tae Aikey”. The awards and presentations took place yesterday afternoon in the Belmont Cinema, Aberdeen.
    There were around 240 guests packed in to screen 1 to see the awards and the entries shown on the big screen. There were over 30 entries and there were 3 categories. Schools, individuals and community groups. We were were in the community groups section and were shortlisted to the final 4, only one of which would get the coveted Doric Oscar. The winner of our group was from Torry Community Group. I was curious to find out if any of the participants stayed on OSCAR ROAD 🙂 (that’s an aptly named street in Torry)
    Their film was an excellent piece on the history of Torry.
    Every film I saw on the day was a winner so it must have been difficult for the judges to sit through 30+ films and choose a winner. Each film I saw had something very special about it. From the old footage of Aberdeen Harbour and old Torry, to the Fishing Boats of the Bloo Toon with Meethill Primary. There wis family poems and stories with video acted out, the whole thing was very moving for any doric person. To my knowledge, It’s the first time our culture has been celebrated in a film festival

    Onyhoo…
    We were fair tricket to be shortlisted into the final 4 in the Community category of the Doric Film Festival with our film Awa we gaed tae Aikey.

    The Doric festival was a great success and brought in talent from across the northeast with some fantastic short film entries from schools, individuals and community groups. We thoroughly enjoyed working on our film about Aikey Brae with real northeast doric language and music.
    When I was at school I remember being told off and even excluded from lessons for speaking doric in class, it happened a few times but now it warms my heart to see so many people celebrate oor mither tongue. A creative and descriptive language reekin o’ history and hard toil.

    The film was Duncan Harley’s concept, and I would personally like to thank him for inviting myself and Fred to join him in the creation of the film. We learned a lot of tricks in the process and are looking forward to our next project. We hope the Doric Film Festival will continue and become an annual event. It’s sair needed in oor toon.
    A big thanks to Frieda Morrison and her team for making the whole thing happen.

    Entries will be available online I believe, very shortly https://doricfilmfestival.com/
    If you are interested in Aberdeenshire history, please check out Duncan Harley’s recent book “The Little History of Aberdeenshire”
    https://www.amazon.co.uk/Little-History-Aberdeenshire-Duncan-Harley/dp/0750989297

    We released the music track “Aikey Brae” online. It’s on Amazon, iTunes, Spotify etc. A radio edit and the version of the full verse with the doric monologue as written by the original author G.S. Morris.
    You can download the tracks for pennies. Less than a bug o tattie crisps. Please dae as we sair need the siller.
    Here’s a CdBaby link https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/charlieabel3

    Our website https://www.ironbroo.scot
    my website https://www.charlieabel.scot
    Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pg/CeilidhAberdeen

  • Doric Film Festival

    Doric Film Festival

    Doric Film Festival Iron Broo
    Charlie, Duncan & Fred at the Doric Film Festival

    “Awa we Gaed tae Aikey”

    Our entry to the Doric Film Festival 2019


    Directed and written by Duncan Harley. An Iron Broo film. Music performed by Charlie Abel & Fred Wilkinson. Narrated & edited by Charlie Abel. Doric supervisors Alison Abel (my ma fae Turra) and Grace Banks.

    Our Doric Film Festival Entry.

    Iron Broo - From ceilidh band to the big screen
    Iron Broo – From ceilidh band to the big screen

    It’s the day after the 2nd of July 2019 and today we can release our shortlisted entry to the first-ever Doric Film Festival. The awards and presentations took place yesterday afternoon in the Belmont Cinema, Aberdeen.
    There were around 240 guests packed in to screen 1 to see the awards and the entries shown on the big screen. There were over 30 entries and there were 3 categories. Schools, individuals and community groups. We were were in the community groups section and were shortlisted to the final 4, only one of which would get the coveted Doric Oscar. The winner of our group was from Torry Community Group. I was curious to find out if any of the participants stayed on OSCAR ROAD 🙂 (that’s an aptly named street in Torry)
    Their film was an excellent piece on the history of Torry.
    Every film I saw on the day was a winner so it must have been difficult for the judges to sit through 30+ films and choose a winner. Each film had something very special about it. From the old footage of Aberdeen Harbour and old Torry, to the Fishing Boats of the Bloo Toon with Meethill Primary. There wis family poems and stories with actors, the whole thing was very moving for any doric person. It warms the heart to hear the familiar turn of the doric tongue on the big screen. Communicating sentiment with messages that the english language could never do for us. To my knowledge, It’s the first time our culture has been celebrated in a film festival. This was art.

    Onyhoo…


    We were fair tricket to be shortlisted into the final 4 in the Community category. The Doric festival was a great success and brought in talent from across the northeast with some fantastic short film entries from schools, individuals and community groups. We thoroughly enjoyed working on our film about Aikey Brae with real northeast doric language and music.
    When I was at school I remember being told off and even excluded from lessons for speaking doric in class, it happened a few times but now it warms my heart to see so many people celebrate oor mither tongue. A creative and descriptive language reekin o’ history and hard toil.

    Thanks Duncan Harley – Director

    The film was Duncan Harley’s concept, and I would personally like to thank him for inviting myself and Fred to join him in the creation of the film. We learned a lot of tricks in the process and are looking forward to our next project. We hope the Doric Film Festival will continue and become an annual event. It’s sair needed in oor toon.
    A big thanks to Frieda Morrison and her team for making the whole thing happen.

    Entries will be available online I believe, very shortly https://doricfilmfestival.com/
    If you are interested in Aberdeenshire history, please check out Duncan Harley’s recent book “The Little History of Aberdeenshire”
    https://www.amazon.co.uk/Little-History-Aberdeenshire-Duncan-Harley/dp/0750989297

    Iron Broo duo play at the Doric Film Festival
    Iron Broo duo play at the Doric Film Festival

    Iron Broo ( Charlie (me) & Fred ) played at the Doric Film Festival awards ceremony. We played little ditties as the folk came up for their awards and we performed our version of the song Aikey Brae, used in our film.

    Aikey Brae – oor track(s)

    We released the music track “Aikey Brae” online. It’s on Amazon, iTunes, Spotify etc. A radio edit and the version of the full verse with the doric monologue as written by the original author G.S. Morris.
    You can download the tracks for pennies. Less than a bug o tattie crisps. Please dae as we sair need the siller.
    Here’s a CdBaby link https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/charlieabel3

    Our website https://www.ironbroo.scot
    my website https://www.charlieabel.scot
    Facebook https://www.facebook.com/CeilidhAberdeen/

    Aikey Brae digital download artwork
    Aikey Brae digital download artwork
    Aikey Brae panorama
    Aikey Brae panorama

    The standing stones at Aikey Brae, up above where the horse cowpin’ went on, are believed to be around 5000 years old. There are many standing stones around the area and many share similar features. Aikey Brae is one of the most nearly complete ones left. Many stones were moved and were used for building other things over the centuries.

    Aikey Brae Stone Circle information
    Aikey Brae Stone Circle information
    Aikey Brae Standing Stones
    Aikey Brae Standing Stones
    Aikey Brae Stone Circle
    Aikey Brae Stone Circle
    Aikey Brae ( sacrificial stone?)
    Aikey Brae ( sacrificial stone?)
    Aikey Brae from on top of the sacrificial stone
    Aikey Brae from on top of the sacrificial stone
  • Thanks Dancers

    Thanks Dancers

    Live clip from the ceilidh – Thanks to Drew Brown of Abertunity.co.uk

    A would like to say a big thank you to the people who came to our ceilidh and supported us in raising funds for Diabetes UK and having fun at a ceilidh. It was a great night even though the turn out was much smaller than we had hoped for. It’s such a pity we didn’t manage to get the message out effectively. We are considering another one soon to try and build some momentum and bring some more Scottish culture to our city. Something good. Something missing. Something we can make happen.

    I’d also like to thank the band who gave up a rare Friday night off from playing at weddings to give their time to play for free. A time where they could have spent with their family instead of chasing rainbows with Iron Broo.

    Group photo of all the people at the ceilidh

    We also would like to thank our volunteer photographer, who came along to support the event. Drew Brown of Abertunity.co.uk who took many photos and video clips of the night that help capture the atmosphere of a traditional Ceilidh night. You can see Drew’s complete shots on his page: https://drewbrownimages.co.uk/iron-broo-ceilidh-with-a-kick-diabetes-fundraiser/

    Set dancing

    A good band – good company – BYOB
    A few more people could have made a big difference to our fundraising as well.
    We perhaps need to rethink our advertising strategy.

    After costs, we have raised £79, and I have an anonymous donation came in taking this to £100.
    We have done much better in the past and hope we will do much better next time.
    As the saying goes:

    “It’s not how many times you get knocked down that count. It’s how many times you get back up.”

    We are getting back up and hope to increase the fundraising and get folk back to some ceilidh culture.

    Dancing the Cornish Six Hand Reel.

  • The Dark Island

    Nostalgic Scottish Music

    Leaving Loch Maddy, North Uist. Looking back towards the Dark Island

    It’s a tune every Scottish accordion player learns and probably the most widely requested Scottish music tune I ever get. In my experience, it’s also the highest earning tune in my repertoire back when we were busking or playing in bars. Many a time I would get asked at the end of a gig in a bar to play the Dark Island. Usually by an older person, quite emotional after a few drinks and they would often hand us a tenner or a twenty afterwards with a tear in their eye. “That’s braw son…just braw”.

    It’s a tune soaked in nostalgia for lots of people.

    I recall playing on the St.Clair ferry from Aberdeen to Shetland one night, many years ago. Myself and my fiddler pal Bill Edwards were asked to play it for a guy after our show. He handed us £120. (£60 each.) For a few minutes playing, that was a lot of money for us back then and still would be today.

    I visited Benbecula last year on a camping trip and used the photos I took during the week to make a video using the track from my album. (A Celtic voice)

    The dark island is one of the first tunes I practised when I picked up the accordion.

    I remember my dad trying to play it, it was one of the 3 tunes he could still remember from playing when he was a teenager.

    The Dark island Video

    Here’s my latest YouTube video of the Dark Island with photos from Benbecula, Eriskay, Berneray, North and South Uist and below is one of my previous videos of the same tune done live, one with Sandy Mathers on fiddle, recorded in front of my pizza oven.

    It’s funny how a tune can creep up on you. I didn’t realise I played it so much.

    The Dark Island – A Celtic Voice
    Sandy Mathers & Charlie Abel

    The forecasting stone outside a shop near Berneray is indicative of the type of weather you can expect around the Dark Island. You won’t see many trees either

    The Forecasting stone

  • Iron Broo’s Pizza Sessions Videos.

    Our Pizza Sessions – Live Ceilidh Music Videos

    It was the first of May 2017 and it was time for some more live ceilidh music video.  I had not long finished building the Pizza Oven, a dream that had been on my bucket list for a long time. A crazy dream that would scare most folk off as it was not an easy task but I wanted to make the real thing. I spread the work over 2 years, a slice at a time. It’s based on the ancient Pompeii design and built from bricks and mortar. I did use a few modern substitutes in the build process however it remains a concrete and brick oven built from scratch.  It cooks amazing food and not just pizza.  I invited the band over for a pizza party to celebrate the anniversary of the Liberation of Italy, a few days earlier and the completion of the oven works.  So, while the oven was getting up to temperature we decided to have a wee tune…

    You can see the videos and others on our ceilidh clips pages.
     
    http://charliespizzaoven.blogspot.co.uk/
     
    We are based in Aberdeen, Scotland.  In the video, it might look like we are in Italy but it was pretty cold when we filmed these. It was supposed to be spring and reasonably warm but the Scottish weather has never been known to pay any attention to details or expectations, it was only 8c.  Luckily sitting in front of the oven put out enough heat to keep us warm and stop the fingers freezing up completely.
     We tried an improv version of a tune I wrote that I thought came out pretty well, here it is..  If you like the videos please consider subscribing to my YouTube Channel. It’s free and you will get updates when I post new movies.

    Live ceilidh music videos

    A Fling Set
    Ronnie Watt’s 9th Dan – Original tune by Charlie Abel
    The Jaqueline Waltz and European Set.
    Gay Gordons
    The Dark Island
Richard Minton
2 weeks ago
Had a great nights entertainment with Iron Broo, great ceilidh and then some floor fillers with the disco.
Response from the owner:Thanks Richard, we had a great time, hope to see you both again sometime
Ellen Caiger-Cummins
4 months ago
We had the honour of the Iron Broo ceilidh band perform at our wedding on 16th May, they were outstanding. Talented, organised and such a lovely bunch of guys
Response from the owner:Thanks Ellen, we really enjoyed playing for you. Such a lovely evening. And thanks for your kind hospitality. All the best 👍
Andrew Turner
11 months ago
We hired Iron Broo to play our ceilidh at a party to celebrate our recent marriage. The band were great, played a good variety of ceilidh tunes, called the dances and incorporated some impressive rhythmic vocals alongside playing. All the guest had a great time and enjoyed the ceilidh - thanks a lot!
Adam Barrie
1 year ago
We booked Iron Broo Ceilidh Band for our wedding in July 2025 and had a fantastic evening with them. The band were highly experienced and helped everyone get involved in the dancing. I would highly recommend them for any Ceilidh event.
Aylwin Pillai
1 year ago
Iron Broo played for our very first wedding at Kinclune House & Estate in our brand new wedding barn. Iron Broo were absolutely brilliant! The wedding party were up and dancing all night. Half of them were not Scottish, so Charlie did a great job of calling so that everyone could join in. I can't recommend Iron Broo highly enough if you're planning a wedding or special celebration!
Response from the owner:Thanks Aylwin, it was an honour to be your first band! We look forward to the next time, the new venue is amazing and the staff were so kind and attentive. Everyone was raving about the place. I'm sure you are going to be busy! All the best, Charlie
Jac Balden
2 years ago
Iron Broo recently played a ceilidh and disco for our wedding. Charlie was easy to deal and answered all our questions very quickly. Both the ceilidh and the disco were very well received with the guests of our wedding complementing the band and the music.
Amy Abel
2 years ago
We booked Iron Broo for our wedding at Mar Lodge in Braemar in July and they were fantastic! We had a very international group with about half the guests having travelled from New Zealand and Charlie was great at calling the dances and everyone had a a lot of fun, even the teenagers loved it! Thanks Iron Broo!
Response from the owner:Thanks Amy. Great fun playing for you and really nice to meet more of the Abel clan 👍
Jenna
3 years ago
We hired the Iron Broo duo for a charity ceilidh in February 2024 and they had everyone up on their feet until the very end! Thank you so much for a fantastic evening with your band - lots of classics and few special twists which made for a super fun evening. Would definitely recommend Iron Broo and hire again in the future!
Response from the owner:Thanks very much Jenna, it was great fun to play for you! All the best, Charlie
Keri Bailie
3 years ago
Iron Broo played at our wedding ceilidh, playing an array of instruments and gave instructions for each dance. Excellent band who were very flexible, cheerful and skilled. Highly recommended.
Response from the owner:Thanks Keri, much appreciated. We had a great time and enjoyed every minute, it was a pleasure to be a part of your special day.
alex bruce
3 years ago
The Iron Broo Duo threw us a fantastic party to celebrate our wedding in September. They happily accommodated some very last minute changes and executed a little surprise absolutely perfectly! They had a great sense of humour when some of the dances didn't go to plan (no fault of the band, entirely the fault of the beer!) and soon had us back on track. A brilliant band to hire if you want to have lots and lots of fun!
Peter Lancaster
3 years ago
From the moment we started to plan our wedding, we knew we wanted Iron Broo! With my wife having attended a few of their ceilidhs in the past, she told me that Iron Broo were the best ceilidh band she'd ever seen. Of course at first, with our wedding being my first ceilidh, I was a little bit nervous but I trusted her with this and I can say I am truly glad that I did. We couldn't have asked for anything more, the music and dancing was incredible (as per usual). Many of our guests had also never attended a ceilidh before, but they made the process of learning all the steps easy and everyone ended up having an amazing time (myself included. ) They were also extremely accommodating, able to play a requested song for our first dance with less than a weeks notice! Thank you so much Iron Broo! It was a pleasure to have you at our wedding and we will be sure to catch you at future events.
Response from the owner:Thanks Peter, it was a pleasure to play for your special day. We had a great time and everyone was wonderful. See you soon, Charlie 👍
Paul Mckee
3 years ago
They recently played at our wedding on 4th November 23 and were fantastic! A lot of guests had never been to a ceilidh before and they all really enjoyed it, especially the kids! We highly recommend Iron Broo!
Jenna Forrest
3 years ago
We hired the Iron Broo duo for a corporate ceilidh and they had everyone up on their feet until the very end! Thank you so much Charlie for performing for us - everyone had a fantastic evening with your band. Would definitely recommend Iron Broo and hire again in the future!
Response from the owner:Thanks Jenna, for a lovely review and we had great fun playing for you. Hope to see you again soon 👍
Helen Shiach
3 years ago
Iron Broo are well worth hiring for a special celebration. Great musicians who know how to get everyone involved. Caller ensured everyone knew what to do and they were happy to keep it fast & furious when no one knew how to waltz! If you are thinking of having a ceilidh I would highly recommend hiring them.
Response from the owner:Thanks Helen, much appreciated. We had a great time playing for you 😄 All the best 👍
Ian & Kathy Davy
3 years ago
Iron Broo played at our family and friends ceilidh in July. It was a two piece band - talented musicians who played in varying styles. Iron Broo chose the dances - a mix of traditional and new ceilidh dances. The explanations of the dances were very clear. Many of our guests commented on how good Iron Broo were. We would definitely recommend them.
Response from the owner:Thanks Ian & Kathy, we loved playing for you! It was a pleasure, your family and friends were great fun. All the best 🪗😊
Cathy Davidson
3 years ago
Iron Broo made a perfect day even better, they had everyone up dancing and mixing, from 3 year olds upwards. Guests who had never been to a ceilidh before had the best time and plenty of laughs trying to get the moves right. We highly recommend them to get the party started
Response from the owner:Thanks Cathy 👍 we had a great time. Much appreciated
Robin Johnson
3 years ago
Hired for ceilidh at Wedding, very accomodating and friendly. Played a requested tune for our first dance. Called/instructed on the dances which was very necessary and useful for people unfamiliar. Flexible on day when time for break and end called. Hired 4 players including a fiddle and sounded great! Had heard play before, and look forward to hearing again.
Response from the owner:Thanks Robin and Chen, it was ace fun playing for you both 👍 all the best ❤️
Chantal Gluting
4 years ago
They came all the way to Luxembourg to do a ceilidh with our Year 8 students and it was simply fantastic! They really motivated our students to take part in the dancing and the students ended up loving it! Thank you so much again! It was a great event!
David Márquez
4 years ago
They are very very good musicians who are masters of their style, but please understand they are not a versatile band and I am sure that is why they are the cream of the cream of ceilidh, however Charlie really takes advantage of his disco choice to make the night round. He adapted to my needs and I am happy to have decided to hire his services.
Response from the owner:Thanks David, it was great to play for you and I really enjoyed the Venezuelan music “crazy hour” 👍🎶
Juliet Buchan
4 years ago
The best Ceilidh band ever, our whole wedding was jumping from start to finish. My English relatives couldn't get enough of the dancing and were guided so well. Thoroughly recommend Charlie Abel and all of his brilliant 5 piece band.
Response from the owner:Thanks Juliet, it was a pleasure to be a part of your special day. It was great fun with excellent company. 🎶🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿👍🥰
Alistair Moore
4 years ago
Great set and game for a fantastic scout ceilidh
Annette McArthur
4 years ago
The band (two piece) were absolutely brilliant. They were all set up in good time and the music was fantastic. Charlie called the dances where needed - everyone had an absolute ball! Thanks a million.
Response from the owner:Thanks Annette, it was great fun. A super audience to play for. I hope we can play for you again sometime, any excuse for a Ceilidh 🎶👍🪗🎶🙏🏼
Kaitlyn Williamson
4 years ago
Amazing wedding band!! Played both a ceilidh set and disco afterparty. Listened to all my crazy plans and created an awesome evening for all my guests. Super value for money and really easy to communicate with.
Response from the owner:Thanks Kaitlyn! We had a great time, your guests were ace fun to play for! All the best, Charlie
Sarah Sophie
4 years ago
absolutely amazing!! the dances and the music of the duo was the best and we loved every minute of the time we had! They were also the nicest people ever
Response from the owner:Thanks 😊 so glad you enjoyed it, thanks for a lovely review 👍🤩
Chrissie Grant
4 years ago
We were lucky enough to have Iron Broo play for us at our wedding, where half the guests were Scottish and experienced ceilidh and reeling dancers and the other half were German and had no idea what was going on! The fact that Iron Broo got EVERYONE on the dance floor and partaking enthusiastically in both Scottish and German dances is a testament to their legendary music and DJ'ing! The evening simply wouldn't have been the same without them. Thank you so much Iron Broo for making our multi-national wedding such a cracking party!
Response from the owner:Thanks Chrissie, it was a pleasure to play for you, everybody was so keen to dance. The German Knoten disco was also such fun. Please let us know if we can help you again. We have played in Germany before, quite a few times for weddings. If you can find another excuse for a ceilidh.... :-)