One of the most popular country dance & ceilidh bands in Lancashire, Cheshire, Yorkshire, Cumbria and the North West of England. We provide music for Barn Dances, Birthdays, Ceilidhs, Weddings, Wakes, Hoedowns, Parties, Country Dances, Fetes, Festivals, Fundraisers & Corporate events.
Traditional social dancing - Why?
One of the difficulties for many events organisers is to allow all generations to enjoy themselves together. Country dancing,
ceilidhs or barndances, call it what you will, is just the thing. It makes it easy for people to mix and therefore makes it a night everyone will enjoy and remember.
With a little expert guidance from the caller, even those that you think might not enjoy it can have a fantastic time. It can be a great leveller too as the
tunes and dances may be new to all but the experienced. It's even suitable for children too although not for the very young. The volume level is only
as high as it needs to be to enjoy the dance so if you do sit one out, you'll still be able to talk!
It is important to us that you enjoy your event and we hope you will then be pleased to pass on your recommendation.
Our line up includes:
Richard Moss - guitar and vocals.
Richard is a powerful guitar player and a fine singer. His driving percussive and rhythmic guitar skills are
blended with subtle fingerstyle playing. He has recently supported Spiers & Boden, Davey Graham, John Renbourne and Robin Williamson.
Seamus Heffernan - bass guitar and vocals.
Better known as 'Sham', he runs Shamrock Recording Studio in the Ribble Valley village of Balderstone. He is co-owner of a PA hire company and
regularly engineers live sound around the North West. He's a keen festival-goer and engineers sound and lighting at some of the larger UK folk events
including Sidmouth, Towersey and Fylde. He has lead Music Technology and IT courses at Preston and Runshaw colleges too. He is a singer-guitarist in the
duo Sham & Dave and sings tenor and bass for the Darwen-based choir, The Ashleigh Singers. He accompanies blues singer-songwriter, Mick Knowles on bass
and harmony voice. A regular guest presenter of BBC Radio Lancashire’s weekly folk music programme, The Drift, and together with his partner Janet Aspin,
stages monthly folk concerts at Mellor Brook Community Centre, Blackburn and serves as
a volunteer on its management committee.
Julian Taylor - fiddle, vocals and stomp box!
The band's leader and a mean fiddler with a passion for 'local' music (from the North West of England.) A
graduate in Folk & Traditional music from Newcastle University where he was tutored by Kathryn Tickell and Stewart Hardy to mention but a few. A fiddle tutor
himself now, he is also the workshop leader for the Palatine Fiddlers who meet every week at Mellor Brook
Comunity Centre. He is also the fiddle player with Sunniside Up! a ceilidh band based in Gateshead in the North East of England.
We have over twenty years experience in playing for dancing and providing musical entertainment.
"If you're not enjoying it, you're doing it wrong!" Alistair Anderson, Artistic Director of Folkworks, on ceilidh dancing.
Audio samples.
To hear us play, click on either of the tune excerpts. If you don't tap your feet....check your pulse!
O 'tis Love / Paganini's set
Come Dance and Sing set
Public Liability Insurance.
We have a professional approach to insurance and Health and Safety regulations. For the re-assurance of yourself and your guests we hold
Public Liability Insurance with an indemnity limit of £5 million. Please ask us for evidence of our cover.
PAT tested equipment.
Under normal circumstances we provide our own PA system. The integrity of our equipment has been fully tested and is compliant with
the I.E.E. PAT (Portable Appliance Testing) code of practice. Ask to see our certification.
Risk Assessment.
To ensure the safety of the public and ourselves we have undertaken a risk assessment of our equipment, the performance space (both the stage and dancing
areas) and of traditional social dancing. If you or your venue administration would like to view this document then please contact me.
The Nitty-Gritty!
Our fees start at around £300 plus the cost of a caller, if you need one. The caller guides the dancers through the dance figures
and let's them know when they should be doing, for example, a 'chasee' step, a 'right-hand star' or a 'basket'. Sometimes, if you're new
to country dancing, it's quite easy to go the wrong way or get in a muddle but don't worry, that often adds to the enjoyment too.
We'll find a caller for you that's ideal for the occasion and they may charge between £60 and £100. Rates, however, can vary and are dependant on the
date, location and duration of the event so please contact me for a firm quotation or submit our online
enquiry form.
Diary
Here is a selection of our future bookings.
| When: | Event: | Where: | Comments: |
| 4th. July 2009 | Wedding celebrations | Roughlee, Nr. Burnley | Private Function. |
| 10th. July 2009 | Wedding celebrations | Meol's Hall, Southport. | Private function. |
| 25th. July 2009 | Wedding celebrations | Ince Public Hall. Ince. | Private Function. |
| 29th. July 2009 | 60th Birthday celebrations | Masonic Hall, Garstang. | Private function. |
| 1st. August 2009 | Wedding celebrations | Whalley Abbey, Whalley. | Private function. |
| 15th. August 2009 | Wedding celebrations | Barton Grange Hotel, Barton, Preston. | Private Function. |
| 3rd. September 2009 | Wedding celebrations | The Continental, Avenham, Preston. | Private Function. |
| 4th. September 2009 | Wedding celebrations | Gibbon Bridge Hotel, Chipping. | Private Function. |
| 12th. September 2009 | Wedding celebrations | Harris Park Centre, Preston. | Private Function. |
| 3rd. October 2009 | Harvest Barn Dance. | Goosnargh Village Hall. | All Welcome. |
| 17th. October 2009 | 2nd. Big National Ceilidh. Proceeds to WaterAid. Traditional dance at it's best! | Mellor Brook Community Centre, Mellor Brook. | All Welcome - come and join us! 01254 812131 for info/tickets. |
| 28th December 2009 | Wedding celebrations. | Bolton School Centre. | Private Function. |
| 30th. April 2010 | Wedding celebrations | Fence gate Inn, Fence, Nr. Burnley. | Private Function. |
| 29th. May 2010 | Wedding celebrations | Melling, Liverpool. | Private Function. |
If you would like me to contact you to help you plan your event, or if you know what you would like and just need a quote, then please complete and submit our online enquiry form. I'll be back in touch with you very quickly.
Click the button to find out about some of the dances that we play regularly. If you would like any more information about any of them or the holds, the steps or the music please contact me.
Click here to see photos of us in action!
