Ceilidh Band Oxford

WHAT AREA DO YOU COVER?

If you are actively looking for a ceilidh band in Oxford or nearby, we’re going to assume that you already more or less know what a ceilidh is. We offer quite a few ceilidh bands who live/work in the Oxford area or are willing to travel to this central part of England. And by saying ‘nearby’, we suggest you draw a sort of square on a map linking the corners at Stratford-upon-Avon, Northampton, Henley-on-Thames and Swindon.

HOW MUCH DO CEILIDH BANDS CHARGE?

That’s probably your first question, right? On this page, it’s just not possible to cover the fee scale of every band on our website (but please try the search box at the top of this page for more accurate pricing). As a budget guide, we would suggest that a trio ceilidh band in Oxford area (including the caller) will charge circa £400-£550 and the larger ceilidh bands around £550-£800. These are only for guidance since prices do vary from band to band for a variety of reasons (numbers of band members, travel costs, the standard of their equipment, the band’s reputation). I think Mumford & Sons started gigging for a few quid down the pubs in the early days …. but now??

HOW LONG DO BANDS PERFORM?

The ceilidh bands would include all travel expenses to/from your venue, their own PA/sound system, setting up time during the hour before performing – then perform two sets of ceilidh or barn dance. Each set would nominally last about an hour or so either side of an extended break (usually for a buffet/hog roast or whatever). So, we are talking around three hours period before packing down the gear for departure. Your event or timings, of course, might be a bit different which it is why it’s probably wiser to chat that aspect through early on. There’s more about this at  https://jigsnreels.com/have-a-great-night/

WHAT IS NOT INCLUDED IN THE FEES?

Oxford has joined the increasing list of cities making congestion or emission charges (or similar) which can vary depending on the ‘where and when’. Some venues do not offer free parking so ceilidh bands may have to use pay-parking areas for the evening. To avoid any doubt, all band prices quoted will NOT include these types of variable costs. But we are happy to check this out for you given early details of venue, date and timings. Nobody wants any confusion over the cost of booking your band.

Another matter to point out is that ceilidh band members will have foregone a traditional meal time due to their loading up of gear, travelling, setting up their gear in readiness to perform at your event. We ask that members of ceilidh bands are invited to partake free of charge in food and drink hospitality during the event.

WHAT DO CEILIDH BANDS OFFER?

We’ll start with the Caller. As far as we are concerned, any ceilidh band in Oxford and beyond will always have a Caller and the caller’s fee is always included within any quotations. He or she might be one of the ceilidh bands’ musicians but more often will be the person who focuses on the dancers – runs through the moves of each dance before the live music kicks in, then ‘calling’ reminders of these moves while each dance is in progress. The Caller will keep this light-hearted because the whole emphasis is on people having FUN by ‘having a go’, getting the hang of the moves right (or wrong!) within the dance and mixing with other dancers. We like our Callers to encourage a relaxing   atmosphere instead of a formal dance instructional. Our FAQs tab at the top of this runs through the role of the Caller in more detail.

And now, the musicians.

Most of the ceilidh bands have three or four musicians and are very often led by any of an accordion or melodeon or a fiddle, accompanied by other instruments like guitar, banjo, woodwind, keyboards/piano or drums. Sometimes, for budget or spatial concerns, you can book the ‘compact’ ceilidh bands of two musicians with a caller who take up very little performance area. But the larger ceilidh bands provide a greater ‘visible’ presence (helpful when performing on a stage at venues). But a stage is by no means an essential item at your venue.

ARE ALL CEILIDH BANDS THE SAME?

Ceilidh bands are, of course, similar to barn dance bands and American style hoedown bands. To most people it’s all diddly-diddly music, isn’t it? But there are differences and you can read far more on this matter in our FAQs page listed above. But here’s a very quick rundown of what ceilidh bands or barn dance bands in the Oxford area can offer. 

English Ceilidh? Eh, what’s that then? Most people haven’t heard the phrase before. Something along the lines of the old-fashioned harvest-time barn dance bash with the music beefed up! These ceilidh bands might explain the whole thing far better if you listen to their music and many of them are very popular at the major folk festivals in the UK (and abroad) where dancers get very hot and sweaty!

Scottish style ceilidh bands – first off, we can offer the ‘Strictly Scottish’ bands who perform to Scottish Country Dance standards which can be rather exacting. There are many devotees of this very popular style of traditional dance and we can provide the bands to match such occasions as Caledonian Nights for enthusiasts using dances like ‘Eightsome Reel’, ‘Reel of the 51^st’, Duke of Perth’, ‘Posties Jig’. However, not everybody really needs a band that performs to those standards. Many of our ceilidh bands can perform for the popular Scottish dances/music (like ‘Gay Gordons’, ‘Dashing White Sergeant’, ‘Orcadian Strip The Willow’) mixing the night with these and other ceilidh and barn dances. If your night wants to achieve a real Scottish flavour without the need for the dancing to be too exacting this is probably the better (and slightly less expensive) alternative to consider.

Then, there are also Irish ceilidh or ceili bands. Their music is naturally from the Irish ceili traditional style for performing several of the popular Irish ceili dances (examples – ‘Siege of Ennis’ or ‘Bridge of Athlone’). However, these bands perform for ceilidh dancing only and NOT for Irish set-dances or ‘River Dance’ style Irish step dancing, both of which are a totally different cup of tea. Again, visit our FAQs page above for more detailed explanation.

And a quick mention for the ‘folk-rock’ style ceilidh bands using electric guitars, bass instruments, keyboards and, of course, drums which may be more to your liking. It’s still traditional music but with a far more modern, somewhat funkier, twist.

THAT’S ABOUT IT!

We can’t cover everything on this page, though we should let you know, for your peace of mind, that we insist that all our ceilidh bands also have Public Liability Insurance cover (minimum £250,000) and PAT certification for electric gear. Most venues insist on these pre-requisites.

You can delve much further into the bands using the search boxes on our HOME PAGE. We also invite you to dig into our FAQ pages (see top pf page) where we answer loads of questions about venues, room sizes, band styles and traditions – and even the best type of flooring for ceilidh dancing!! Absolutely riveting!!

We are looking forward to hearing from you.