Bringing communities together through fun shared local experiences with a barn dance, ceilidh or folk dance band event

If you are interested in bringing a community together, a barn dance, ceilidh or folk dance event may be your answer and the cost of booking one of the many folk bands that are available in the UK together with a 'caller' to show everybody how to do the dances may well be a lot less than you might expect.

Barn dances, ceilidhs and folk dances appeal to all generations from the youngest to those who may be a little less able to race around a dance floor. The traditional music is cheerful and upbeat. Everybody gets to meet everybody else on the dance floor. Complete beginners are able to participate fully because each dance is explained by the person organising the evening's dances (the 'caller').

Without doubt, if you are interested in getting a community together for a purpose such as a wedding, club annual get together or to make use of an existing facility like a church hall or village hall, a barn dance, ceilidh or folk dance is a great way of bringing your members together in a friendly, cheerful, upbeat, social setting.

Finding a barn dance, ceilidh or folk dance band is also easy with many advertised on the Internet but, if you are interested in holding your barn dance, ceilidh or folk dance in Somerset, Dorset or the West Country generally, why not check out BarnBuskers Ceilidh and Folk Dance Band. We have years of experience providing barn dances, ceilidhs and folk dances and we would love to play our part in bringing your community together for a fun event.

60th Birthday Party Ceilidh Folk Barn Dance Band at Uplowman Village Hall, Uplowman, Tiverton, Devon was brilliant

What a fantastic time we had at the Ceilidh folk barn dance we played at in the Uplowman Village Hall, Uplowman, Tiverton, Devon last Saturday (25th February 2012).

The core ceilidh folk barn dance band was made up of myself (on soprano saxophone), my friend Martin (leading the band on his piano accordion), Angie (playing fiddle) and Simon (on bass guitar) but the lady who was having the 60th birthday party had also invited lots of musician friends to sit in with us (including such names as Tom Addison, Steve Dart (Rumpus Ceilidh Band) and Mary Harrington (Rum and Kidney Band). So we eventually had a big band of about 14 folk and barn dance ceilidh musicians which made an absolutely fantastic sound.

Additionally we had three excellent folk barn dance ceilidh callers. Richard Gracie, Steve Cunio and Grahame Upham did a fantastic job working in rotation to tell the dancers exactly how to do the dances whether they were beginners or had folk danced before. They certainly kept the enthusiastic dancers who comprised about 80 friends of Gill's busy and happy with jigs, reels, waltzes, polkas, slip jigs and much more between 8pm and midnight.

In the interval while the big band had a break and some food we were entertained by a wonderful display of border morris dancing by local dance side Borderline Morris in which Gill the birthday girl has been a longstanding member.

The Uplowman Village Hall, Uplowman, Tiverton, Devon worked a treat too with plenty of parking spaces and I was particularly impressed by the friendly attitude of the gentleman who let Gill and I in to have a look around a few days before the gig and ensured the hall was open for us on the day.

Even the stage, which we had to construct for the evening, proved not too difficult with several helping hands making light the work and it certainly looked great and worked well for our evening's ceilidh folk music barn dancing.

All in all, it was a really wonderful evening and having a ceilidh folk music barn dance proved to be a fantastic way to celebrate Gill's 60th birthday party.

Budleigh Salterton Public Hall, Devon folk dance (barn dance ceilidh for experienced dancers) with the Pete Mac Band plus many of their musician and folk dancing friends

Budleigh Salterton Public Hall in Devon rocked last Saturday (15th October 2011) with a folk dance (a barn dance or ceilidh for experienced dancers) with the sound of traditional English and Irish folk tunes brilliantly provided by the Pete Mac Band comprising Pete, Nicole, Sue, Angie and Graham plus the added support for the night of many visiting band musician friends including myself.

With up to twenty musicians making up the band on the stage, it was definitely a big band but it was amazing how tightly the tunes rolled out over the evening giving the dancers a wonderful opportunity to demonstrate their folk dancing skills, ably led by highly experienced caller Nicole Mac.

The floor show at the end of the intermission with me leading the band on my soprano sax to a rocking Cajun tune went down a storm and, when I led the tune again to wind up the evening's dancing, lots of the folk dancers got back on the floor and were jiving to it despite several hours of energetic folk dancing.

It was a friendly, pleasant and relaxed evening with a wide selection of great country folk barn dances and the bring and share food during the intermission was tasty with more than enough for everybody.

Without any doubt, Pete and Nicole Mac of the Pete Mac Band organised a splendid folk dance (barn dance ceilidh for experienced dancers) and, with the proceeds going to charity, it was all in  a good cause so I very much look forward to the opportunity of playing with the Pete Mac Band again. (For more photos, checkout Rob Hopcott on  Facebook)

Wonderful acoustics playing traditional English barn dance tunes in the bandstand at The Barge Inn, Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire

Over the years I've played traditional English barn dance and ceilidh tunes at many venues but the bandstand at The Barge Inn, Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire where I played yesterday must be one of the best outdoor ones for both ambiance and wonderful acoustics.

The gig was to play in informal session with Chris Timson and some of his friends from the traditional English session at The George, Woolley Street, Bradford on Avon and the venue was at The Barge Inn, Bradford on Avon.

As you can see from the above photo, we were playing in a wooden bandstand and the acoustics were fantastic. Many of the problems musicians have when they are performing are associated with hearing the other musicians. Bands that use amplifiers often have feedback speakers so musicians can hear the other musicians but many of the bands I play with are acoustic without amplification so the acoustics of the venue become really important. The bandstand was absolutely perfect because the ceiling was curved and wherever you stood, the sound from the other musicians was reflected back perfectly. It was so easy to stay in time and we sounded marvelous!

On a day when the weather forecast was a bit iffy, the sun shone for most of the two hours we played from one thirty in the afternoon and the ambiance with the canal and its barges running close by was wonderful (see photo left). As I said to Chris Timson who organised the gig, it was open air traditional English folk music at its best :-)

Entertainment with Monty's Maggot Ceilidh Band at Shoulder of Mutton Beer Festival, Wantage, Oxfordshire Friday 19th & Saturday 20th August 2011

I'm really looking forward to playing traditional English folk tunes in session with Monty's Maggot Ceilidh Band at the beer festival in the Shoulder of Mutton, Wantage, Oxfordshire this weekend (Friday 19th and Saturday 20th August 2011).

The last time I played with Monty's Maggot Ceilidh Band in session (see photos right and left) was at Ye Olde Cider Bar in Newton Abbot, Devon. Playing with such brilliant musicians as Flos Headford on fiddle, Jeremy Tozer on melodeon, Carl Allerfeldt violin and Neil Gledhill bass saxopone was a real treat with their natural sense of rhythm, timing and incredible knowledge of tunes so this weekend at the Shoulder of Mutton, Wantage is one gig that I know I'm really going to enjoy.

As an added bonus, I hear also that Monty's Maggot will be bringing along some more of their friends, including, on Friday, Cat Kelly recently back from her successful performance at Sidmouth Folk Festival 2011.

Billed before Monty's Maggot, on Friday, I'm told, the evening will be kicking off with Ellie Brown, the 15 year old modern singing phenomenon from Witney.

On Saturday evening billed also is Lutece Constant, a 17 year old modern singer from Oxford and the Ashnah Performers belly dancers to add to the excitement of Monty's Maggots and friends.

So, if you are wondering what's on around Wantage, Oxfordshire area Friday 19th August 2011 and Saturday 20th August 2011 and are looking for some great beer and some fantastic music entertainment, why not pop around, check us out and enjoy the fun! (If the lineup is important to you, it is probably worth checking performer details with the pub beforehand by telephone in case of any last minute changes) See you there :-)

Traditional English, Irish, Klezmer, French tunes with Plus Fours Folk Band for cancer research at Oaktrow Farm, Timberscombe, Exmoor, Somerset

It is always a pleasure to play traditional English, Irish and other tunes in support of charity so when I was contacted by local West Somerset traditional folk band Plus Fours to be the fourth player for a gig in support of raising funds for cancer research, with the assurance my expenses would be covered, I jumped at the opportunity.

The fact that the gig was to take place high up amongst the hills of Exmoor at Oaktrow Farm near Timberscombe with its wonderful views of surrounding countryside was an added plus to playing with Plus Fours.

Without a doubt the evening was a great success with many local people enjoying the hog roast in a huge marquee and chatting to the sound of our mixture of mainly traditional Irish tunes plus a few English and Klezmer tunes with the odd traditional song thrown in to add flavour to the hog roast.

Plus Fours traditional folk band members Marlene, Paddy and Tad are also often to be found playing their wide repertoire of traditional folk music tunes and some songs at pub sessions around West Somerset on Wednesday evenings. (Further details checkout Half Pace Sessions held in the Exmoor area led by Tad Mandzeij).

Barn dance ceilidh playing with the Haymakers Country Dance Band in aid of Zambian school children's exchange at Overton Farm Babcary Somerset

The Haymakers Country Dance Band invited me and legendary piano accordion player Martin Hughes to add to their numbers for a traditional barn dance ceilidh at Overton Farm Babcary Somerset on the 22nd July 2011 in aid of a Zambian school children's exchange.

Live pig racing was on the agenda which I thought was a wind-up until I got there and saw the big barn where the pig racing and the barn dance ceilidh was to take place.

Fortunately we were amped up because the barn was vast (not to mention the pile of silage opposite) and, although we were playing a lot of the time as background music, our excellent caller, Graham, eventually got lots of the people dancing after the pig racing had finished, especially the local Somerset teenagers who had learned country dancing at school and some of the visiting Zambians.

All in all, a brilliant evening. If you are interested in checking out the Haymakers Country Dance Band, their information tells me they are a long established 4 piece band who play in a straight-forward style eminently suitable for dancing to. Can provide a caller if necessary, and are happy to work with other callers if required phone 01458 834192.

For my part, playing with the Haymakers Country Dance Band and Martin Hughes was a terrific experience perched as we were on a rickety hay cart and one I would enjoy repeating :-)