Ceilidh band

Staffin Island Ceilidh Band

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(5.0)Read all 16 reviews
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About Staffin Island Ceilidh Band

The Staffin Island Ceilidh Band is one of the best Ceilidh bands in East & Central Scotland! We specialise in Wedding Ceilidhs & Events.
Ceilidh band
Dundee
Public liability insurance of £10 million

The Staffin Island Ceilidh Band remains one of the best Ceilidh/Wedding event bands in the UK! Based in Central Scotland, we're blessed with a talented, dedicated caller who excels at getting people of all ages and abilities onto the dance floor. We can also offer a fantastic range of cover songs, as well as a comprehensive repertoire of traditional numbers, with a focus on lively, upbeat performances and an exhilarating, rocky style. We've performed around the UK and Ireland over the years, and most of our members are also experienced traditional musicians with their fingers on the pulse of contemporary traditional music - something we bring to the fore in our smaller lineups. We're active in our local music scene as well, promoting our love of Scottish music old and new, and supporting local charities and organisations with our work.

Staffin Island Ceilidh Band
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5 out of 5
16 verified reviews
Satisfaction
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5.0
Professionalism
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5.0
Communication
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5.0
Punctuality
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5.0

Staffin Island Ceilidh Band's Reviews

From Encore customers:

ZA
Zahir A
2 months ago
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5 out of 5

Fantastic. Dundee University reunion after 33 years. These guys rocked it. Thank you

Reply from Staffin Island Ceilidh Band
2 months ago

Thanks Zahir! We had a blast playing for you, we're delighted everyone enjoyed their night!

AT
Abbey T
3 months ago
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5 out of 5

We had the band play for our wedding recently and they were fantastic! They were great to listen to and their ceilidh was fab, a little different from the usual dances, which was really fun and we had great instruction from the caller. They very kindly accommodated extra requests we had and were super easy to communicate with. A very cheery and chilled out group of folk that were a delight to work with. Thanks so much for making our wedding a hoot!

SM
Susan M
4 months ago
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5 out of 5

Wonderful! Couldn't have asked for a better experience. The band played for my 70th birthday party and had everyone up dancing from start to finish with a break for the cake cutting and played in the background for a further short break. The Caller helped us all with the footwork and took account of the small children in the group. A brilliant party - we didn't want them to leave! Thank you for making my party such a memorable and happy event! XX

Reply from Staffin Island Ceilidh Band
4 months ago

Hi Susan, thanks so much for your very kind words! We're so glad you all had a great time (we did too!), and we hope to be able to play for you again soon.

CS
Caitlin S
5 months ago
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5 out of 5

Absolutely amazing 3 piece band. Great caller and musicians and atmosphere. Highly recommend for weddings!

Reply from Staffin Island Ceilidh Band
5 months ago

Thanks so much for your lovely review - and thanks for having us along. It was an absolute blast playing for you, and such a lovely location for a ceilidh. It really was our pleasure.

Read all 10 reviews

From other customers:

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Laura S
2 years ago, for a Wedding in United Kingdom
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5 out of 5

Helloooooo to the most incredible Staffin Island Celidh Band, THANK YOU SO MUCH for being the soundtrack of our wedding day! We knew you were amazing, but you were the absolute BEST EVER!!!! You blew us away and absolutely made our wedding party. We have had so many comments from our friends and family about how incredible you were - we feel so lucky to have had you be part of our special day. Thank you all SO SO MUCH. Our first dance was magical - thank you for learning the song and making it so special. We really can’t thank you enough. We hope we will get to see you at an event very soon so we can party with you again. We’ll be encouraging everyone we know to get in touch!!! If there is anywhere we can leave a public review or testimonial then please let us know. Thank you all so much - you are awesome! Laura & Alexander x

KS
Karyn S
5 years ago, for a Wedding in Dundee
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5 out of 5

We had Staffin Island play at our wedding on 7/9/19 and I might be biased but it was the best ceilidh I have ever been to. We had lots of people who had never ceilidh'd before and Chris did a fantastic job of bringing the room together. They played a great mix of dances and knew perfectly how to read the room. Our guests loved every minute of it and we couldn't be more grateful. Trust them, they know what they're doing! Thank you guys! Love Karyn and Tom x

Read all 6 reviews
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Staffin Island Ceilidh Band's Song list

We have a unique and varied range of songs and dances that never fail to make a great night.
We enjoy putting our own folky Scottish take on songs from all kinds of genres and styles.
COVER SONGS:
Galway Girl ~ Steve Earle
Ho Hey ~ Lumineers
Girls Just Wanna Have Fun ~ Cyndi Lauper
I'm a Believer ~ The Monkees
Wagon Wheel ~ Old Crow Medicine Show
Stuck In The Middle ~ Stealers Wheel
Brown Eyed Girl ~ Van Morrison
Sit Down ~ James
I Saw Her Standing There ~ The Beatles
500 Miles ~ The Proclaimers
I’ll be there for you - The Rembrandts (Friends theme)
Your Song ~ Elton John
Take It Easy ~ The Eagles
There She Goes ~ The La's
Caledonia ~ Dougie MacLean
Valerie ~ Amy Winehouse
Kiss Me ~ Sixpence None The Richer
Proud Mary ~ Tina Turner
Wild Mountain Thyme ~ Traditional
Loch Lomond ~ Runrig
Our dedicated caller Chris has a passion for fun and unusual dances, his interactive and attentive calling style means even inexperienced dancers can easily learn even the most challenging dances.
DANCES:
Borrowdale Exchange
Britannia Two-Step
Circassian Circle
Circle Waltz
Cumberland Square Eight
Dashing White Sergeant
Eightsome Reel
Flying Scotsman
Gay Gordons
Hamilton House
Hooligan’s Jig
Military Two-Step
Patacake Polka
Reel of the 51st
Riverside
Sausage Machine
Strip The Willow {Traditional and Orcadian}
Witches Reel
The traditional ceilidh tunes (both ancient and modern) we use in our dance sets are too numerous to name, but here's a few classics you might recognise:
MUSIC:
The Atholl Highlanders
The Jig of Slurs
Scotland the Brave
The Dashing White Sergeant
The Flowers of Edinburgh
Jig Runrig
The Hut on Staffin Island
The Road to Errogie
A Hundred Pipers
The Gael

Staffin Island Ceilidh Band's Prices

Note: prices may vary based on travel distance. For an exact quote, click “Check availability”.

Standard Prices
Performance durationPrice
Up to 1 hour£1200
Up to 2 hours£1500
Up to 3 hours£1850
Customer questions

Can you perform covers?

Yes, no problem. We have a range of modern covers we're happy to perform in addition to traditional Ceilidh music - normally these fit into the breaks between dances, but if there's anything you'd like to hear, feel free to ask us about it!

Do you have different line-up options?

Our line-up is as follows: Vocals, Guitar, Fiddle, Keyboard, Bass, and Drums. The 2- and 3-piece options can be configured so we only bring the instruments you need, and our full 7 piece line-up includes a Koto (Japanese harp) player for that extra wow factor.

What if my timings change after I've booked you?

We always try our best to be flexible to help ensure your event runs as smoothly as possible. If timings change slightly in the run up to the event just let us know.

Can you provide an iPod/DJ service before and between your sets?

We can run a playlist through our PA stystem, and we do this for free in any breaks between sets.

How much time do you need to set up?

We usually set up about 2 hours before the performance time, but in venues with good access arrangements or for smaller line-ups we can sometimes reduce this time. As soon as our PA is set up we can provide a free playlist service to help set the atmosphere and get your guests ready for our live performance!

Do you provide a caller?

Yes we do! We have a fantastic caller, Chris, as part of our Ceilidh band, who is included as standard in our 7-person line-up.

Can I pick the songs you play from the set list?

Our set lists have been tailored through countless performances and learning what gives us a full dance floor, and an amazing time for your guests. However, we're definitely happy to talk things through and make sure we find what works for your event.

Is all of the equipment (e.g. PA) included in your quote?

Yes, all our equipment is included. We usually require a minimum of 8 meters by 3 meters space to perform.

Can you learn song requests before the event?

If a song isn't included in our song list there may still be a chance we already know it. For weddings, we will normally consider all reasonable requests for First Dances at no additional cost. However, for further requests we normally ask £40 for this service to take into account rehearsal times etc.
Musicianship
Genres:
Ceilidh, Folk, Country, Traditional Scottish folk, Traditional Irish folk, Traditional English folk, Asian music
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Event types:
Wedding, Hotel / Restaurant event, Virtual event, Birthday party, Wedding proposal, Funeral / Memorial service, Church service, Bar / Club / Venue event, Private event, Corporate event, Charity event, Concert, Recording session, Theatre / Show, Cruise, Burns night, Christmas party, New Year's Eve
See all event types