The Riot Band

The Riot Band are an experienced Bury and Bolton based ceilidh band who play venues in Lancashire, Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Yorkshire and throughout the North of England and North Wales. We play at folk festivals, parties, wedding receptions and social events. If you choose The Riot Band for your Ceilidh, Barn Dance, Festival, or celebration, or for your wedding band you can be assured of a very memorable evening. The Riot Band has its origins way back in the nineteen sixties. Peter Lewis on fiddle, Peter Fox on piano accordion, Brian Platt on percussion and Bob Duckworth on tenor banjo, all members of the now defunct Bury Folk Club, formed The Fiery Clockface Ceilidh Band. In the mid 70s, the band re-formed as Chatterton Riot, with Francis Roe and John Hemmingway joining Bob and Pete Lewis. In 1978 (or thereabouts), Ed McGurk joined the band on bass guitar. Shortly after, the name was changed to The Riot Band. The Riot Band went from strength to strength and with Bob’s son; Neil on drums, took on an electric ceilidh band style, still playing folk music for ceilidh’s, Barn Dances or Hoe Downs. Whatever name you choose, the music and format of the evening are the same, dancing to the instructions of a caller, it takes the caller a few minutes to explain the dances, which usually last around ten minutes, that equates to about four dances per hour, so we strongly recommend that you book your Ceilidh band for at least two hours with The Riot Band the cost is the same for up to four hours. Our past performances have included folk festivals, weddings, special birthdays and social events for clubs, student unions and many other gatherings. Our callers/MC’s are carefully chosen, highly experienced and entertaining. They’ll keep you on your toes, walk you through each dance before the music starts and call the steps whilst in full flow. You can’t go wrong!!!