Year of the Ceilidh

Written by Threepenny Bit - 2015-02-19 15:14:42

It's well into February now. How are the new year's resolutions going? Ok, ok so we don't have to talk about that... Still, it's Chinese New Year today and that seems like as good a time as any to tell you about our nefarious plans for 2015. It looks like it's going to be the Year of the Ceilidh for us!

We'll be doing our biggest ever festival ceilidh for the 'late night extra' at Ely Folk Festival on Friday 10th of July. Joining us once again on calling duties is the inimitable Gordon Potts and we can't wait! There's all sorts of festivals shaping up for us this coming summer so hopefully we'll see you in some muddy fields somewhere this year. Keep an eye on the 'Gigs' tab for more info.

Outside of the festival circuit we are playing four ceilidh series events throughout the year. These are:

Unicorn Ceilidhs in Baldock, with Phill Moxley calling, 29th May.

Stroud Ceilidhs, with Will Hall calling, 7th November.

Ruff Ceilidhs in Cardiff, caller TBC, 14th November.

Oxfolk in Kennington, with Phill Moxley calling, 12th December.

We love ceilidh series. Why? They're like folk clubs for ceilidh bands. It's a way of regularly bringing great dance bands from around the country to local venues. They give a focus for the English-ceilidh community and can foster new ceilidh fans and help grow the scene. Our friend Ian Nichols has recently started a brand new one in Hampshire called SHOCC Ceilidhs and while it's only on its second event, it has already sold out in advance! Get yourself down there one day and see what it's all about.

If you've danced to us before you'll probably know Phill Moxley. He's been a great friend and colleague of the band ever since we started our folky adventure back in 2011. In fact, he even played in some early versions of our line up with Helen, Chris and Guy. Since then he's taken up ceilidh calling and has proven to be quite the dab hand. So much so that he was picked to be mentored as part of the 'Cat's Calling Academy' workshops which aim to give support and experience to promising ceilidh callers! We think he's bloody fabulous and we're looking forward to dragging him up and down the country with us as this journey unfolds. With that in mind, as well as the ceilidh series gigs we mentioned above, Phill will be joining us for the Folk Weekend Oxford Ceilidh on Saturday 18th of April. Head on over to the Videos section of the site to see him and us in action at the Anchor Gardens in Sidmouth last summer.

Full listings of our upcoming gigs can be found by clicking here.

See you on the road,

TPB x