Call Button

FAQ

We hope this page will answer a lot of the questions you might have about booking a ceilidh band for your event. Please don’t hesitate to get in touch if you have any other questions.
How much do you charge?
Our price is dependant on a few factors: mainly the location of the event due to the travel costs, but also the day of the week and time of year (we offer good discounts for midweek events and the quieter months!) also if you’d like any of our extras like Disco, Covers Band Option or Daytime Music. So it’s best to get in touch with us, include your preferred date and location and we’ll send you a tailored quote and all the information you need Email Ali at: info@licencetoceilidh.com
Do you do smaller more intimate events as well?
We certainly do! We do events of all shapes and sizes and many of the Wedding and Birthday parties we play at are more intimate events, we just have a lot more videos of our larger ones as we tend to only film at our public nights rather than private bookings.

Is it suitable for beginners?
Definitely! What we do is all geared up for beginners and/or a mixed crowd. We do all the dances that anyone with experience or who learnt some ceilidh and country dances at school will know and remember (like Gay Gordons and Strip the Willow) but that are still simple enough to teach to complete beginners! The emphasis is on having fun and being inclusive!

 

Are you reliable?
We’re certainly are! We’re all professional musicians and performers and have built up a great and longstanding reputation in the industry.
Do you have your own equipment?
We certainly do! Our prices include us bringing all our own top of the range PA equipment and some LED Lighting so we’re fully self contained and just need 2 normal power sockets fairly close to where we’re playing.
How long do you need to set-up?
Our set-up is very quick, we only need 45minutes and our pack-down at the end is just 15! We usually arrive around 6pm to set-up for an evening event but we can arrange to arrive earlier in the day for a small extra charge and then you’d be welcome to use our system to play your playlist through the day and our microphone for your speeches.
My venue has a sound limiter is that okay?
It’s very common these days for venues to have sound restrictions put in place by the local council and they should let you know about these when booking. We’re use to working with these and are recommended suppliers for a number with a very low levels (below 100db) and we don’t tend to have any issues – except for if the crowd cheer too loudly!! We’re also happy to use in house venue speakers and equipment if that’s their policy and are always happy to liaise directly with a venue for you 🙂 as a ceilidh band it’s important the Caller can be heard clearly over the other instruments so we tend to be a bit quieter than your standard rock band… However because of the line-up of Licence to Ceilidh including drums and electric instruments it’s not possible for us to play completely acoustic without amplification. But do still get in touch and we can recommend you a band who can!
Do you have the insurance my venue needs?
Of course! All of our equipment is fully PAT tested and we have Public Liability Insurance up to 10 million.
How much space do I need for the dancing?
This is always a difficult thing to estimate with a ceilidh as the dances are all done in different shapes/formats and involve a lot of movement. A good estimate though is 1m squared per person dancing and we tend to estimate only half your guests maximum dancing at one time. We often work in smaller sized venues and can always make it work, it’s always possible to tailor the dances ever so slightly and shuffle sets about to suit the size or shape of the room.
How long do you play for?
For the Ceilidh we offer up to 2x 75minute sets + 30minute break, this is quite long for a lot of events though and we recommend the ideal length particularly for a Wedding is 2x 45minutes or 60minute sets. But you’re of course welcome to have the full 3 hours if you’d like When you book the Ceilidh and Covers band option we do a maximum of 2x 45minute sets for the ceilidh + 1 hour party set of pop songs!
What do you wear?
Unless requested otherwise ladies wear our famous tartan dresses and gents wear subtle tartan trews and smart black shirts.
Do we have to be Scottish or Irish to have a ceilidh?
Definitely not! Ceilidh’s are becoming more and more popular and you don’t have to have any celtic routes to have one, it’s just a great form of unique and inclusive entertainment to have at your wedding and something different your guests will love!

Get in touch with us now...