What instruments are played in a Barn Dance or Ceilidh Band and do Ceilidh Bands sing any songs as well as playing music for the dancing?

My own band JIGABIT has a varied instrumental line-up including piano accordion, fiddle, bass guitar, banjo, mandolin, rhythm guitar, drums / percussion and multi-vocals for songs.
Other instruments played by bands include melodeon, concertina, button accordion, keyboard, flute, clarinet, oboe, saxophone, recorder, trumpet, tuba and other brass, bagpipes and other pipes, hurdy gurdy, cello, viola, ocarina, hammer dulcimer, Appalachian dulcimer . . . . . the list is endless.

If you want a Band which does songs as well as playing music for ceilidh dancing, do please make it clear on your initial enquiry, and check that a band includes songs – not all do! This will clearly determine which band will be most suitable for your function. Some bands play and sing some traditional Irish and Scottish songs, and a few of the more professional Ceilidh bands do excellent covers of 50s, 60s and 70s country and rock ‘n’ roll numbers, but many Ceilidh and Barn Dance bands just play music for the ceilidh dances. None of the bands I know do any very modern music as frankly, it would sound quite bizarre played on traditional acoustic instruments!

In addtion to our repertoire of ceilidh and barn dance music and dances, my own band, JIGABIT, performs a range of songs including:

I Usedta lover - 1990's - Saw Doctors
Big River - 1995 - Jimmy Nail
Achy Breaky Heart -Don Von Tress / 1992 -Billy RayCyrus
When you say Nothing at All - 1988 - Keith Whitley / Alison Krauss / Ronan Keating
Meet Me on the Corner - 1972 - Lindisfarne
Take It Easy - 1970's - Eagles
Peaceful Easy Feeling - 1970's - Eagles                        
Big Bad Leroy Brown -1973 -Jim Croce
500 Miles -1988 -Proclaimers
I’m a Believer-1966 - The Monkees
Sunny Afternoon -1966 - The Kinks
You Never Can Tell / TeenageWedding or C'est La Vie -1964 - ChuckBerry
Johnny B Goode – 1958 Chuck Berry
Crazy Love - 1969 - Van Morrison
Brown Eyed Girl - 1967 - Van Morrison
Sloop John B - 1966 - Beach Boys
Rocky Top - 1967 - Felice and Boudleaux Bryant / Osborne Bros / Lynn Anderson
Eight Days A Week - 1964 - Beatles
I Saw Her Standing There- 1963 - Beatles
I've Just Seen a Face- 1965 - Beatles
A Picture of You - 1962 - Joe Brown & The Bruvvers
When You Walk In The Room - 1964 - The Searchers                  
Pretty Woman - 1964 - Roy Orbison                                          
Twenty Flight Rock - 1956 - Eddie Cochran
Folsom Prison Blues - 1959 - Johnny Cash
Don't Know Much About History (or Wonderful World) - 1959 - Sam Cooke
Route 66 - 1946 - Bobby Troup / Nat King Cole, Rolling Stones, Chuck Berry, Depeche Mode and others                         
Save the Last Dance For Me - 1960 - The Drifters
Tennessee Waltz - 1946 - Patti Page / Patsy Cline
Will The Circle Be Unbroken - 1935 - Carter Family / Johnny Cash / Willie Nelson / Gene Vincent etc
Lady is a Tramp / Red Roses For A Blue Lady - 1937 / 1948

More traditional styled songs include . . . .
Irish Rover - 1966 - Trad Irish song - Clancy Brothers / Dubliners / Pogues / Tramps
Black Velvet Band - Trad from 1900s but first recorded 1950s
Cockles and Mussels or Molly Malone - Trad from 1880s
Dirty Old Town - 1949 - Ewan MacColl / Spinners / Clancy Bros / Dubliners / Pogues
Goodnight Irene - 1932 - Lead Belly / Weavers / Sinatra / Jerry Lee Lewis / Johnny Cash / Jim Reeves etc
Star of the County Down - Trad Irish 1800's by McGarvey - Covered by Van Morrison / Chieftans
Leaving of Liverpool - 1880's - Trad song - recent covers by The Pogues, Dubliners / Clancy Brothers
Maggie May - Trad 1890's - then 1957 Lonnie Donegan and Vipers Skiffle Group / 1970 Beatles
Raggle Taggle Gipsy - 1720's - Scottish / Irish trad - 1970's - Planxty
Rose of Allendale - Trad English Northumbrian  - Covered by Corries / Dubliners - 1980's
Spanish Lady - Trad Irish / English song - 1880's / Recent covers Dubliners / Gaelic Storm
Field of Athenry - Dubliners etc
Whiskey in the Jar - 1972 - Thin Lizzy / Dubliners / Metallica
Tell Me Ma - Clancy Brothers & O Connell / Dubliners / Sham Rock
Wild Rover - Clancy Brothers / Dubliners
Danny Boy or Londonderry Air - Traditional Irish
I'm a Rover Seldom Sober - Traditional Scottish / Irish origins
Come by the hills - Traditional Irish / Scottish origins - Corries / Celtic Thunder / The Furies
Rambling Rover - Traditional Irish / Scottish origins - Dubliners / Andy Stewart / Torridon / Bob Fox  etc
Mountains of Mourne - 1896 - Percy French / Don Maclean / Brannigan
Wild Mountain Thyme - Traditional Scottish / Irish origins - Corries / Sandy Denny / Don Williams & Chieftains
Jock Stewart - Traditional Scottish - Tannahill Weavers / Pogues
Loch Lomond - Traditional Scottish - Deanna Durbin / Corries / Runrig
Marie's Wedding - Irish trad song - High Kings / Van Morrison / Irish Rovers
My love is like a Red Red Rose - Traditional Scottish - Robert Burns - Andy Stewart / Eva Cassidy
Ye Banks and Braes - Traditional Scottish - Robert Burns
Auld Lang Syne - Traditional Scottish - Robert Burns

 

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