What you need for a Ceilidh

You will need a good space for dancing, the area required will obviously depend on the number of dancers, however you will need 6m x 8m minimum. If you are in a marquee you may need matting to cover grass as muddy ceilidh dancing is dirty and dangerous! We will need a dry, off the floor, area to play an outdoor gig.

The best arrangement is tables and chairs around, or at the end of, the dance floor since reluctant dancers can sit and watch the fun and than be drawn in to the dancing. Ideally people need to be able to sit out a dance or two and still be available to be drawn into the subsequent dances.

We prefer to have a stage area and the caller definitely needs a vantage point from which to direct the dancing. If there is no raised area we will need a well defined space to separate the enthusiastic dancers from our rather valuable equipment.

We normally play two sessions of about 1¼ hours with a 30 minute break but this is very flexible, be warned however that even the most enthusiastic dancers will fade after 1½ hours.

We will need access to the venue, as close as possible by car, at least 1 hour before we play. The equipment needs to be set up carefully and sound tested to provide the best performance. We only need one twin 13A socket but this should be near the stage and appropriately connected to the mains. We would need to inspect any outdoor venue to ensure safe power supply before we play; we are folkies who do not relish a rock n roll stage death!

Equipment

Steve plays a Status Graphite Series 4000 bass guitar through an Ashdown ABM C210T-500. We have been trying to persuade him, and his wife, of the benefits of a 8x12 Ashdown setup, thus far with little success.

Adrian plays a Martin DCXIE 6 string electro-acoustic, a Takamime EAN10 12 string electro-acoustic, a Godin Solidac electric guitar and a Godin A8 electric mandolin. A Marshall ASR50 and a Matamp 1224 2x12 stack provide backline monitoring.

Paula plays a Yamaha electric silent violin. Although her classical roots initially railed at abandoning her acoustic violin, the freedom from a microphone and resilience to feedback combined with superb sound reproduction soon won her over.

Katherine was the last to succumb to electrification and her Deering Goodtime 5 string banjo now sports an Ashworth pickup. She sings, beautifully, into a Shure SM57 microphone.

Anne plays a variety of whistles, reflecting the different key signatures of the whistle and a low pipe; changes of instrument mid tune are well worth looking out for. She also plays a Fender 6 string electro-acoustic guitar.

Pete plays the bodhran, djembe and various other percussion instruments which both support the rhythmic integrity of the band and challenge all known computer spell checkers.

The sound is mixed through a Yamaha 16 channel desk and then amplified through two Mackie SRM450 active speakers. Foldback monitoring is through two Carlsbro Alpha monitors. The total sound output of the system is about 1400 watts which allows ample headroom for small to medium sized venues (100-250 people).