Black Velvet Band - Ceilidh, Irish & Hoedown

Absolutely fabulous eve music was very good everyone there said what a great night and want to see them back again

We had a joint 50th & 80th birthday party. Black Velvet were fantastic. Great musicians and made the Barn dance run smoothly. We had ages from 5 to 80 and they tailored everything perfectly. Made it a birthday to remember

The Black Velvet Band trio were extremely talented musicians who delivered a good range of Irish tunes to a very high standard, although surprisingly not the song "The Black Velvet Band"!
Overall they provided a great nights entertainment, I think there could have been a little more interaction with the audience, but I would recommend them to anyone wanting to hold an Irish themed night. Unfortunately we were not allowed dancing due to restrictions, once these are lifted the night would be even better.

I booked this band for my mums 80th. A small family gathering in the back garden. The band were fantastic and my mum was up dancing. A rare and happy sight. 😍

Hi Jennie

We had a great evening and the band was perfect!

Thank you for all your help and maybe we will do the same again when we are 65 in 4 years time!!

Kind regards

Robin

Thank you so much for making our wedding the party of the year - everyone loved the music!
Black Velvet Band played at our wedding reception and they were brilliant. I had worried whether people would want to dance to Irish music but I shouldn't have. Everyone loved the music! We had a real proper Irish Hooley, with lots of dancing, singing-along and some humour in-between. As this was a marriage of cultures (English, Irish and Dutch) we were also touched that the band played a couple of traditional Dutch songs, allowing the Dutch to have a good sing-along as well. And when my dad asked if they could accompany him for a song to sing after his speech, it was no problem. The guys in the band are proper musicians who can play what the crowd needs to keep the party fuelled. The only complaint I have had is from my knees - which are still complaining, even after 4 days rest! Next time, I will wear trainers.

Thank you so much for being able to accommodate us on the wedding of my son! What with atrocious weather causing extensive flooding that weekend and having to postpone the wedding from the Saturday night until the Sunday, we were more than grateful that the band was still willing and able to perform on the Sunday. Great music and excellent calling made the evening, with all participants thoroughly enjoying themselves - sometimes with a little over enthusiasm!
I highly recommend this band to any future clients booking. The band were more than helpful - especially Jennie with all my questions and the band on the day were superb. All good wishes, Phyllis Steele

Great night of dancing, the band encouraged everyone up on the floor and great fun was had by all. Thank you

Really friendly. Engaged with the audience it was a great night and we would definitely book them again.

Black Velvet were excellent and really added to our Irish themed evening. Lots of very traditional music. The guys were very flexible and last minute added in a Ceili set without prior knowledge which was appreciated by all and added to the fun of the evening. Very highly recommended.

A great bunch of lads who made our wedding reception swing. Their set was exactly what we wanted and set exactly the right atmosphere. They even let me take the mic for 2 songs. Which they probably regretted within seconds! A great choice for any kind of party.

We absolutely loved having Black Velvet Band play our wedding ceilidh at Clearwell Castle. My husband is from Scotland so we wanted a traditional Scottish ceilidh feel with some of the classics, and we were not disappointed! We had a good feeling about Black Velvet band from the moment we booked them - and sure enough, Mike and the guys were absolutely fantastic and made our evening party a huge success. The band were great and the instructions on the ceilidh dances were so helpful; even those of our party who may not have normally danced were up there loving life on the dancefloor. The fun and friendly atmosphere they created was just fab and so different from your 'usual' evening do. All our guests commented on how much they enjoyed the ceilidh and some said it was the best wedding they had ever been to. We would 100% book the band again and recommend them to friends. Thank you for contributing to the best day of both our lives. Love from Hannah and Deryk x

Had these guys along for my recent wedding as we wanted something that would be inclusive for all people attending to get involved in. the band were all that I could hope for. they got people up dancing and laughing, and everyone who attended said how much they enjoyed. thank you for being a part of our big day :)

Mike and his band played for Martin’s 60th birthday barn dance. They made it a very special night full of lovely memories. Alan was a fab caller. Navigated us through the dances with humour and laughter. Alan was extremely helpful and empathetic towards one of our guests who is blind and called dances that she could join in without making it obvious to lots of guests. Many didn’t even realise she was not sighted. We had many comments from our guests who complimented the band on the accordion player, Mike the fiddle player and Alan our caller. A great trio and we really recommend them! Thank you guys!

"Wow! What an evening we had! We absolutely LOVED our wedding evening and you absolutely made the night! We LOVED the dances, and so did all our guests. I couldn’t get over how good you all were!

Thank you SO much for being such an excellent band, to plan with before our wedding and to perform on the night. We’ve attached some photos, which we hope you like too!

Thank you ever so much, and should we ever need a band in the future, we’ll be sure to get in contact with you!"

Mike and Jon pitched the performance perfectly for the Fleur de Lis Retirement Home’s garden party in Romsey. The American Country songs created just the right atmosphere to establish the Wild West theme. Everyone loved it – they joined in all the songs! Several residents have sent me messages to say how much they enjoyed the event. We were delighted with the performance and thoroughly recommend the band.

"Please can you pass my compliments on to the band for the wonderful job they did on Saturday last. Our guests have been absolutely raving about them! They were so good in fact I think they tired most of us out after 3 dances!!

We both really appreciate how organised, friendly and accommodating the band were and would not hesitate at all about recommending them to our family and friends. If there’s anywhere we can also leave a review online, we’d also love to do that too.

They really made our day so special, our first dance is one I’ll always remember and the smiles on people’s faces as they had fun dancing “The Siege of Ennis”!

Thank you once again."

We had a brilliant time! It was a very hot day and the band were very accommodating, adjusting the playing times and breaking up the dancing with songs. There were only 30 of us, but everyone danced and several people commented on the quality of the music. The band even played “Waltzing Matilda” for the Australian contingent, who all sang along! Thanks very much BVB for making my party so special.

What a fabulous party we had with everyone entering into the spirit of the ceilidh! The music was great and the caller was exceptionally patient with the disproportionate number of young men at the party. It was a really mixed crowd – plenty of teens and twenties, through to those in their eighties. The dance floor was full throughout the evening and everyone, both young and old joined in, including the determined non dancers. Several people commented on what a lovely time they’d had. I’m very happy to recommend the band.

Mike and Aidan played at my brothers birthday and completely made our night. The music was excellent and the guys were very professional. We can’t rate the band highly enough.

"Mike and Aiden played at my brothers birthday and completely made our night. The music was excellent and the guys were very professional.
We can’t rate the band highly enough."

"My legs are still aching because I danced so much! The band arrived on time and were very friendly and helpful and the music was delightful. It was a mixed crowd, many of whom had never met each other before but with one thing in common – they had never done ceilidh dancing before! The caller was absolutely brilliant – it didn’t matter that most people had no idea how to dance the reels! Everyone joined in and thoroughly enjoyed themselves.

It couldn’t have been better!"

An excellent bash – the band were fantastic! Everyone got up and danced. The caller did a great job. If we have another Birthday Bash, we will definitely be booking the band again. I have no hesitation recommending them.

The ceilidh went amazingly well! The dance floor was full all evening. I put it down to Eddy and Mike, who played tunes with such an exciting beat that you just couldn’t stay still. The caller was huge fun. I highly recommend the band.

Many thanks to Johnny, Mike and Jase for a fine dose of the “craic” for St Pats! What a grand performance – everyone thoroughly enjoyed it. Great singing combined with jigs and reels to get everyone dancing. We can’t wait to have you back again!

Dear Black Velvet Band, Your Ceilidh band played at a Burns Night I attended last night at MOD Corsham. They were great and got everyone up and involved. Everyone really enjoyed it.

What a fantastic night of ceilidh dancing courtesy of the Black Velvet Band Trio. Nobody was able to resist dancing and the guys were the highlight of the evening for all. Thank you so much for making our evening a huge success.

Black Velvet Band Ceilidh Trio were a fantastic edition to our Burns Night celebrations. From communicating before the event to the actual day, the group were professional and easy to reach. They also went above and beyond what their initial brief by agreeing to toast the haggis – which was met with cheers – and taking suggestions from the crowd for different dances. By the end of the night they felt like part of the ROSL family.

Black Velvet Band Ceilidh Trio were a fantastic edition to our Burns Night celebrations. From communicating before the event to the actual day, the group were professional and easy to reach. They also went above and beyond what they initially thought we wanted; agreeing to do the toast the haggis – which was met with cheers – and taking suggestions from the crowd for different dances. By the end of the night they felt like part of the ROSL family!

A big thanks to Mike and the rest of the band for a brilliant evening. Everyone has said how much they thoroughly enjoyed it. A special thank you to Alan, the dance caller. He did a great job – quite a comedian! Finally a big thanks to the band for welcoming our fiddle-playing friend Richard into their ranks for the evening. He said he had a fantastic time. What a great party band the guys make! I’m very happy to recommend them to anyone having a bash.

Many thanks to the Black Velvet Band Ceilidh Trio for a fantastic 21st Birthday Ceilidh. The band provided a perfect balance for the young and young-at-heart, catering for everyone from the super-lively, to wheelchair-friendly dances, which was a lovely touch. Everyone had a great time.

"Thank you, guys, for finding time beforehand to rehearse with Amy, the bridegroom’s sister, who sang Elton John’s “Your Song” for the bride and groom’s 1st dance. It was beautiful and very special to have her sing their first song with accompaniment from the band. I think everyone was very moved by it (we are hoping someone filmed it but are not sure!). The dance floor was packed all evening for the ceilidh and we all had great fun – which was the intention.

It was an amazing day, evening and whole weekend – we carried on the celebrations on Sunday! Thank you to Black Velvet Band for helping to make the wedding so memorable."

We have booked Black Velvet Band for our Wedding in Devon on 20th May. We were delighted to find out from Jennie that they were playing at The Water Poet in Spitalfields on St Patricks Night. Being from London, this was perfect. We arrived to a heaving pub with great Irish tunes belting out the door. The pub was packed and everyone was Irish on Friday. Black Velvet Irish Band played everything from The Wild Rover to some traditional reels and jigs. The were excellent and we cannot wait to have them play on our special day. We met with the lads after who were all so friendly and welcoming. I’ve been in a quite a few pubs on St Patrick’s Day but I’ve never experienced an atmosphere like that. The crowd were singing and dancing, Black Velvet your were fantastic, we cant wait to see you guys on 20th May 2017.

Amazing night with joyous music from the band from start to finish. Very accommodating for our age span of 8 years to 80 years! Plenty of caller participation to get us all going in fun dances which everyone said made them ache the next day! I heartily recommend them. Very friendly too!

Black Velvet Band Irish Duo performed at my Mum’s surprise 70th birthday. We loved the performance and didn’t want them to stop! The party was a huge success and the excellent music really helped to create the atmosphere. Thank you very much, guys!

We booked the BVB for our wedding in April at Stonehouse Court. We specified Celtic music and they were excellent – they even learned a song for me to sing with them in two weeks flat! True musicians who really know their stuff. They were punctual and did not skimp on time – not taking lengthy breaks between songs which I know some do. A really great experience – I thoroughly recommend them.

Black Velvet Band Ceilidh Trio provided a brilliant ceilidh for our wedding celebrations at Goldney Hall, Bristol on 12 August 2017. What a fantastic evening! The band entertained our hardy Scottish guests with well-known Scottish dances but it was most enjoyable to see English friends and family ceilidh dancing for the first time and loving it! The dances were called very clearly and were quite ambitious so there was much hilarity. It was infectious fun and everyone got involved. (The dance floor was almost too small!). Mike and the band were extremely accommodating, professional and enthusiastic. They have a huge repertoire and organised the evening flawlessly, from our first dance (Gay Gordons) to the throwing of the bouquet and the final Circassian Circle. Highly recommended.

Black Velvet Band provided a five piece ceilidh band and caller for the finale of the Hawkins’ team building event. We thought the room would be too big – but we were wrong! The band brought an absolute gem of a caller, who read the crowd perfectly and the dance floor was full throughout the evening. We could have done with a larger space! The band was superb and the event was enjoyed by all concerned. I thoroughly recommend the band.

Black Velvet Irish Trio were brilliant! 500 Furey fans stomped and jigged and sang along as they waited to be photographed with Tyson! Great stuff, lads – I’m going to book you back for next year’s event.

"Just wanted to thank the Black Velvet Band for a really great evening last Saturday. They were excellent musicians and the caller was superb (very patient with the Danish contingent who took some time to get the hang of the instructions!) What I particularly appreciate is how considerate and adaptable the band was regarding my wishes. I had lovely time and have had a lot of positive comments from my guests. (10 / 10)

Marianne Frosdick
Bristol"

We have booked Black Velvet Band for our Wedding in Devon on 20th May. We were delighted to find out from Jennie that they were playing at The Water Poet in Spitalfields on St Patricks Night. Being from London, this was perfect. We arrived to a heaving pub with great Irish tunes belting out the door. The pub was packed and everyone was Irish on Friday. Black Velvet Irish Band played everything from The Wild Rover to some traditional reels and jigs. The were excellent and we cannot wait to have them play on our special day. We met with the lads after who were all so friendly and welcoming. I’ve been in a quite a few pubs on St Patrick’s Day but I’ve never experienced an atmosphere like that. The crowd were singing and dancing, Black Velvet your were fantastic, we cant wait to see you guys on 20th May 2017.

"We were really pleased that we had booked the Black Velvet Ceilidh Band for a ceilidh at our daughter’s wedding at Old Down Manor. Before the event they spoke to our daughter and planned with her exactly what she would like from them, the type of music and how they would organise the evening so that she and her new husband could be ‘danced out’ at the end. On the day the band arrived in good time with all the appropriate equipment for the location. The performance was very professional, the music great and they got all the guests dancing along. The caller’s instructions were clear. So overall we were very happy and would definitely recommend them. (10 / 10)

Alison Rugg"

I just wanted to say such a huge thank you for the amazing performance that you gave. You were so friendly and willing to help in any way that any nervousness about getting up to dance was immediately dismissed. I was extremely apprehensive prior to the night about how the dancing would go down, especially with my two left feet! However my worrying was in vain, what a fantastic night of dancing it was, so inclusive that any and all can get up and get involved, aged 5 or 105. You need no experience or talent, just listen to the brilliant calling, it’s all simple moves but when it comes together with all your friends and family on the night, prepare to be amazed. I can not thank the band enough for making our Wedding such a fantastic night, I have never seen so many people thoroughly enjoying themselves all at once. I can sincerely recommend the Black Velvet Band for any social occasion, your expectations will be exceeded. (10 / 10)

"Thank you for the wonderful ceilidh on our wedding day. Everyone had such a fun time and loved the dancing, even those of us who had never done it before! You provided just what we wanted for the special day, despite being so close to Christmas and with terrible weather, and it was a highlight of the evening. All the best! (10 / 10)
Perry & Claire's Wedding Ceilidh
Cheltenham
Cheltenham"

The band were great and everyone had a good time joining in with the dancing.

I was told that the caller was “dry as the Aticama desert” but unfortunately a few of my guests and myself included felt he came across as a little rude on occasions.
Also I know it’s traditional that men dance with women but I have quite a few male friends in same sex relationships and there were a couple of occasions where this wasn’t taken into consideration. Maybe just referring to partners 1 and 2 would have been more inclusive for a less traditional crowd.

However, the music was great and the callers direction and instruction was very clear. He made the dances easily understood for people of all ages and abilities so we didn’t get in to many tangles.

Communication with Mike before the party was great and they all arrived in plenty of time to set up without any problems.

It was a great night and I really enjoyed my first ever Barn Dance!

"The music was fantastic, the dances where simple and fun, my only issue with the band was I found the caller to be unnecessary harsh in what I assume was his attempt at banter, however I did feel it regularly came off as demeaning and rude. Not ideal for the mood on the dance floor.
Still though he did get the job done, we fumbled through the dances and had a good time doing so."

"The audience struggled to hear the singers and when requesting songs they didn’t know them.
Musically there were very good
The arrived promptly and set up without problems

The feed back that I got from club members were that they were hard to hear
Quite boring until the second half when they sang more upto songs

They were very polite and approachable"

"The Black Velvet Dance Band were very good musicians, but there was only two of them who turned up and I was led to believe there would be three ? So it was more of a ""duo"". I was told to expect them at 6:30pm to set up and play background music but they were late and we all got a bit concerned, including the caller. Their own sound system was okay but I think it was a combination of really bad acoustics the sports hall makes as well with a lot of echoing. The lady caller was nice enough but she looked a bit tense and I wasn't sure if she actually enjoyed herself ! Fortunately, those attending the event seemed to enjoy themselves and it's always great to see people from young boys to grandparents getting up and having a dance. Considering the band cost £500 in total, I don't think I will be doing it this way again and would rather find out more about a band through word of mouth."