I’m getting asked “can you do some ceilidh songs?” quite a lot now and I have found myself repeating the advice so often that I thought I would post it here.
My answer is “yes” but I have reservations and any DJ who doesn’t list the cons is either inexperienced or not telling the truth. I’m not crazy about ceilidhs myself and I always think of the comedian Danny Bhoy’s old joke where he asks “what is the worst sound in the world?” then plays *a ceilidh starting up*
I see actual ceilidh bands sometimes struggle to get folks’ attention and explain what they’re up to, so a DJ with a mic straight away has less authority.
Available space is also a factor. You can get everyone in pairs and turning in a circle for a Gay Gordon’s fairly easily. A Dashing White Sergeant (that’s the one that starts with groups of 6 in a circle, then breaks up into groups of 3) certainly becomes more challenging and maybe even dangerous.
There’s also going to be a big effect on dancefloor momentum. Guests will be knackered for a while afterwards.
I still usually always try to play 1 or 2 ceilidh-ish songs. On the spur of the moment I sort of ceilidh danced with the mother of a Californian bride at a wedding in August. I was hoping the moves might spread across the dancefloor, but instead guests stopped dancing and started filming me ‘n’ mom on their phones. That’s 2025 for you 🙂
So. Yes I can play some ceilidh songs and “call” the dances. But please have a think about whether it’s a good idea…
The ceilidh photos in the gallery below are by Wilf and Martha, taken at Cammy and Chess’ wedding reception in Kippilaw House in Melrose, after a fairly long and patient correspondence where we tried to work out if a DJ was actually needed at all. I always say you don’t necessarily need a DJ but your party is going to be much better with a DJ present. Fact.
A complication was that during the conversations I signed up to see Pulp at Tramlines Festival in Sheffield on the night before the wedding, so the only way timings were going to work was if I drove my equipment south to Sheffield, then drove back north to Melrose the next day.
Adding a lot of travel to a DJ booking adds a certain pressure but I had great fun on the night, from playing Thin Lizzy first and again almost-last, Paranoid (RIP Ozzy), Destiny’s Child into Eve, to dragging a chap from the buffet because I had stuck on I Want To Break Free for him. The staff at the venue were really nice too, which helps a lot.
(Pulp were brilliant, with a highlight being a rare performance of Sheffield: Sex City.
“What did you do during the 2025 Oasis Cosplay Frenzy, papa?”
“I saw Pulp, son.”
An added bonus was Alexis from Hot Chip DJing at an afterparty at Sidney and Matilda. That was the second club of the night. We left the first after they played Chumbawumba. Not acceptable.)
