Barn dances and ceilidhs in Peterborough, Cambridge, Northampton and beyond

Solo Ceilidhs

With a full PA system set up, I work closely with local ceilidh caller, Oliver Simons, and others, to produce high quality, foot-stomping music whilst Ollie skilfully guides the dancers through the dances with his energetic, engaging, and inclusive calling style. 

Ollie and I have been good friends for a number of years and we founded Head In The Sand Ceilidh Band together. Since then, we have grown in confidence and our musical abilities to know that we can offer fantastic folky entertainment to audiences of all sizes with just the two of us. 

We are the perfect pair if you are working to a smaller budget, but still want the entire ceilidh and barn dance experience! Available for weddings, birthday parties, community events, and anything else in between!

White Bryony - duet

I also work with a number of talented musicians, allowing duets to be booked for ceilidhs now!  Duets are fantastic for tailoring to smaller budgets whilst having the added advantage of allowing greater musical flexibility - more harmonies and energy to bounce off!

I work closely with Nicky Stockman. She is an amazingly talented multi-instrumentalist like me, playing saxophone, melodeon and other woodwind instruments. Nicky may be familiar to you if you follow the folk scene closely as she used to present the Cambridgeshire Folk Show with Sue Merchant on BBC radio Cambridgeshire. Nicky's musical talents are second to none and we create a whole new level of energy when we play together. We are both members of Dennis Cuddles Starlight Band and now perform under the name of White Bryony as a duet. We are always available to book for local ceilidhs and barn dances, as well as folk music performances. 

The Dennis Cuddles Starlight Band

Kathryn currently plays for The Dennis Cuddles Starlight Band (DCSB). There are several local ceilidh bands around and each one has its own unique sound, but all of them are undeniably foot-stomping and dance-worthy. DCSB prides itself on it's jazzy twist on the traditional ceilidh as we incorporate saxophones into the line up!

"Formed in 1981 by, The Dennis Cuddles Starlight Band has a strong heritage of family barn dances across East Anglia. We are all experienced dance musicians and work with a caller to guide you through the dances. Expect a friendly, fun event dancing to stomping British Folk Music with a jazzy twist. Squeezeboxes, saxes, bass and drums will have you itching to leap to the dance floor. We may squeeze in some highland pipes if you are so inclined!"

You can enquire about booking either band directly, through the the DCSB website, or contact Kathryn here.

ceilidhs.weebly.com

Head In The Sand Ceilidh Band (HITS)

HITS was formed back in 2019 when Kathryn and her good friend Oliver Simons decided to start a ceilidh band. Unlike many ceilidh bands in the area that used a selection of musicians, HITS agreed that we would endeavour to use the same musicians in our line up to help create consistency and musical brilliance for our audience and ceilidh dancers.

Unfortunately, after three successful and extremely fun ceilidhs, Zoe moved away from the area and Kathryn had some other personal commitments which forced the sad decision to end Head in the Sand as we know it.

We recently found out that our good friend, and amazing guitarist, Steve Makin, sadly passed away after a short illness. He was an extremely talented musician. Steve and his music, will be greatly missed. He gave so much life to the band's music. 

Since then, there have been some discussions to reform the band with some adjustments to the line up since life is too short... and we sounded good together! Keep an eye out for updates, coming early 2024!