Based in London, this experienced and professional ceilidh band comes complete with their own specialist dance-caller who will first explain, demonstrate and then organise sets of traditional dancing, skilfully accompanied by a lively mixture of Irish and other Celtic songs and tunes.
“It’s an assured and well-crafted performance that will entrance and enthrall…”
Continuing a time-honoured tradition, Banish Misfortune will transport your guests back in time to an era before computers, TV, film and radio had come into being – back to a time when country (and city) folk entertained themselves and each other with songs, storytelling, dances and tunes. There’s no better way to banish those blues than with a toe-tapping selection of jigs, polkas, hornpipes and reels from the British Isles!
Grab an earful of these guys at work and you’ll soon realise that Banish Misfortune is aptly named! Naturally, the band line-up will include a specialist professional ceilidh-caller who organises and demonstrates the different steps and moves for each dance, ensuring that everybody, complete novices included, will be up on their feet. It’s a great icebreaker for party-guests perhaps (as at a wedding) meeting for the first time.
Stylish fiddle carries each catchy melody while rhythmic guitar and bass accompaniment underscores and drives the tune along. Don’t worry, all dancing abilities and experience levels will be catered for so that everyone can get involved and really jig the night away together! Banish Misfortune brews up an infectious concoction of traditional Celtic jigs, polkas, hornpipes and reels that will have everybody out of their seats.
Banish Misfortune’s terrific, jaunty music is certain to fill the dancefloor, creating a real Celtic feel-good atmosphere at any celebration event.
- Ceilidh band with additional Irish song repertoire
- Fronted by an experienced dance-caller
- Flexible line-up, suitable for all occasions
Video
Audio
Repertoire
Traditional Dances
Drawing on an inexhaustible legacy of toe-tapping dance-tunes that is the Gaelic tradition, Banish Misfortune bring a caller to organise a ceilidh.
Traditional Irish Songs
- All For Me Grog
- Arthur McBride
- As I Roved Out
- Banish Misfortune
- Black Velvet Band
- Brown-Eyed Girl
- Carrickfergus
- Dennis O’Reilly
- Dirty Old Town
- Dixieland
- Fairytale Of New York
- Fields Of Athenry
- Fisherman’s Blues
- Follow Me Up To Carlow
- Galway Shawl
- Green Fields Of France
- Hillbilly Train
- Lakes Of Ponchartrain
- Londonderry Air (Danny Boy)
- Marie’s Wedding
- Mary And Her Gallant Soldier
- McAlpine’s Fusiliers
- My Match It Is Made
- Parting Glass
- Raglan Road
- Ride On
- Sally Gardens
- Sally MacLenane
- Sam Hall
- Seven Drunken Nights
- She Moved Through The Fair
- Spancill Hill
- Spanish Lady
- Star Of The County Down
- Step It Up Mary
- Streams Of Whiskey
- Sugar-Foot Rag
- The Belle Of Belfast City
- The Irish Rover
- The Rare Old Mountain Dew
- The Rocky Road To Dublin
- Town I Loved So Well
- Whiskey In The Jar
- Wild Colonial Boy
- Wild Rover
- ….and plenty more….
John Monk –
60th Birthday Ceilidh in Kings Langley – July 2024
Thank you, thank you, thank you for all you and the guys did to make my 60th birthday celebration so special. I had an absolute blast as did my guests. I was looking for a fun night and it turned out to be just that. You were all so patient with such a bunch of amateur dancers – but seeing the looks on my guests faces meant the world to me. It was so very special. Everyone commentated on how exceptional the playing was and asked where I found you. I couldn’t recommend you all enough.
Thank you so much for making my night as special as it was. I will always be grateful for the part you all played.
Sally Hopper –
90th Birthday Party in Chingford – June 2024
I hired Banish Misfortune for my Dad’s 90th birthday and it is fair to say they absolutely made the party. They put a lot of effort into liaising with me beforehand and were very good at responding to my requests, including special songs I wanted in relation to my Dad’s life. They arrived promptly, were personable and friendly with all our guests, made my Dad feel like a million dollars and most of all they are just so talented and brought the party alive. I would recommend them without hesitation and will look to hire them in the future for such special occasions.
Sean Power –
Banish Misfortune Ceilidh Band – Private party at Addington Palace, Croydon – June 2024
Wonderful show! 5 stars, great music, great fun!
The Manager, The Audley, Mayfair London –
Banish Misfortune Irish Band – St Patrick’s Day Celebrations – March 2024
Thank you so much for a great session yesterday! We’ve had wonderful feedback from everyone that attended / was working!.
Alison Royston-Lee –
Banish Misfortune Irish Hoedown Band – Alice’s Wedding – October 2021
I booked Banish Misfortune as my wedding band and they were great! From the beginning they were so helpful and friendly, adding in more country songs (as I knew our audience would love it!), learning a new song for our first dance and ensuring they did reels for my auntie to showcase the ‘brush dance’ ! On the night the dance floor was packed, and my guests loved it! Great music, lovely people, highly recommended!
Duncan and Katherine Smart –
Duncan and Katherine’s Wedding Ceilidh – September 2021
“Thank you so much for playing at our wedding celebration on Saturday evening. Our guests loved it and we had a great time. The band really were perfect for our event and got quite a few of the known non-dancers on their feet. Banish Misfortune were brilliant at our event. Communication beforehand was excellent. They were very accommodating as we were running late! The music was great and all our guests thoroughly enjoyed it. They even got some of the “non dancers” dancing! Would highly recommend and would definitely book again!!”
Lucy Coleman –
Lucy’s Celebration Ceilidh – August 2021
“Thank you guys all so much for yesterday. Your music was fantastic you judged it all perfectly! Also, your caller was great at trying to keep us all in order (or as much as possible!).”
Will Dady –
Banish Misfortune Ceilidh Band – Will Dady’s Wedding – July 2021
“We spent a long time looking for the perfect ceilidh band for our wedding – everyone kept telling us ‘you have to make sure you get one with a good caller!’ Choosing Banish Misfortune for the Big Day is one of the best decisions we made – not only did we get that good caller, who had everyone up on their feet and having a whale of a time, but the band also added in musical sections at either end of the set, which brought a real folk feel to our room in Central London! They can’t come highly recommended enough. Not only are they astonishingly good musicians, they’re wonderful people to liaise with, and make the admin side of things a joy. Hope we can dance to your tune again soon, Banish Misfortune!”
Jason Drew –
Banish Misfortune Irish Trio – 21st Birthday Party – July 2021
From the beginning everything about booking the band was carried out in an extremely professional manner. The agent was very helpful and it didn’t take long for everything to be confirmed for the big party- my daughter’s 21st. A few weeks before the event Ruth contacted me to discuss music ideas. Straightaway I sensed her enthusiasm and enjoyment for what she does and we couldn’t wait for the music on the night.
On the night everyone turned up as arranged and the band was left to set up. Then the best bit!! The music was absolutely amazing. It was impossible not to be toe tapping and bopping throughout the set. The age range was wide from 6 to 65 and the band had them all up dancing and smiling. The line dance caller was doing a grand job explaining all the moves and shouting out encouragement- and rescuing the ones who got a bit lost!! The band played 2 one hour sets (Kindly covering for me after the first set as the food wasn’t quite ready!!) and also performing the Christmas song Fairy tale of New York in the middle of summer as it’s my daughter’s favourite song!! Everybody thoroughly enjoyed themselves and the massive amount of positive feedback from them all really makes you know that the party went well. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend them to anyone- you won’t be disappointed.
Abby and Nick –
Abby and Nick’s Wedding Ceilidh – Canterbury – September 2018
“We just wanted to say thanks so much for playing at our wedding. We had so much fun and all our guests loved the music and dancing. It was absolutely perfect for us and we couldn’t be happier.”
Jason Drew –
21st Birthday Hoedown – August 2018
“From the beginning everything about booking the band was carried out in an extremely professional manner. The agent was very helpful and it didn’t take long for everything to be confirmed for the big party- my daughter’s 21st.
A few weeks before the event Ruth contacted me to discuss music ideas. Straightaway I sensed her enthusiasm and enjoyment for what she does and we couldn’t wait for the music on the night.
On the night everyone turned up as arranged and the band was left to set up. Then the best bit!! The music was absolutely amazing. It was impossible not to be toe tapping and bopping throughout the set. The age range was wide from 6 to 65 and the band had them all up dancing and smiling. The line dance caller was doing a grand job explaining all the moves and shouting out encouragement- and rescuing the ones who got a bit lost!! The band played 2 one hour sets ( kindly covering for me after the first set as the food wasn’t quite ready!!) and also performing the Christmas song “Fairy Tale of New York” in the middle of summer as it’s my daughter’s favourite song!!
Everybody thoroughly enjoyed themselves and the massive amount of positive feedback from them all really makes you know that the party went well. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend them to anyone- you won’t be disappointed. ”
Jo and Jamie –
Jo and Jamie’s Wedding at Hedingham Castle, Essex – July 2018
“We wanted to say a huge thank you to you and the band for playing at our wedding last weekend. You were absolutely brilliant!! You played some of the family favourites just beautifully and absolutely filled the dance floor for our (ahem – unofficial) ceilidh. We had so much fun dancing the night away. I understand one of the 3 year old cousins asked you to play one of the tunes again – I suspect that is a moment that will go down in family history.
Also – thank you so much for all your help before the wedding – I’m notoriously bad at returning phone calls and you were fantastic at staying in touch and keeping on top of communication – I really appreciated that!”
Hannah and Will –
Hannah and Will’s Wedding – July 2017
We had such and amazing time on Saturday and wanted to convey our thanks for your wonderful playing at our wedding. All of our guests had a great time whether they danced or just listened to you play and we couldn’t have asked for a better band to create the wondeful atmosphere for the evening. We will definitely be recommending you and we hope you all had a great evening too.
Jackie Williams –
Wedding Ceilidh – May 2017
Thank you all so much for adding to the enjoyment of the reception following my daughter’s recent wedding. It was wonderful to see so many of our guests up on their feet joining in – even so called ‘non-dancers’! We are delighted to have booked you for our Ceilidh and would be happy to recommend you to oth(May 2017)
Tora Hallet –
Tora Hallet’s Party – August 2016
Couldn’t have been more friendly and obliging. It was really nice talking to them. Their music was beautiful – we enjoyed the mix of dancing and singing. They were very welcoming and good at making us all feel relaxed.
Alexander Good –
Birthday Ceilidh – July 2016
We enjoyed the ceilidh so much. It was really great. Everyone had a wonderful time. Thank you! And we’ll definitely recommend you to others.
Mary Block –
Mary Block’s Daughter’s Wedding – May 2016
The band played at my daughter’s wedding reception on Saturday and really made the evening go with a swing. All the communication in the run up to the event was good – what music we were looking for, arrangements about set up, timings, etc. Musically, they are an excellent band.
Nadine Morgan –
I would just like to thank you for the wonderful performance on Sat night at my Daughter’s naming ceremony. We all had a great time, and everybody commented on how great the band was. I never laughed or enjoyed a dance so much and would like to have another party, just to have you play again. Please pass on our thanks to everybody, and we have already passed your details on to other people who are interested.
Emma Benwell –
Thank you for playing at my birthday party – the group was great and I had a lot of really positive feedback from my friends. I certainly enjoyed it and Banish Misfortune really made my party go with a swing – exactly what I wanted!
Rebecca Wheeler –
Thank you so much for making our Burns night event so wonderful, the music was second to none and everyone enjoyed the dancing and you did amazingly well given the limited space. I couldn’t recommend you highly enough to anyone thinking of using you in the future and you totally made the event. We could not have done it without you!