Christmas Ceilidh Band

Céilidh (pronounced “KAY-ley”)
The Gaelic word for a social gathering where traditional music, dancing, and partying abound.
​We celebrate Christmas, New Year’s, Hogmanay, Winter Solstice, Yule, and St. Andrew’s Day in music and song along with winter’s journey through the Celtic nations of Ireland, Wales, Scotland, Brittany, Galicia, Isle of Man, and Cornwall.  Tunes spanning 500 years and our unique blend of instruments bring the sounds of the Celtic holidays to life for everyone to enjoy!

"Maggie's Pancakes"

"Jock Brown's 7oth"

Celtic Ceilidh Band

Enjoy the band any time of year!

You can enjoy us any time of year as our alter ego ...
Celtic Ceilidh Band.
​We leave all the holiday tunes at home and bring the energy and spirit of the Celtic regions with jigs, reels, hornpipes, strathspeys, gavottes, munieras and more.   We are available for your concert series, festival, Celtic gathering, or hometown community event.
We are happy to work with you if you are obtaining artistic grant funding and can suggest fundraising methods and ticket sales strategies.  We look forward to "ceilidh-ing" with you!

THE BAND

Pat Carey

Flute, Penny Whistles, Vocals, Guitar

​Pat treasures her family's Irish background and loves that she brings balance to the Scottish influences in the band!  
​Comhaltas Ceoltóírí Éireann inducted Pat as a Hall-of-Famer along with her bandmates from Cuisle Mó Chroi  in recognition of their contributions to Irish traditional music, dance, language, and culture to our region.
Pat has performed regularly at the Turtle Hill Folk Festival and Rochester Irish Festival and is a founding member of the Rochester branch of Comhaltas Ceoltóírí Éireann (Irish Musicians' Association).

Ben Ford

Guitars, Mandolin, Cittern, Concertina, Vocals

Ben started on guitar and trumpet at age ten and began studying classical guitar as a teen.  His wide-ranging interests in international folk, Celtic, and jazz music took fire in college leading him to perform with many acoustic ensembles.  He's played with several Rochester-based bluegrass bands, founded the Scottish trio Haggis du Jour, served as guitarist with Kate Lee with No Strings Attached, and is a Scottish-style snare drummer with the successful Feadán Òr Pipe Band.  Ben transcribes and arranges much of CCB's repertoire, continually scouring the globe for new sounds and ideas.

Cathy McGrath

Flutes, Penny Whistles, Vocals, Guitar

Cathy is delighted to be a player in CCB!  
​As a member of Cuisle Mó Chroi, she too is a Hall-of-Fame inductee of Comhaltas Ceoltóírí Éireann for her work in promoting the love of Irish music and culture.   In 2016 Cathy, along with Pat, was included in the "Rochester Sister Cities" delegation to Waterford, Ireland to play with the Waterford Traditional Musicians for an acclaimed series of concerts and pub sessions.
​Cathy also performs with the Tom Finucane Ceilidh Band playing for Irish Dances and sessions.

Paul Gluchowski

Cello, Fiddle, Vocals

Paul started the cello in elementary school and added classical violin in his middle years.  He became captivated with the sounds of traditional Scottish, Irish, and old-time music which has lead him to study with Scottish fiddler Alasdair Fraser and cellist Natalie Haas as well as workshop with cellist Abby Newton.  He is a regular participant at the Valley of the Moon Scottish Fiddle Camp, Ashokan Fiddle & Dance, and Boston Harbor Scottish Fiddle School.
​Paul performs with other Celtic music groups across upstate NY.

Kevin Angus

Pipes, Penny Whistles, Saxes, Percussion

Kevin's first musical influences came from listening to his family's collection of Scottish vocalists (almost all on 78s) and west coast jazz.  Later musical experiences with the likes of folk musicians Bill Spence and Alistair Anderson, and jazz musicians Nick Brignola and Milt Jackson continued to feed his curiosity and exploration of varied genres.  Kevin is the band's experimenter of rhythms, sounds, ensemble, and electronics drawing inspiration from his Scottish & pan-Celtic roots and his love of jazz,

315-986-1313                                          [email protected]

DROP US A LINE

Here's how you can reach the Christmas Ceilidh Band

email

[email protected]

call/text

315 - 986 - 1313

Facebook

 All Christmas Ceilidh Band Photo Credits:  D. Townsend & B. Angus