21st birthday party ceilidh at the Merlin, Edinburgh

Last night Da Hooley ceilidh band was out playing for a 21st birthday party ceilidh in Morningside, Edinburgh. We arrived to find that the Merlin has had a refurbishment since we last played for a ceilidh there, which has improved the dance floor space and the stage.

The event was another celebration for a family we have played many ceilidhs for over the years. It’s always fun to catch up at each event, and we love being the ‘family ceilidh band’!

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Wedding ceilidh at St Columba’s by the Castle, Edinurgh

Tonight the band was out playing at a wedding reception ceilidh in the hall at St Columba’s by the Castle in Edinburgh. We arrived to set ourselves up, and discovered that the evening had a dramatic pink and black theme.

It was lovely to see so many youngsters enjoying themselves, too – there were plenty of wee minitaure kilts on the dance floor once the ceilidh got going. It was another fun night for the band, with plenty of guests keen to get up and try out the dances, even though they’d not been to a ceilidh before.

Ceilidh at South Hall, Edinburgh

On Burns night Da Hooley ceilidh band played at a Burns Supper celebration for students and alumni of Edinburgh University. The ceilidh was at South Hall in the Pollock Halls complex, near the Commonwealth Pool.

It was a busy evening, with a packed dance floor all night. Unusually for a Burns Supper, there were very few locals at the event. There were students from around the world getting up to dance, who had never seen ceilidh dancing before, never mind trying it out. So Drew’s calling skills came into their own. It didn’t take long to get folk birling round the dance floor as if they’d been doing it all their lives, though. There was a whole lot of energy in the room from then on. We had a ball!

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Edinburgh ceilidh band

Da Hooley ceilidh band is based in Edinburgh, so it’s no big surprise that we play a lot of gigs in and around the city. We’ve had a busy week this week, with ceilidhs on Monday and Tuesday in Edinburgh, and a third ceilidh coming up at the end of the week in East Lothian.
On Monday we had an unusual daytime gig in a marquee on the east side of the city. It was a tad chilly for an outdoor gig. Suffice to say it was one of the most unusual gigs we’ve played in a while. We may never view our favourite Gay Gordons set in quite the same light again! A huge thanks to the folk who danced their socks off in the cold all day – it helped to thaw us all out a wee bit!

On Tuesday evening we were playing in the Scottish Story Telling Centre on the high street, for a Christmas party. The gig was fortuitously timed to finish well before the end of the session in the Whisky Bar just up the street, so we trotted up there for a few tunes before bedtime.

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