MOONCOIN CEILIDH BAND
The Band...Mooncoin
has been in existence for a number of years. The band has several reserve
members and the line-up may vary depending on who is available- the band is
usually 4 players + caller, currently made up of:
Barry (the reluctant leader!) - melodeon,
concertina, flute, harmonicas, whistle. Barry's interest in folk music started
when as a teenager he would travel to Barn Dances and Ceilidhs in the west
country. At one such event he bought an old concertina, and he has been playing
for dancing ever since. His melodeon playing provides the basic driving melody
for the band, varying that on some numbers with concertina, harmonica and
whistle.
Emerald - caller. Emerald is our lively caller, expert at encouraging
people to dance and teaching them the moves, she started ballroom dancing
at school, before joining a Morris Dance side and then moving on to ceilidh
dancing and calling.
Bill - guitar, vocals. Bill Nelis complements the band with his
bilingual bar room ballad singing (between dances) as well as his subtle rock-solid
rhythmic guitar playing in the dance tunes.
Chris
- celtic harp, bouzouki, whistle, fiddle. Steeped in Celtic music and
with over 20 years as a professional musician and several albums behind him,
Chris provides a mixture of accompaniments and melodies on his instruments,
ranging from magical harp airs to foot-stomping Appalachian fiddle tunes.
(Click
here for Chris's website)
Graeme - mandolin, banjo. Graham's melodic mandolin and driving
banjo lead playing blends well with the other melody instruments in the band;
on other numbers he provides a strong mandolin or banjo chord rhythm.
Alice
- fiddle. Mooncoin's first reserve player when a band member isn't available.
As well as her fine fiddle playing, Alice will also sometimes entertain with
a clog dance!
