Testimonials

Don't just take our word for it...Read what our clients say about us!
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Kathryn Watson

Kathryn Watson

My husband and I recently finally managed to celebrate our wedding reception this last weekend, 2 years after our initial date was cancelled due to covid. We chose Hiltop Ceilidh band after seeing them at another event and they have supported us through the pain of 2 attempts and 1 successful reception. The calling is always excellent, they have a fantastic repertoire of dances and music, including some of our favourite pieces such as Calliope House, as played by Alasdair Fraser. Everyone at the wedding loved the ceilidh and thought they were fantastic!

Organising the wedding without much certainty on covid made this much more stressful and we really appreciated that James and the band were willing to be flexible, offering “bubble dancing” in case there were restrictions, which they had designed and tested out throughout the lockdown. They even tested out some ideas in a zoom ceilidh during the second lockdown – which we attended from our living room.

They are lovely to work with, we will recommend them to anyone and everyone who wants a ceilidh!

Lucy and Andy

Lucy and Andy

Hilltop Ceilidh played at our wedding in Sussex and were brilliant. They ably guided our 150 chaotic guests through the Ceilidh and everyone had a brilliant time. Just perfect to get everyone on the dancefloor and having fun. We then used their sound system to play our own music for the disco afterwards, which worked really well. Would definitely recommend!

Alanna Macfarlane

Alanna Macfarlane

They are amazing! We hired them for our wedding and they did a fantastic job!
They were easy to be in contact with and were really helpful if we had any questions.
On the day itself they managed to get set up quickly (there had been delays in other parts of the day) and immediately created an environment where everyone wanted to get up and dance.
The musicians were really skilled and the caller was great!
It was part ceilidh, part twmpath which suited our Welsh-Scottish wedding perfectly. The caller that did our wedding (Ceri) spoke Welsh too! We didn’t know this in advance but that really fitted in with our bilingual day.
Can highly reccomend them!

Chloe Donaldson

Chloe Donaldson

I hired the band for my 30th birthday and they were fabulous! The guests were a mix of ceilidh pros and first timers and Hannah and the boys couldn’t have been better at getting everyone involved and playing a fantastic range of music and dances! Trying to find a reason to have another ceilidh soon so I can book them again! Would highly recommend!

Philippa Cory

Philippa Cory

We booked the hilltop ceilidh band for our wedding and had a fantastic time! Everyone had so much fun and they really got all our guests involved. Great music, excellent calling and they played our own playlist in between the ceilidh sets which worked really well. Would definitely recommend.

Anna Robson

Anna Robson

We hired these guys for our wedding last month and they were amazing! Not only did we have a fantastic night but they were a great help with planning the timings for the day and amazing with all the covid postponement issues. Thanks so much!

Sarah Rodriguez Hampton

Sarah Rodriguez Hampton

We hired Hilltop Ceilidh Band for our wedding celebration in London. James was very easy to work with in getting everything arranged beforehand – easy going and professional. On the night the band were absolutely fantastic. They were excellent musicians, the caller was funny and clear in her instructions, and they were just generally a nice group of people! Great value for money, would highly recommend! Thanks again to the band for a wonderful evening 🙂

Claire Cieluch

Claire Cieluch

We booked these guys for our wedding and they were FANTASTIC. The music was brilliant and the calling for the ceilidh dancing was also first class. The band were great fun and really friendly and accommodating throughout. Everyone had a fantastic time and a lot of our friends who’d never been to a Ceilidh before commented on how good it was. Thank you so much! 🙂

Neil

Neil

We had a ceilidh for our wedding anniversary on Saturday and the Hilltop Ceilidh band were fantastic. The guitar and box player were brilliant musicians who set a great beat to dance to and the caller gave clear instructions that meant even the novice dancers were able to understand what they were meant to be doing without over explaining! We will definitely look to book the band again next time we have a party!

Nick Marchant

Nick Marchant

We had a big multi-celebration for friends and family over the Christmas period and it was a great move to include a ceilidh as everyone from toddler to grandparent was able to join in. The Hilltop Ceilidh were helpful right from the off and were fantastic on the day fitting in and adapting to the mood and vibe of the party. We had the smallest combo with a caller which was perfect for our venue and the dance floor was full, enthuiastic and engaged the entire time – this is testament to how well James and his band managed our unruly left-footed crowd. We highly recommend!

Paul Cordier

Paul Cordier

We hired the Hilltop band for a village Barn Dance in Oct 2018. Band arrived early and got set up. They were great fun. The music was spot on and the caller had everyone up and dancing straight away. The hall was packed but the caller adjusted the groups to fit the available space so everyone could take part. We had young children and some senior citizens as well as all ages in between dancing away. Great feedback from the crowd and they were calling for an encore at the end. All in all highly recommended and will look to book them again for next year!

Ginny Westlake

Ginny Westlake

We had hilltop ceilidh for our wedding evening reception and we had an absolute blast. We didn’t have a clue what we were doing but it didn’t matter, the caller was so patient and such a great sense of humour. Our guests have never been to a ceilidh before and they loved it so thank you so much, we Would highly recommend them.

Katy Beck

Katy Beck

I booked a 3 musician line-up plus caller for a Scouts barn dance. They were absolutely fantastic! The instructions were clear which meant everyone got up and danced, I couldn’t fault them. I would highly recommend them if you want a highly professional band and a really fun event. Superb!

Nicky Marrable

Nicky Marrable

We had James and the band for a joint 21st and 50th party. The music was great and the ceilidh was just the cross generation fun we needed. To have all ages on the dance floor from 3 years to 79, with a huge smile on everyone’s faces. Even those who didn’t dance couldn’t help but enjoy the music. I would definitely recommend them.

Barbara Storrie

Barbara Storrie


We had a fantastic ceilidh with the James Kelly band. Ewan, Louisa, Lewis and Patrick did a great job and kept us dancing, if the can call it that! Great. I would certainly recommend.

Laura Manton

Laura Manton

James Kerry and his band have played at our Charity Barn dance for the past two years. They are brilliant! Everyone had a thoroughly good time. I would definitely recommend them!

Paul Went

Paul Went

“We booked James for 60th Birthday Party. James, Dan and Erin did a fantastic job of making everyone feel relaxed and involved – everyone joined in at some point and have not stopped talking about how much fun they had. It really was a fantastic, inclusive session. James, Dan and especially Erin were friendly and approachable putting all at ease, laughter and enjoyment had by all. I cannot recommend James and Hilltop highly enough.” Hilltop are simply superb.

Christine Walker

Christine Walker


We had hilltop ceilidh band for our wedding 21st September everything was perfect could not fault them a great bunch of people would definitely recommend them

Matt Stevens

Matt Stevens

Fantastic ceilidh band! We hired them for our wedding and they were perfect. Highly recommended.

Simon Cotter

Simon Cotter

They made our 60th birthday party, getting many of the guests up and dancing and making complete eejits of themselves as we all hilariously forgot the moves and got out of step!

Frederique Dahan – London

A very nice band who did a great job at getting my (somewhat reluctant) party up on their feet dancing. Super friendly and nice.

Mary Waters – Royal Tunbridge Wells

We hired The Hilltop Ceilidh Band for a barn dance to celebrate a joint 21st and 60th birthday. The evening was a great success and I would thoroughly recommend James and will certainly be using the band in the future. Thank you everyone for an amazing evening

Doug Hudson, Rochester Sweeps Festival

One of the most dynamic young ceilidh bands, they are at home in a concert, pub or ceilidh environment