Simon Smith

Murder at the Ceilidh

This week's episode of Ludwig centred around a wedding where one of the guests was murdered during the ceilidh. Shame we didn't see the band, but there was some exciting celtic music and there was plenty of energy from the dancers. Just want to be clear,

Cecil Sharp House

Kingsfolk played for an engagement party at the "home of English Folk Music" - Cecil Sharp House, in the heart of London. The Kennedy Hall makes an ideal venue for a ceilidh. The sprung floor gives a lift to every step and the acoustics are great. The hall

Wedding at Woldingham

Maddy and Tom's reception at Woldingham Village Hall was a wonderful celebration. The dancing started with all the guests lining up for a mega "Strip the Willow". This gave everyone the chance to dance with the Bride and Groom at the very start of the party.

Mural at Cecil Sharp House

The band was asked to play for an engagement celebration at Cecil Sharp House we performed in front of a mural which has a very special connection. The artist is Ivon Hitchins, a great uncle to Jocelyn, our singer/violinist. The mural is a massive 21 x 6 meters and

Grove House Ceilidh

Grove House is a fabulous place for a wedding. The Kingsfolk ceilidh took place in a conservatory overlooking the ornamental gardens and at the week-end they were bathed in brilliant sunshine. The house was built as a home in 1777, but in the 20th century it became the Frobel Institue

Street Party

The residents of Melville Avenue and Castlemaine Avenue got together to hold a street party at the week-end. From the very first Whatsapp message suggesting it, there was a great deal of interest and lots of people from the area were suddenly talking to their neighbours and offering to bring

Dance Club

Great evening of dancing at Hersham Sports and Social Club, Walton upon Thames. Val and Gary gave us a great welcome and their guests paid us a wonderful compliment by taking part in every dance. There was great enthusiasm throughout the evening with spontaneous line dancing during the break.

Folk - at the Miller Centre

Some Kingsfolk musicians will be going to see Folk at the Miller Centre in Caterham. This interesting play is about how Cecil Sharp took simple songs from the English countryside and gave them a sophistication that made them acceptable to an urban public. This set him at odds with the

Fundraising for the RMBF

We have just done a fundraising event for the Royal Medical Benevolent Fund at a venue on the Albert embankment. It was overlooking the Thames and the Houses of Parliment. The dancing was crazy, but everyone had a brilliant time. Lots of laughter and happy faces.

St.Mary's Islington

Kingsfolk was asked to lead a ceilidh as part of a special Church Week-End and it was a very exciting occasion. Great food and wonderful energy on the dance floor. There can't be many London churches with a sports hall on the premises!

Kingswood House

Kingsfolk played at Kingswood House for a very lively wedding. Everyone seemed to have a fantastic time with shrieks and laughter almost drowning out the band. The venue was built in the early part of the 19th Century and made to look like a fairytale castle in the 1890'

Piper

James Robertson Reid, the piper from Croydon, made a spectacular entrance at the Emmanuel Burns Night Ceilidh on Saturday. The guests were welcomed into the hall by a resounding medley of traditional tunes and the haggis was celebrated with the usual drama and ritual.

Accordion restored

Simon's accordion needed some delicate restoration last month. Three bass buttons were stuck and some of the reeds were open so there was a horrible drone sound whenever the bellows were pumped. Thanks to the brilliant and painstaking work by Mark Dean the instrument is now back to

A ceilidh for "Ladies Night"

Great to be able to play for an exciting wedding in Woking! An all-female Kingsfolk band led the dancing for the Ladies Night. Only two of the guests had had any experience of a ceilidh, but everyone picked up the dances very quickly. A great encouragement for Judy, who was

Folk instruments in Norway

There is a great collection of folk musical instruments at the Ringve museum in Norway. This photo was taken by Jocelyn on a recent trip to Trondheim on the west coast. https://ringve.no/en/collection

Hampton Court House School

Playing as The London Ceilidh Band we led the dancing at a very stylish wedding. Lots of kilts, lots of laughter and a packed dance floor throughout the evening. Great to have Claire on the accordion at this event!

Flaco Jiménez

This unique Texan accordionist has died at the age of 86. He made accordion playing cool and spent most of his life working in clubs and bars in the US. He came to the attention of Mick Jagger and Bob Dylan, who were fascinated by his ability to combine the

The Egham Royal Show

Excitement is building in Egham ahead of this year's Royal Show. Kingsfolk will be leading the dancing and posters are appearing on all the shop windows in the high street. It's going to be a great event, so if you are in the area on the

Wedding in Wallington

Kingsfolk led the dancing for a wonderful wedding on Saturday. Andy was the caller and Emma, John, Ian and Simon made up the band. Lots of energy and loads of fun - especially when the pace quickened and everyone was trying hard to keep up with the music.

Accordions for sale

BBC news carries a story about Ken Hopkins who was known as the Accordion Man. He lived in County Down and amassed a huge collection of accordions which he stored in his home. Following his death, the family is arranging for the instruments to be sold at auction. Some of

Jocelyn and Andy's Wedding

A fantastic wedding! Jocelyn and Andy were married during a beautiful, musical wedding at Emmanuel Church in Croydon. The first hymn was How Great Thou Art and there were many musical items from an organ arrangement for Gershwin's "Promenade" to Walton's "Set Me

St.George's Day at Wembley

St.George's Day and VE Day made a good combination for our big Barn Dance in Wembley. Andy's enthusiastic calling was infectious and most of the guests were caught up in the dancing right through the evening. Claire Wood was on the accordion and Sam Merrill

Strip the Willow in Glasgow

Glasgow has hosted a massive dance in the middle of Sauchiehall Street. The event was organised to celebrate the opening of the street after it had been closed for refurbishment work. Professional dancers and pipers from the National Piping Centre led the dancing, but they were joined by hundreds of

Waggy Tails Barn Dance

The very first Kingsfolk gig was a fundraiser for Waggy Tails, the charity that builds confidence in children through interacting with dogs. Here we are, almost 19 years later playing for a wonderful barn dance to say, "Thank You" to all those who have volunteered to make the

Burns Night at Emmanuel Croydon

The main hall of the Emmanuel Centre in Croydon was full to capacity for the Burns Night Supper and Ceilidh on Saturday. Kingsfolk played for the dances and provided instrumentals during the breaks. For this event we had a guest accordionist, Claire Wood, who brought her own musical flair to