About

Monster Ceilidh Band are 4 full-time professional musicians with extraordinary credentials: accordion maestro Amy Thatcher (Kathryn Tickell Band, The Shee) and the Scottish Borders fiddler Carly Blain (Border Fiddles) blaze their way through traditional and modern tunes underpinned by the unique rhythms of Kieran Szifris on mandocello and the dub-heavy electric bass of David de la Haye (Jez Lowe and the Bad Pennies). They’ve entertained generations new and old all over the world, from the fields of Glastonbury to 8000 people at the Rainforest World Music Festival in Borneo, with their cross-genre ceilidh music. Augmented by fifth element ‘The Touch‘ on drums/laptop, they’re now on a mission to inject Traditional music of the British Isles with the UK’s other great musical exponent – Drum ‘n’ Bass… Hold tight.

“Outrageously foot-stomping tunes from this Newcastle based group, mixing quirky tunes with beats and attitude. Elegant traditional playing versus raucous rave-like rhythms reveal arrangements to ignite the dance floor.”WOMEX

Selected Performances

  • London International Festival of Exploratory Music (LIFEM), London (UK)
  • Rainforest World Music Festival, Borneo (Malaysia)
  • St Patrick’s Day Festival, Moscow (Russia)
  • Hay Festival (UK)
  • Tochka Club, St Petersburg (Russia)
  • GLUV Club, Moscow (Russia)
  • National Forest Folk Festival (UK)
  • Grassington Festival (UK)
  • Sage Gateshead (UK)
  • BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art (UK)
  • Towersey Festival (UK)
  • Kings Place Festival, London (UK)

Selected Discography

  • “Mechanical Monster” (2011) The latest, double-album!
  • “St Patrick’s Day Festival” (2010 Russia) Various Artists
  • “British Music at WOMEX” (2010) Various Artists
  • “Make Me A Dancer”, (2009)