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My wedding reception will have a mixed crowd
of Irish and British guests, can you provide entertainment
that will play Irish traditional classics and modern
day pop covers, rock and roll, etc?
Yes, the most popular and practical way of doing
this at weddings and private parties is to have a good
lively Irish duo or band performing for the first 2-3
hours of the evening's entertainment followed by a Brady’s
disco which can be tailored to your exact musical tastes
and requirements.
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What doe's a typical Irish band consist of?
Our Irish bands typically consist of a guitar-vocalist,
Irish fiddler and another instrumentalist such as a
Banjo player, Accordian player or keyboard player, with
a versatile selection of Irish songs of all kinds, eras
and genres. That often includes many of the classics
such as 'The Fields of Athenry, 'Leaving of Liverpool',
'Dirty old Town', etc. They'll also be able to play
a selection of covers recorded by such Irish musical
icons as The Dubliners, Christy Moore, The Pogues, The
Wolfe Tones and many more besides. As well as that most
of our acts can also perform a selection of country
and contemporary numbers where needed.
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Can your Irish bands play traditional Irish
music and songs as well as disco type songs and rock
music, Abba, U2, etc?
Irish music is played with different instruments
compared to pop cover and function bands. Electric guitars,
keyboards and rock drummers don't generally really work
with Irish songs. It's quite a tall order expecting
an Irish band to switch from 'The Fields of Athenry'
to 'Dancing Queen' just as it would be to get a pop
cover band to do likewise. If you want to have live
Irish music and rock and pop covers why not consider
booking a live Irish act to be followed by one of our
excellent
discos?
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What doe's a typical Irish Ceili consist of?
A Ceili band is more Irish Traditional music based,
usually featuring a guitarist along with a minimum of
two melody instrumentalists such as an Irish fiddler,
Banjo player or Accordian player. They'll be able to
provide a good and lively selection of Irish Jigs, Reels
and Hornpipes to provide the backing for Ceili dances
such as 'The Siege of Ennis', 'The Walls of Limerick'
etc. Where requested we can supply a Ceili band that
also features songs. It's also a good idea to have a
'Caller' at a Ceili and we can organise that for you
too. Whatever your preference we'll discuss that with
you when you make your enquiry and ensure that we supply
you with something to match your needs.
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How long does an Irish band play for at a wedding?
A typical booking is for 2 -3 hours including breaks.
This can vary depending on the needs of the booker.
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What areas do you cover and do your acts travel?
We cover almost anywhere. Many
of our acts are based in the London
and home counties but we have others based in various
regions of the country. We can send acts literally anywhere
to venues and functions in both the
UK and abroad. We work
on the principle of 'distance is no object'. We've recently
assisted with the supply of Irish entertainment for
a venue in Chengdu in China!
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Do they supply their own PA system?
Yes. All acts are self contained and provide all
of their own equipment. In some cases where a venue
already has an in house sound system they will use this
provided it's all arranged and agreed beforehand. In
some bookings the musicians perform acoustically without
any PA. This is typical with Irish traditional 'Sessions'.
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Can I go and hear your Irish acts perform before
I book them?
If it's possible we'll arrange that for you but it
depends on various factors such as how far ahead the
date of your function is. If it's soon then probably
not. Where possible we'll try and arrange for an MP3
sampler to be sent to you. You can however hear many
of our popular acts on our
samplers
page. You also have to peace of mind from knowing that
Brady's Irish music agency has been specialising in
supplying Irish entertainment for over 30 years!
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Do your acts play their instruments live or
do they use backing tracks?
Because Irish music is essentially an acoustic based
type of music the use of 'Karaoke' type backing tracks
is almost unheard of. With pop orientated Irish bands
for some functions such as weddings they are sometimes
used but only sparingly and more to augment the act
rather than substitute real live music.
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My wedding is obviously a happy event and I
don’t want a lot of sad and dreary songs played nor
too many traditional jigs and reels, can you make sure
they keep it lively and happy?
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Yes, of course. Although many popular and classic
Irish songs are sad and slow, (Fields of Athenry, Grace,
Four Green Fields, etc,)they need to be played sparingly
along with all the lively stuff for parties such as
'Whisky in the Jar', 'The Irish Rover', etc. Traditional
music such as Jigs and Reels is also something that
works better with a crowd when played sparingly. Our
acts are all used to playing to a crowd so they are
aware of this issue and arrange their sets accordingly.
Most good acts watch the crowds reaction and keep it
all lively and flowing.
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I will have lots of English guests at my wedding
so I don’t want to offend anyone with any Rebel songs,
can you make sure this isn’t an issue?
Rebel songs are not played at any functions or gigs
by our acts unless the booker has specifically asked
for them, so rest assured that won’t be a problem!
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Do the acts play requested songs on the night?
Certainly, however if it's essential to you that
a specific song is played on the night it's best to
let us know at the time of booking ands we'll organise
(where possible) for the act to perform it for you.
We can't of course guarantee that all of our acts will
have every Irish song available on their songlist!
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Would I have any say in the general list of
songs played on the night?
Yes, it’s a good idea and normal procedure for the
act to consult the booker on an appropriate playlist
for the night. For example, it wouldn't be advisable
to play Irish rebel songs at a wedding! Neither is it
a good idea to play too many slow and sombre ballads,
although the night probably wouldn't feel the same without
the odd tearjerker classic such as; ‘Danny Boy’ or ‘The
Fields Of Athenry’.
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Do you take bookings at short notice?
Yes, we can often arrange to get an act for you within
24 hours of a booking or even on the same day!. We do
of course prefer more notice but if your booking is
urgent call us right away on 0845 226 5324
(Local call rate).
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How do they dress when performing?
Depends on the event. Smart dress or casual is the
norm. If it's a 'dressy' occasion the act will dress
aptly.
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How is my booking confirmed and paid for?
Once your booking is made and the details of your
needs clarified, we will put all of the details on a
simply understood agreement which is normally ratified
by a deposit and signed copy of the agreement. This
constitutes a legal contract between you and the act
that will give you the peace of mind that everything
is confirmed in writing. We normally accept payment
via cheque or bank transfer. We can also accept deposit
payments via credit cards, switch, solo or maestro.
The balance of the contracted fee is normally paid in
cash on the day to the act.
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Are your fees all inclusive? Are there any 'extras'?
The fees quoted are what you will pay in total unless
there is an extra travel cost involved, in which case
you will be advised of this at the time of booking and
it will be included clearly in your booking agreement.
Travel costs are kept to a minimum. If the booking is
long distance and an overnight stay is required for
the act then this will also be negotiated separately
with the booker and included in the agreement. We have
no hidden costs and we do NOT charge any booking or
arrangement fees. VAT is NOT applicable unless the act
is VAT registered, which is rare and if they were we'd
advise you of that at the time of booking.
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How far ahead do I need to make a booking?
There's no set time but it's always best to book
up as far ahead as possible. We do however, often arrange
bookings at short notice.
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How do I make a booking?
Just call us on 0845 226 5324, fill
out our online
enquiry form or
email us . Either way we promise to respond to your
enquiry very promptly! When you make the booking we
provide you with a 'plain-speak' agreement that will
include all of the terms and conditions applicable to
your booking. You simply check it through, assuming
it's all correct then sign and return it to us either
by scanning and emailing it or via post. We'll normally
ask for a deposit that's deductible from the agreed
fee of which the balance is normally payable on the
night.
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I may also need Irish dancers and or an Irish
disco and or an Irish bagpiper, can you arrange it all
for me?
Absolutely. We can coordinate the event for you and
take the hassle and headache out of it all by arranging
everything. We can also provide a
PA for hire
at the function if required.
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Do you charge me an extra fee for arranging
the booking?
No. As an agency (in the vast majority of cases)
we make our cut via commission paid to us by the act
from their overall fee. If there were any booking or
management fee involved this would be negotiated by
separate arrangement with you and included clearly within
the terms and conditions of any such agreement.
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I need to discuss this with you, can you call
me?
Yes, we'd be glad to. If you wish to make a booking
enquiry please either fill out our
enquiry form which asks
you for your telephone number or call our office on
0845 226 5324 (Local call rate). You
can also email us directly with any specific question
you may have.
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