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THE KEEL BAND

… is a five piece folk band based in Norfolk, comprising Kate Aldis, playing melodeons; Tom Riviere, playing violin; Clive Gritten, playing bass/keyboard; Pete Rushmer, playing guitar, mandolin, mandola & singing vocals; & Fil Rushmer on percussion.

Established in 1996, the band emanates from humble ‘3 piece pub-night’ beginnings in the late 1980s, performing in a variety of line-ups, both collectively & individually, since then. We now principally specialise in Ceilidh (barn) dances, although we still enjoy keeping in touch with our pub-night & folk club roots & musical evenings.

With the emphasis on Ceilidh dances, we relied for many years upon the many skills of Ken May, who took on the mantle of becoming our regular caller after the sad loss of our much loved friend, Paul Aldis. Prior to Paul, Phil Starks was our popular caller until his retirement. Ken’s extensive repertoire covered a range of dances from those for complete beginners to those for the more accomplished dancer, thus ensuring his approach was appealing to all comers.  Ken has had to retire from calling because of ill health, but we have been able to avail ourselves of the services of several highly-experienced callers to fill the gap left by Ken.

Performing a mix of Old World to New World folk music, our style is characterised by up-tempo jigs, reels, hornpipes & punchy marches through to sensitive ballads & rousing shanties, a representative cross section of which we attempt to include in most of our gigs.

Be it for an anniversary, wedding, birthday, fund raising event, or simply light hearted musical entertainment, please phone us on 01263 577795, or email us at bookings@keelband.org.uk for more information; we would love to hear from you.