About the Ceilidh Experience band
Norman Mackay’s Ceilidh Experience has, for the past decade, been leading the way in revolutionising the ceilidh dance music scene. With an innovative approach and infectious energy, they have become the go-to ceilidh band of choice for rock stars, soap stars, and famous politicians.
They’ve appeared on TV teaching Strictly Come Dancing stars Craig Revel Horwood and Kate Thornton how to ceilidh dance, and were invited to provide the entertainment for the cast of Billy Elliot the musical to celebrate the end of their run of shows at the Edinburgh Playhouse. They have performed at weddings, corporate events and festivals all over the UK and throughout Europe. In 2025, the band embarked on their first Southeast Asia tour which included sell out shows in Singapore and Bangkok. They’ve also recently completed filming for a new Channel 4 prime-time drama, due to hit screens in 2026.
Additional services & DJ
We work with our own professional DJ. He also engineers the band’s sound during the live set and you’ll be provided with access to our DJ’s user friendly music planner system in advance of the date, where you’ll be able to organise requests, first dances etc.
Additional services which we can provide include: afternoon sound & lighting setup, speech microphone, and background music (your own playlist through our sound system) during the meal.
We are based in Edinburgh but perform all over the UK & throughout Europe. We like to combine the classic ceilidh dances, that we all know and love, with modern bass lines, beats, samples & effects creating a sound which really gets the crowd moving. Don’t worry if you have guests coming from overseas or who have never ceilidh danced before as the dances will be called/explained as much or as little as required.
We provide a slick show with sound engineer and dedicated DJ with interactive online music planning & request system. Having both the live band and DJ ensures a balance and provides something for everyone.
See the band live
Although the majority of our ceilidhs are for weddings, private parties & corporate events, we do also have regular open events. You can find a list of our upcoming ‘public ceilidhs’ on our website ‘Gig Diary’ and band Facebook page.
Like us on Facebook and if you make it along to one of our shows, be sure to say hello. We will be delighted to meet you!
