OUCB - Welcome

Hello and welcome to all the new members!

In case you’ve forgotten who we are since signing up in the chaos of freshers fair, we’re a non-auditioning ceilidh band. But, what even is a ceilidh I hear you ask? It’s a fantastically fun social dance from Ireland and Scotland, where a whole bunch of people come and our caller teach them some dances and we play some wonderful music for them to dance to! You absolutely don’t need to know how to dance to attend a ceilidh, and most of the people at the gigs we do haven’t even been to a ceilidh before.

We get booked for a bunch of gigs around Oxford every term, from birthday parties to charity fundraisers and even weddings! We also run 1 or 2 public ceilidhs per term, and I’m happy to announce, the first is on the 28th of October from 7-9:30pm at Jesus College Digital Hub.

We have rehearsals once a week, on a Tuesday from 8-10pm, followed by a playing some tunes at the Royal Blenheim. Usually we rehearse at Cohen Quad, but for week 1 only, we are rehearsing in the Long Room at New College.

We mostly play Irish, Scottish and English tunes tunes with a sprinkling of Quebecois, Scandi and other tunes for good measure. You can find our tunebook here, if you want to have a go at the tunes before rehearsals, but you absolutely don’t need to know all the tunes to come along and join in - I don’t know all the tunes and I’ve been here three years already!

There’s also plenty of folk music sessions in Oxford and even a helpful calendar with them all. Sessions are a great way to learn a huge variety of tunes and also to spend some time with people who aren’t all students, I’d really recommend going to some, even if you just listen and don’t play.

Our rehearsal this week is on Tuesday at 8-10 at the Long Room in New College. Afterwards, we will head to the Royal Blenheim for drinks and a session.

We’ve been booked to play for the Women’s Institute at South Oxford Community Center. This is always a really fun gig (with cheese and cake!) If you’re new, you can sign up to play, but I’d suggest talk to a committee member at the rehearsal first.

OUCB is so much fun, come to our rehearsal on Tuesday - there will be biscuits! Don’t forget to follow our mascot on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/oucb_basil/

Best fishes,
Zoe Stafford (president of the band)