As well as Pipers, we offer Singers (some can also recite poetry) and Ceilidh Bands and Callers. A caller is necessary if you want to learn the dances.

Ceilidh bands

After the haggis has been addressed and devoured, traditionally the entertainment starts with traditional Scottish dancing serenaded by a ceilidh band.

Featuring a caller backed up by musicians, a ceilidh performance involves teaching different dances to the audience for each song. Circle dances, long-way sets, squares, waltzes - there are plenty to choose from and everyone gets to make a new partner through every dance.

Fuelled by whisky and laughter a Ceilidh band will traditionally perform Scottish folk songs using instruments such as a banjo, fiddle and guitar. However in recent years many bands have chosen to update their repertoire to include well known pop songs.

View all Ceilidh Bands

Bagpipers

The role of the bagpiper will change depending on whether they are also acting as master of ceremonies. Traditionally bagpipes will accompany the haggis as it is paraded into the room and may also provide background music whilst guests eat. Bagpipers can also serenade guests as they arrive to celebrate the Scottish bard’s birthday.

Some organisers, particularly those on a budget choose not to hire a bagpiper for their Burns night, as it is possible to have bagpipes played through a sound system instead of a live musician. However, for those who seek a traditional, exciting and truly Scottish evening, there is no replacement for the atmosphere a bagpiper dressed in traditional Scottish kilt brings and the sound of live bagpipes.

The trick with organising a successful Burns night is to be creative and ensure that everybody gets involved. Singing and dancing is key, as is raising multiple glasses of whisky in honour of Robert Burns. Every Burns night? should also finish with a merry rendition of Auld Lang Syne.

Cost

Pipers charge from £285, Singers from £295 (who can also run the evening for you), Ceilidh Bands from £795 (all include a caller).

Time scale

Start thinking about Burns Night in June if booking Pipers or Ceilidh Bands as most musicians get booked early. Last year we were fully booked by the beginning of September, so please get in touch sooner rather than later. We have one or two Scottish/Gaelic themed full bands as well who are also generally booked up really early!

About Burns night

Burns night is a celebration of Scottish national poet, Robert Burns. Celebrated each year on his birthday, 25 January, for an evening guests are able to let their hair down and revel in all things traditionally Scottish. From bagpipes to whisky and haggis, and of course readings from Burns’ extensive collection of songs and poems. But no respectable Rabbie Burns supper is complete without Scottish entertainment in the form of pipes, singing and dancing.

When organising a Burns Night celebration, it is important to hire the venue and entertainment early, which often means booking at least a year in advance and organisers may want to considering holding their Burns Night on either weekends either side of Burns’ birthday. Changing the date will allow organisers to hire the venue and entertainment they so desire without fear of it already being booked and also ensures that guests will be able to attend.

Master of ceremonies - every Burns night needs a Master of Ceremonies (Chairman) to introduce each section of the evening and keep guests in check throughout the many whisky toasts. It is also the duty of the Master of Ceremonies to address the haggis, using Burns’ famous poem “Address to a Haggis”, which sounds best when recited off by heart. The Chairman will also need to deliver the “Selkirk Grace” and introduce the entertainment.