ceilidh band Archives - Reel Time Events

Glasgow Conference Events and Entertainment by Reel Time Events

Ross MacFarlane — Wed, 20 Nov 2019 21:14:38 +0000

Glasgow is a great place for conference events. From the diversity and variety of the city itself, to its ease of access to the rest of Scotland, visitors are never short of things to do and see.

Glasgow Convention Bureau continues to do an excellent job of promoting the city to the world. They have been awarded Top Convention Bureau in the UK for 13 years in a row by the Meeting and Incentive Travel Awards, and have helped bring Glasgow to the forefront of international conference destinations.

Reel Time Events provides a lot of conference entertainment in Glasgow. We’re taking a look at just some of the highlights of our conference event entertainment from this year.

6 Massive Conference Ceilidhs at Merchant Square

During the summer, Reel Time secured a run of 6 GIANT conference events with Merchant Square. Conference organisers were looking for a venue that could easily accommodate up to 1500 delegates to descend en-masse, sit down for dinner, and be entertained. Merchant Square’s range of dining estalishment’s close to the public for the night as the conference delegates takeover to enjoy the evening’s social program.

Reel Time Events provided the entertainment for these 6 conferences:

12th June – Offshore Mechanics & Arctic Engineering (OMAE), 1000 guests

10th July – CAP Partner – Federation of European Microbiologists (FEMS) 2019 Congress of European Microbiologists, 800 guests

18th July – International Society for Molecular Plant-Microbe (ISMPMI), 1300 guests

1st Aug – International Nuclear Physics Conference (INPC) 2019, 800 guests

4th Sept – European Conference on Applied Superconductivity (EUCAS) 2019, 1000 guests

8th Oct – The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)’s International Ultrasonics Symposium (IUS) 2019, 1000 guests

We wanted to initiate these huge, international audiences into Scottish culture to ensure their time in Glasgow would never be forgotten. That meant one thing: ceilidh dancing.

The layout of Merchant Square is perfect for this as it has a huge amount of floor space for large groups to dance and spin and twirl about. So we were easily able to accommodate 5900 first-time ceilidh dancers over the 6 events.

Reel Time’s modern ceilidh band ‘Scraggly Cats‘ performed all 6 events. Each event began with the 5-piece band accompanied by 5 Highland Dancers, performing jigs, reels, and the Highland Fling. The Dancers then encouraged the delegates to venture out on to the dance floor, and then helped to teach them ceilidh dances while the band played and called the moves from the stage. With so many ceilidh-newbies, having the Highland Dancers participate and lead by example brought everyone together and gave delegates the confidence to nail the dance moves.

After several ceilidh tunes, the delegates were rewarded for their effort with a disco set from the band who played live covers of songs like Summer of 69, Happy, Uptown Funk, and Don’t Stop Believing.

And finally, for those who just weren’t ready for the night to end, Reel Time always provided a DJ to take the party into the wee hours of the morning.

2 Huge Nights of Evening Entertainment for the British Orthodontics Society’s Glasgow Conference

Another highlight of our Glasgow Conference entertainment this year was back-to-back nights of events at the Glasgow Science Centre and the Crowne Plaza for the British Orthodontic Society.

This is the 2nd time we’ve worked with BOS and we were thrilled to be asked back. This time we wanted to go above and beyond with bigger Scottish show entertainment. Being familiar with the audience, we knew that they were especially fun and enthusiastic, and we wanted to deliver on their expectations for a huge party.

BOS wanted two nights of entertainment for their Glasgow conference. First was the civic reception at the Science Centre, a short walk from their hotel, Crowne Plaza – the location of the second night’s entertainment, and in close proximity to the Scottish Events Campus (SEC), where the conference was held.

Night One: Evening Entertainment at the Glasgow Science Centre

To kick off the civic reception, two Reel Time Pipers led a procession of conference delegates from Crowne Plaza, across the bridge over the River Clyde to the Science Centre. Once across the bridge, they were greeted by a troupe of jugglers and stilt walkers, who helped usher them into the venue.

Once all of the delegates were inside, they were provided food and drinks and left to do some networking, our roaming entertainers mingled and the crowd enthused. After about an hour, our two Reel Time Pipers once again struck up their pipes and led the large group to the entertainment area in the Science Centre.

Tartanium

They were greeted here by Reel Time’s biggest band: Tartanium. A 10 piece rock-band/stage show with Scottish infusions. Tartanium takes a classic rock-and-pop core of drums, guitar, bass, keys and a singer, adds a three-piece horn section of a trombone, trumpet, and saxophone. On top of that, bagpipes and a fiddle provide the authentic Scottish sound and texture. Tartanium plays a set of modern pop covers and Scottish traditional music with a big-band sound. Alongside the band are the Tartanium Dancers, five young ladies in traditional dress to perform jigs, reels, and highland flings with the band.

Tartanium kicked off the show with a reel, with the dancers performing in a space on the floor by the audience. The show moves forward with energy, fervour, and plenty of volume. The band play traditional dances like the highland fling, famous Scottish songs like Wild Mountain Thyme, and modern pop covers like Avicii’s “Wake Me Up.”

Watch the Tartanium Dancers!

Ceilidh Taster

After the show, Tartanium led the guests in a ceilidh taster in preparation for the following night. Roddy called the dances from the stage while playing pipes. The Tartanium dancers mingle with the audience to help them learn the moves. For first timers, it can seem quite daunting. But with the right effort and guidance from the Tartanium dancers, it always comes together.

Disco

After the ceilidh taster, the band continued with a forty-five minute set of pop and disco tunes for the audience to end the night with recent pop hits like Happy, Uptown Funk, and Can’t Stop the Feeling. Plus classic oldies like Donna Summer’s Hot Stuff, and Gloria Gaynor’s I Will Survive.

Fire Performers

As the night came to a close and the guests began to leave the venue, they were seen off by a trio of fire performers outside of the Science Centre for the final part of the night’s entertainment.

Crowne Plaza Conference Entertainment

The following night’s conference entertainment took place at the Crowne Plaza hotel, just across the river from the Science Centre. This second night of entertainment was the responsibility of the same Reel Time band who had such success at the 6 Merchant Square conferences.

Scraggly Cats kick the night off with a full on ceilidh. Having had the taster the night before, the guests were ready to get right in to a ceilidh. They went through several traditional dances: dashing white sergeant, Gay Gordons, the Flying Scotsman, the Virginia reel, and Strip the Willow.

After the ceilidh, the Scraggly Cats performed a disco set of pop classics and modern hit songs.

The band finished their set but the party continued on thanks to one of the Reel Time DJ’s who kept the delegates partying.

We had a great time with the guests of the British Orthodontic Society, and Glasgow proved to be the perfect setting for back-to-back nights of conference entertainment.

Honourable Mention: Kelvingrove Conference Entertainment

We also had the good fortune to take part in the IASSIDD conference at Kelvingrove, where we put on a ceilidh for conference delegates with the help of a group called Indepen-dance. You can see some of what we did in the video below.

We’ve had a wonderful year of Glasgow Conference Entertainment, with more still to come in the last few weeks of 2019, and we’re already excited and looking ahead to the fun we’re going to have in 2020 with all kinds of conference events already on the calendar.

If you’d like to keep up with Reel Time’s future entertainment, make sure to follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and Linkedin.

For more conference information, head to our conferences page.

To inquire about conference or event entertainment, visit the contact page.

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Highland Games at Cameron House

Ross MacFarlane — Fri, 31 Mar 2017 12:30:53 +0000

If there is a more beautiful setting for a hotel anywhere in the world I have yet to see it. We were lucky enough to have the pleasure of spending two days in March at Cameron House Hotel on the bonnie bonnie banks of Loch Lomond.

Thursday afternoon kicked off with one of our superb Highland games experiences with six teams battling it out for glory, despite the changeable weather. As well as some caber tossing, we were very fortunate that our most celebrated national predator species, “Weeus Hairyus Haggis”, were in season so guests also had the rare opportunity of participating in a spot of Haggis Hurling***.

Across the hotel, (to protect the birds from a haggis attack,) guests also enjoyed some falconry, a farmers dash assault course, a bagpipe masterclass, and learned some new moves with our ceilidh and Highland dance workshop. It was a hard fought couple of hours with the Speyside Team eventually emerging victorious.

Things were equally as lively on Friday night for the gala dinner. As luck would have it, Robert the Bruce and his pal Rob Roy happened to be in Scotts Bar for a drink, so joined the guests pre dinner to chew the fat. Both natural raconteurs, they kept everyone entertained until dinner was called. Beautiful floral table centres were created by Plantation Florists and our Scottish gift bags were there to greet guests when they took their seats for a wonderful meal.

Robert the Bruce and Rob Roy were also on hand to join those keen to try out our Scottish themed photo booth. They were then surprised by a “Beat the Retreat“, a full marching pipe band in No 1 military uniform. To end the night in classic Reel Time style, the six piece Scraggly Cats band were joined by four traditional Highland dancers. They took guests on a musical voyage through until midnight. A mixture of the band’s signature, funky, rock ceilidh tunes and a solid helping of classic pop covers ensured a varied mix on the dancefloor for the rest of the night.

Our group were an absolute pleasure to entertain on both days and we hope they enjoyed the rest of their time in Scotland as much as we enjoyed having them here.

***Please note, no haggis were hurt during the hurling activity.

With thanks to Ewa Labuda for the photography and David Fletcher at Reel Time for the words.

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Hogmanay Ceilidh Entertainment

Ross MacFarlane — Thu, 05 Jan 2017 13:55:20 +0000

New year is a busy time for a Scottish events company. We helped many of our regular venues to entertain their guests and bring in the New Year in style!

When bringing in the new year in Scotland, Ceilidh entertainment gets everyone up and dancing and in the spirit of New year!

Dalmahoy Hotel and Country Club had a full Scottish gala dinner which we provided a great range of Scottish entertainment for. Guests were piped into their wonderful 5 course dinner, and then enjoyed some great ceilidh dancing with the Reel Time Ceilidh Band, including a few Highland dancer show spots. A special pipe band performance piped in the bells, and a DJ spun tunes into the wee hours.

Crieff Hydro offer an extensive Christmas and New Year package which the Scraggly Cats were delighted to be part of again this year. They entertained 400 guests with a great mixture of ceilidh entertainment and pop.

Perth Racecourse also opted for ceilidh entertainment as part of their Hogmanay celebrations. Reel Time arranged for a ceilidh band to run one of the floors where guests enjoyed some traditional ceilidh, with a DJ taking the other floor of entertainment.

The Glasshouse Hotel in Edinburgh also had a great New Year celebration taking place, for which we supplied a 3 piece ceilidh band. Murrayfield again hosted a “Big Hogmanay Bash” with one of our trusty pipers there to pipe in the bells.

For those who had not indulged enough, our first event of 2017 was a whisky tasting at Dalhousie Castle. To find out more about our whisky tasting, why not take a look at our whisky tasting video?

Everyone at Reel Time Events would like to take this opportunity to wish you a very Happy New Year, and we look forward to working with you in 2017!

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2017 Weddings

Ross MacFarlane — Fri, 11 Nov 2016 14:09:55 +0000

Reel Time were delighted to exhibit once again at the Corn Exchange Wedding Fair last weekend.

Claire and Cath spent the weekend chatting to couples about how Reel Time can help make their big day extra special. It was a really nice chance to meet and catch up with existing clients and in several cases, the first chance to put a face to a name. There was also plenty of opportunity to chat to couples who are still looking for inspiration for their wedding entertainment. We hope we have helped with ideas, and look forward to putting the plans in place and making your big day extra special.

We were asked by a few people what the trends seemed to be so far for 2017; what the popular choices were? Well, ceremony music is definitely in high demand for 2017. We have been taking an increased number of bookings for clarsach players and string quartets to play during the ceremony.

Scottish entertainment is as popular as ever, with pipers and ceilidh bands in high demand. As well as piping for the arrival of guests at the ceremony and piping the bride down the aisle, the piper can perform a whole host of other duties. Our pipers are more than happy to be on hand for photos. As well as piping whilst photos are being taken, the piper could also pose with the happy couple and/or guests in the photos too. Other duties often include piping guests in for the wedding meal, piping the bride and groom to the top table and announcing the cutting of the wedding cake.

At the wedding fair, the band that couples seemed most interested in for 2017 was the Scraggly Cats. They are a 5 piece band who provide a great mix between catchy ceilidh and party pop. A ceilidh band is a great way to get guests interacting with each other – a perfect ice breaker, as well as being great fun!

We really got the feeling from brides that they were looking for a ‘traditional’ wedding – though we imagine that everyone has a slightly different view of ‘traditional’!

As well as helping couples to put plans in place for their big day, the wedding fair was also a great chance for Reel Time to catch up with local venues and suppliers. It’s a great opportunity for us to find out about any changes at venues, new things they are offering and different wedding options. Forging great working relationships with local venues helps us to ensure that your big day will run perfectly smoothly and exceed all of your expectations..

For more details on how Reel Time can help to make your big day extra special, please contact our team who will be happy to spend time getting to know your requirements, talking through different options and ensuring that everything is just right for your special day.

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Strictly Come Ceilidh Dancing

Ross MacFarlane — Fri, 04 Nov 2016 14:12:26 +0000

Have you been looking for a new type of team building activity? Look no further! Reel Time would like to introduce you to “Strictly Come Ceilidh Dancing”.

What is it?

As you might have guessed, this is based on the TV show Strictly Come Dancing, though you don’t have to have watched the show to take part! It’s a great way of carrying team building activities on into the evening.

How does it Work?

No prior knowledge of ceilidh dancing is required; this is ideal for everyone and suits a whole range of occasions and events. The Reel Time Band, a modern and funky ceilidh band, will introduce participants to two different ceilidh dances. The caller will ensure contestants quickly become familiar with the steps, and professional dancers will be on hand to demonstrate and assist. Once the basics have been mastered it is time split into teams and work on personalising the chosen dance. Team work is key at this stage, working together to add flair and personality to the dance. Again, the professional dancers will be on hand to assist.

Once teams have perfected their dance it is Show Time! Each team will be invited up to the dance floor in turn to show off their ceilidh skills. Judging takes place, though we encourage praise at what the teams have achieved rather than too much criticism as sometimes happens on the TV show!

Once the results are announced there will be plenty of time for a few more ceilidh dances, perhaps introducing a couple of new ones for everyone to join in together.

What else do I need to know?

If you would like any further information then get in touch with the Reel Time team, we would be happy to tailor “Strictly Come Ceilidh Dancing” to fit your requirements perfectly. If participants would like to really feel the part, we could arrange kilts outfits for the gentlemen and sashes for the ladies. Why not have an after dinner “Strictly Come Ceilidh” to follow an afternoon of Highland games? We could also arrange for a whisky or gin tasting to form part of the event. Please get in touch for more information.

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New Scottish Entertainment Website Launched

Ross MacFarlane — Tue, 18 Oct 2016 13:16:39 +0000

Scottish entertainment company, Reel Time Events are pleased to announce that the new Reel Time Band website has gone live:

Introducing the new look ReelTimeBand.com. Featuring some of the best scottish bands for corporate and conference events. The site showcases everything from bagpipe rock to ceilidh and pop.

Following plenty of hard work behind the scenes, we would like to introduce you to the bands new look: Click here to be taken straight to the website.

The new website is easy to navigate and has some great video and audio samples. There are different pages for each of the four Reel Time bands: the Reel Time Ceilidh Band, Reel Time Folk Band, Scraggly Cats and Tartanium. Whether you are looking for entertainment for a wedding or a corporate event, the new website will help you to choose the band that will suit your occasion perfectly.

This website is the newest in the Reel Time Family, and follows the launch of the Reel Time Bars and Roddy the Piper earlier in the year.

IF you are looking for a Scottish entertainment company who can assist you delivering the perfect event, then do get in contact.

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Burns Night and Haggis stabbing with Reel Time Events

Ross MacFarlane — Tue, 29 Mar 2016 13:17:15 +0000

Burns Night is always one of the busiest periods of the year for Reel Time Events, and 2016 was no different. Here is a quick roundup of this year’s events and what we have been doing to help celebrate our great Bard’s birthday

Roddy and the Scraggly Cats had the pleasure of entertaining the Builders Merchants Federation at Dalmahoy Golf and Country Club. Roddy was on hand to address the haggis and then join the Scraggly Cats for their funky and up beat fusion of ceilidh and pop, giving all of the guests a fantastic party for the evening.

At Aberdeen’s AECC Roddy and the team were entertaining not one but two Burns Night events. The first was a Burns supper for a corporate client, who were entertained by Roddy and the Reel Time Band and provided a bangingburnsnight for all the guests.

The second event at the AECC also included Highland Games Activities and a whisky tasting, giving guests a taste of all things Scottish, before being entertained by the Reel Time Band in the evening.

Back in Edinburgh Roddy was busy at various venues across the city. Mansfield Traquair’s Burn’s night celebration was an intimate party in a grand venue, with Heritage Portfolio key staff, board of directors and invited guests from their parent company entertained by Roddy and the Scraggly Cats, and treated to one of Roddy’s characterful and animated Haggis Addresses.

At the EICC the Reel Time Ceilidh Band accompanied by our talented Highland Dancers entertained a group of hosted DMCs, to give them a taste of a Reel Time Burns night celebration and a night to remember.

Roddy offered up a contemporary performance at the National Museum of Scotland for the Burns Unbound event, playing a contemporary bagpipe set with a dance backing track and accompanied by the fabulous Tartanium dancers. We were lucky enough to be given a video of the event by one of the guests, Mr K Bryce Morrison, which you can see here

And just when you though it was a hard life for a piper over Burns season, Roddy’s last job was to jet to Madrid for one final Burns night, playing at the Ambassadors residence for a secret client, where he treated guests to a rousing haggis address, and playing his pipes and encouraging some ceilidh dancing in the warmer climbs of a Madrid evening.

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Roddy the Piper will go a long way for a good curry!

Ross MacFarlane — Thu, 24 Mar 2016 15:14:09 +0000

One of our great loves at Reel Time Events is promoting Scottish culture, produce and music with passion and enthusiasm. Much of this is done here in Scotland, showcasing our great nation to visitors from far flung lands, but occasionally we are lucky enough to get the opportunity to promote Scotland on the International stage.

Last month Roddy was lucky enough to be invited by Visit Scotland, along with his colleague Will Marshall, to a week long tour of India where they helped promote Scotland as a destination to the Indian leisure industry.

Visiting Mumbai, Chandigarh and Delhi, it was a whirlwind of a week, with Roddy and Will providing an interactive bagpipe playing and ceilidh dance experience for all of the leisure buyers (DMCs, travel agents and tour companies) in attendance in each city. Along with the musical entertainment guests were also treated to a Reel Time whisky tasting experience, giving them a sample of Scotlands favourite tipple and aiding with the lubrication for ceilidh dancing.

From arriving in Mumbai and a hair-raising taxi ride at 2am to the hotel, to an interactive whisky tasting with no whisky in Chandigarh and a very in-depth conversation comparing tea tasting to whisky tasting in Delhi, it was an exciting and interesting trip. Roddy and Will were lucky enough to meet and work with some amazing people, Visit Scotland Staff and all the staff at the venues across India, along with all of the buyers that attended the 3 events.

Such an incredible trip was full of highlights – An evening at the Delhi High Comission, avoiding the infamous “Delhi-Belly” or being involved in such an amazing and incredibly well-planned and executed adventure, helping promote Scotland on the international stage. #Scotspirit

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Reel Time Events and ThunderMark team up to welcome Momentum to Edinburgh

Ross MacFarlane — Mon, 16 Nov 2015 12:09:50 +0000

Reel Time Events, working with Thundermark, welcomed the Momentum group to the Edinburgh leg of their incentive trip.

Travelling from South Africa for their incentive trip Momentum were treated to a truly Scottish experience by Reel Time Events for the Edinburgh part of their journey. With great collaboration between Reel Time Events and Thundermark in the run-up to the event, guests were treated to the best entertainment possible for their visit to Edinburgh. To get both groups in the mood for the evenings entertainment they were fitted into kilt outfits for the gentlemen and sashes for the ladies – in all 80 kilt outfits and 70 sashes were successfully fitted across 2 venues over 6 hours, while the Reel Time team also offered some local knowledge and tourist info for how to spend the day, before the evening kicked off in Reel Time Style.

With entertainment at 2 different venues for the 2 groups it was a busy night for the Reel Time Team. The first groups gala dinner and entertainment was held at the stunning Hopetoun House, where they were greeted by a welcome piper on arrival. During the drinks reception there was a spectacular surprise Beat the Retreat, to give the guests a real rousing taste of Scotland before sitting down to dinner. No Scottish gala dinner is really complete without a haggis course and whisky, and this was no exception, with Roddy addressing the haggis for the guests and William Wallace talking to them about the whiskies on offer. After dinner to really get the pulses racing it was over to the Scraggly Cats, with their rocking ceilidh sound. Accompanied by highland dancers opening the show with contemporary dance display, guests were treated to a mixture of funky ceilidh and pop from the band, through to conclude the evening on a high.

The second group were treated to their gala dinner and entertainment at the spectacular Ghillie Dhu, where they were treated to a truly exciting evening of entertainment. With a magician performing street style, close up illusions and slight of hand over the drinks reception, guests were then wowed by Tartaniums high-impact, high-energy performance after dinner. Blending bagpipes with electric guitar, keys and drums their exciting and innovative take on traditional Scottish ceilidh music created a real excitement with the guests. Accompanied by their troupe of mini-kilted dancers performing their choreographed contemporary highland dance routine, everyone was treated to an exciting and contemporary twist on traditional Scottish Ceilidh.

The following day both groups took the opportunity to head south for Scotland vs South Africa in the rugby World Cup, the result going the way of the visitors and adding to their great memories of their trip.

If you would like to discuss your incentive trip to Scotland and see how Reel Time Events can provide an exciting and memorable experience for your staff please contact us.

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Scottish Conference for BGL in Edinburgh

Ross MacFarlane — Thu, 12 Nov 2015 12:36:18 +0000

Reel Time Events had the pleasure of entertaining the senior management team at the BGL group for their Gala dinner at Edinburgh’s National Museum of Scotland.

Held in the stunning venue of the National Museum in Edinburgh BGL’s senior management were treated to a Scottish show with a contemporary twist from Reel Time Events, where delegates were truly immersed in Scottish culture for the evening.

Reel Time provided the ladies with tartan sashes to compliment the gentlemen in their kilt outfits to get everyone dressed for an evening of Scottish entertainment. Delegates were welcomed in true Scottish style by a bagpiper as the arrived at the event. Once inside there was a host of entertainment for everyone to enjoy. Edinburghs Got Soul Choir wowed from the first level balcony with their powerful, passionate and professional performance to the party below with their rousing and high energy harmonies.

Then it was the Reel Time Bands turn to entertain with their own unique and rocking twist on a ceilidh. Accompanied by both traditional and contemporary dancers the 7-piece ensemble, complete with singer, rocked the crowd with a Reel Time twist.

To close the night guests were treated to a spectacular “beat the retreat” by Peoples Ford Boghall & Bathgate Caledonia Pipe band, marching through the museum. An amazing finale to a very exciting and eventful evening.

For a sneek peek video of the event, and what goes on in the museum after hours click here.

If you would like a bespoke quote for your Scottish evening, tailored to you exact requirements contact us to discuss your requirements

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