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This is the website of the Well Dressed Band. We are a community band based in the Peak District and we play for ceilidhs and barn dances in the local area including South Yorkshire. The band also gives an opportunity for aspiring folk musicians to learn to play for dances in a friendly atmosphere.

Return to normal?

With the easing of Covid restrictions we are gradually returning to normal with indoor practices and taking bookings for ceilidhs. We had two outdoor bookings in the Summer and have held three indoor practices at the Bamford Institute and a further three at Loxley Hall, Hope. On the alternate Tuesdays we held Zoom sessions. It is hoped to continue the Loxley Hall practices and also continue with Zoom in 2022. Progress will depend on the situation with Covid and the Omicron variant. We are also starting to take bookings for ceilidhs from March but will keep things under review.

The Band in Lockdown

During the lockdown for Covid19 the band had to find other ways to practise. On Tuesday evenings, when we would normally meet to practise, we have had a virtual practice via Zoom. It is not possible to play along on Zoom, because of the inbuilt delay, but we have been muting our sound and playing along at home, either to a lead player or a recording of the band.

Another way of hearing other band members has been to create virtual recordings. A master track is created and circulated. Band members then record themselves playing along to it. All the recordings are then collated to create the final full band recording. The response from band members has been amazing. Not only have we created some great music but it has been a valuable learning opportunity for people to listen to themselves playing.

We created eleven sets which were used for two virtual Home Grown Ceilidhs on 20th September and 22nd November 2020 and produced some more for a virtual three band weekend held in February 2021.

Some of our virtual sets can be heard below.

1 - Jigs: The Burdett, Lady Compton's Whim