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The NORTHEAST CEILI BAND Homepage

page updated 2/15/12



band inquiries: Bill Black 508.540.5324 - email capeirish@earthlink.net


"I had a great time and look forward to next year.  I appreciate all the time and effort that went into making the weekend special.   You played a good selection of dances that appealed to all."

Larry Tormey's short video from CCCW VIII



More about band members and guest artists



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The NORTHEAST CEILI BAND


Formed in June of 2004, the NECB is comprised of musicians from the Boston and New York areas who have
played together extensively in the past, and who appreciate ceili band playing as a particular skill
within the broader spectrum of Irish traditional music.
   
 
In addition, the members of the NECB appreciate one another both as musicians and as individuals. The
love and respect of the band members for one another is clearly manifest at every NECB performance, and
of course infuses the band's music as it is experienced by the dancers fortunate enough to be in
attendance at an NECB ceili.

The NECB prides itself on being responsive to the desires of its dancers - we don't tell you what
the next ceili dance or set is going to be, you tell us!

 




NECB PAST & FUTURE



THE PAST ....
============

dancers3

January 2012
CCCW IX: Guest artist for the weekend was the legendary accordion champion and
recording artist John Whelan; fiddler Mark Oien filled in for an ailing Seán Reynolds.
On Saturday night, the NECB was joined by members of Carraroe and on keyboards
by our good friend Paul Kenneally.

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NORTHEAST CEILI BAND 2012
Larry Jr, Mark, Pat, John, BB, Paul

carra

CARRAROE
Kevin, BB, Mark, Torrin

paul-k

PAUL KENNEALLY


January 2011
CCCW VIII: first ceili weekend at the "New" Irish Village - big success!
NECB is joined by members of Carraroe (Kevin Daly, box; Mark Oien, fiddle; Torrin Ryan, pipes)
for a memorable Saturday night ceili

February 2010
CCCW VII: great weekend as old friends and new assemble to do what they love

February 2009
CCCW VI a great success - dancers in abundance, musicians as always ready to
tear away at the tunes, weather as good as February will ever supply on Cape Cod.

Memorial Day weekend 2008
CCCW V - NECB joined by guest fiddler Brendan Bulger
Always room for more dancers but the ones that attended had a great time!

January 2008
CCCW IV - great time had by all (despite bogus fire alarms and blizzard threat!)

October 2007
NECB appears at a Gertie Byrne "#1 Irish Weekend" at the Falls View
Hotel in the Catskills

ceilipix2

June 2007
Midsummer Ceili at the Irish Village

Jan 2007
CCCW III - the best yet as lads are joined by Rosemary and Maeve Flanagan and dance
workshop instructors Aidan Maher (ceili) and Barry and Pat Callahan (sets)

June 2006
Cape Cod Celtic Festival IV

Jan 2006
Cape Cod Ceili Weekend II - great time had by all!

Sept 2005
NECB returns to its second Newport Irish Festival

July 2005
NECB performs as part of the Cape Cod Celtic Festival

May 2005
Memorial Day weekend ceili at the Irish Village

ceilipix3

Jan 2005
first annual Cape Cod Ceili Weekend (or "CCCW I"). Great weekend in spite of un-Cape-like
weather (30+ inches of snow on the ground)

Sept 2004
ditto, at the Newport Irish Festival

June 2004
NECB makes its debut to universal approbation and amazement (or vice versa)
at the Cape Cod Celtic Festival




larry-mark

Larry Reynolds Jr - Mark Oien (2012)




band inquiries: Bill Black 508.540.5324 - email capeirish@earthlink.net







Present band members


bb

Bill Black - banjo, bouzouki, guitar

Senior member of the band, Bill also handles publicity on behalf of the group. Bill did his Irish traditional apprenticeship in New York in the early 1970's and became an active member of the Boston scene when he and his family moved to Cape Cod in 1979. Bill is active in the Cape Cod session scene, founded and performs in the local traditional group "Cape Tradition", and also does classical and choral composing and arranging as well as traditional  tune composing, web archiving, production, song writing etc. Bill's web home page is www.capeirish.com.
 
 
sean
larry2
pat


Seán Reynolds - fiddle
Larry Reynolds Jr - accordion
Pat Reynolds - drums


Two brothers (Sean and Larry) and a cousin (Pat) who have been intimately involved in the Boston traditional scene all their lives, which is only to be expected when Larry Reynolds is your dad (or, in Pat's case, your uncle!) Seán is a rock-solid fiddler, Larry is a first-class accordion player, and Pat is certainly one of the top three ceili band drummers in the U.S. All live in the Boston area, and in November 2002 Seán and Pat were inducted into the Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann (CCE) Hall  of Fame for their efforts on behalf of traditional music in general and ceili music in particular over the years.
 
kevin

Kevin Killeen - accordion

Kevin is the other New York member of the band, and brings a wealth of ceili playing experience to the group. He has been an active teacher and performer in the New York trad scene for years. Kevin and banjo player Bill Black first shared tunes at various CCE conventions starting in the 1980's, and in the meantime Kevin became acquainted with (and appreciated by) the Reynolds brothers for his solid technique and command. His accordion playing style blends very well with the style of Larry Reynolds Jr to create a distinct and powerful sound for the band.




Guest Artists
Our thanks to the following great musicians who have joined us in the past
(and we hope will do so again)!

john-w rose maeve
JOHN WHELAN
ROSE CONWAY FLANAGAN
MAEVE FLANAGAN



jerry bren2
JERRY O'SULLIVAN
BRENDAN BULGER