The band is led by concertina and spoons player Pat Smith who is acknowledged as one of Britain's most entertaining callers and she has taught Welsh dances and called twmpaths from Auckland to Aberdeen, from Chicago to Christchurch.
She is accompanied by regular musicians Mike Kennedy (bass), Iolo Jones (fiddle), Peter Davies (whistles, recorders, oboe, bagpipes and Bombard) and Rob Morris (guitar and Accordeon)
Influences
Originally the twmpath was the raised bit of ground on the village green where the musicians sat and played for the community to dance. Today it has come to mean the event itself... ...The welsh version of a ceilidh or barn dance -a raucous, hot night of traditional steps and modern ideas washed down with a heady blend of alcohol and pheromones
Today`s musicians are taking Welsh music forward in a way that could not have been dreamed of a generation ago and for more than 30 years The Calennig Band have been at the forefront of this new Welsh music, drawing material from their huge cache of experience and spicing it with elements of
jazz, swing and tastes of other Celtic and European cultures.
Specialising in this wonderful dance music Calennig are equally at home playing for experts and novices alike.
A Calennig Twmpath, where people of all ages can take part and mix together is tailored to suit a whole range of social events from
weddings and village barn dances to major festival ceilidhs.
Major appearances over the years have included festivals in New Zealand, America, Italy, Belgium, Brittany and various Celtic and folk festivals in the UK, also various TV programmes.
The Calennig Band is available for weddings, birthdays, any private functions or village celebrations in South Wales or beyond.
hello mike. I found you through sian phillips page as i was down for the welsh fiddle weekend back in sep. there and staying with pat a couple of nights. what a hoot!!! hope to be back again sometime!
Hi Pat, thanks for the add. You won't know me but I know you from long ago Calennig days at the Cardiff Marchioness of Bute folk club (whatever happened to Dublin Moran?), and my occasional visits to Llantrisant folk club and other events over the years. I'll never forget the Richard Thompson/John Kirkpatrick event that you and Mick
organised at Talbot Green Community Centre in Feb '85. What a night in the snow that was!
This cyberspace stuff is pretty wild for an old folkie like me, but hey, I guess it's only a modern type of Broadsheet eh?
