Review Centre: Bands & Ensembles

"I just wanted to say thank you for Saturday, your performance was great! The feedback that we have had has been brilliant, everyone really enjoyed themselves. You were professional in set-up and made it easy for us whilst we were running around trying to get everything else ready, I can’t thank you enough."

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Hi Tad Thank you all so much for playing at our wedding reception. The music was fantastic (great to listen to outside as well as for those dancing). You were great at encouraging everyone to join in. We had a lot of reluctant dancers in the room who leapt in and had a great time, including both of our Dads and two teenage boys! Everyone felt that the moves were explained in a really accessible way for the many beginners! It was such a wonderful way to start married life. We'll definitely recommend you to anyone looking for a ceilidh band. Many thanks Elliot and Sarah"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"As a wedding venue we get to listen to a huge range of bands with prices varying from £500-£5,000. Sadly price has nothing to do -or so it seems- with professionalism, personality and ability! Jolly Polly and the Pirates is very much at the bottom end of this price spectrum, but very, very much at the top of the performance ratings! To sum them up? They are musicians with really nice personalities who have great technical ability and understanding of sound, mixing and the audience. On bass guitar and vocals is Polly, who is probably one of the most energetic singers we have come across, with great variations, presence and depth. On lead guitar (and keys) Jon has great technical skills and enthusiasm for his role in the band, and on drums (and occasionally keys at the same time!!) a drummer who actually loves his drums - at last someone who realises drums are an instrument, not an object to take out your aggression on, perhaps that is down to his experience and talent. Individually they are great - as a band they are awesome! - Certainly at the top of our list and always hoped for! Alpheton Hall Barns - Historic Suffolk Wedding Venue "

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"I booked Rory for my 50th birthday celebrations on the recommendation of a close friend. He was hugely helpful in choosing the right music, and nothing was too much trouble - even a last minute request to be added to the set! Rory is a an amazing and talented musician who created a brilliant party atmosphere, and I couldn’t have asked for more. He totally made the night, and I was so glad we had him entertain us. I could actually listen to him all day! I would highly recommend Rory to others - he is delightful to work with and a real gentleman." Andy and I have just watched a video of you and it was just such an amazing night, I loved it and would do it all again tomorrow, so a huge thanks to you Thanks Emma Emma Bradbury, Birthday Party, Birmingham, Rory @ X O Lounge, Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands, March, 2025"

Reply by Rory
Hi Emma, Wow—thank you so much! That’s absolutely perfect, and it means a lot to me. I really appreciate you taking the time to write such kind words. I’m so glad you and Andy and everyone had such a fantastic night—it was an absolute pleasure to be part of it! I’ll transfer the mixes over now so you can relive the evening anytime. Thanks again, and hopefully, we’ll do it all again sometime in the future! Cheers Rory

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Excellent! 10/10. Would recommend for any event or function!"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Hi Sarah Just wanted to say a massive THANK YOU!!! You were amazing and everyone said how fantastic you were! I'm sorry I didn't get chance to say thank you in person! The music was fantastic and we loved it. Thank you for making our day so brilliant! Lindsay & Laurence"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Absolutely incredible! Cannot recommend these guys enough. They had everyone up dancing and having the best time, a must book for any country themed event!"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Hi Jess, We just wanted to express our gratitude for your amazing performance at our wedding! You helped create the perfect atmosphere, and it truly made our day even more special. We also wanted to pass on the many compliments we received from our guests. They were all impressed by your voice and how it resonated with everyone Thank you again for being a part of our celebration! Best Regards, Angela"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"The Pedaltones played at our wedding. They were fantastic from the moment we enquired with them! Their customer service and speed they reply to emails and enquiries is just exceptional. This just mirrors their playing ability! They went beyond expectations learning a number of new songs to play at our wedding. They were simply amazing and made our night as well as being a group of lovely lads! Thank you guys! You were awesome and we will forever remember everyone dancing to Everlong, it’s one of our favourite memories of the day! We will be recommending you to everyone we know and we will be coming to watch you at your public gigs - we are now fans!"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Excellent band, very high quality musicians, very easy to get on with and happy to fit into the event and get into the spirit of it. Just perfect for what we wanted and would definitely use them again."

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Great choice of material. Mat Walklate’s harmonica playing is astoundingly proficient throughout and Matt Fahey’s vocal take on My Bonny Boy Is Young is a stand out track. It gets my vote for album of the year."

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Joe is the ultimate professional - and won over guests of all ages (from fussy teens all the way up to family in their 70s and 80s!) which is no easy task! So glad we booked him and he was a part of our special day! As some of my relatives are Turkish, I asked Joe if he could play 1 or 2 instrumentals of some popular Turkish pop songs if he could find the music sheets online - he ended up learning the handful of songs I shared with him, sang in Turkish the choruses of each and created a Turkish mega mix for us. Even my UK friends are still going on about it 6 weeks later! To be clear, Joe had never heard these songs before and does not speak Turkish. We planned a wedding in 1 month and appreciated Joe’s approach - he shared his suggested playlists which were all great and had a bit of everything for all music tastes and contacted the venue himself to understand noise restrictions and logistics to free up our time. He’s proactive and doesn’t need hand holding. He’s got an amazing voice and vibe and experience of judging the room which was important to us given it was a small intimate wedding (40 people) and we really weren’t sure how the day would land. It is testament to not only what an amazing talent Joe is but how driven he is in making your special day everything you want it to be. There were some songs I also wanted my husband and I to hear together so I told Joe what these were and he didn’t let us down - with a busy wedding and Photo Booth and toilet breaks etc. we weren’t always in the same spot but some how Joe managed it. Thanks so much, Joe ?"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Thank you all so much for adding to the enjoyment of the reception following my daughter’s recent wedding. It was wonderful to see so many of our guests up on their feet joining in – even so called ‘non-dancers’! We are delighted to have booked you for our Ceilidh and would be happy to recommend you to others."

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Thank you so much for rocking our wedding - everyone was buzzing about how good you were and it was great to see the dance floor full all night. Lovely to meet you - all top guys. It’s a pity we can’t do it all over again next weekend... thanks again, can’t recommend you highly enough."

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"I just wanted to write to you and the band to pass on our thanks for putting on such a great show. We thoroughly enjoyed your performance, as we knew we would after seeing you play live in Central London. We would also like to let you know that all of our guests were full of compliments for you guys and still mention your performance now, so I think that shows what a great impression you left on everyone. "

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review: