Helsinki Cèilidh Band are a collective of musicians from Scotland, England, Cornwall and Finland who teach and accompany folk dances from all over the British Isles. The term Cèilidh is Scots Gaelic for a party which traditional social dances are a key part of.
The band was founded in 2013 in Helsinki, while the band members were studying folk music at the Sibelius Academy. Since then, their infectious, dynamic foot-stomping sound and joyful dances have captivated audiences at celebrations and festivals and across Finland and Estonia.
Whether you’re a cèilidh native, or you’ve never ‘Stripped the Willow’ before, Helsinki Cèilidh Band will expertly guide you through the steps with demonstrations and explanations in English and Finnish. No previous dance experience is necessary just an open mind and comfortable shoes!
The Band
Musicians Robbie Sherratt, Tommie Black-Roff, Michael Ferrie, and Oskari Lehtonen make up the main band though occasionally, we feature guests who fill-in should one of us be unavailable. Our standard line-up includes two melody players and two rhythm players.
Robbie Sherratt
Fiddle, Caller (dance instructor)
Robbie was introduced to the violin at an early age and was soon invited by local folk fiddlers to music sessions at the pub. It was there that the older musicians patiently passed down their tradition to a fledgling fiddler. Brought up in the Staffordshire Moorlands in England, he like others in the band moved to Helsinki to study folk music at Sibelius Academy where as well as the cèilidh band he performs in duo Eva Väljaots & Robbie Sherratt and teaches traditional music.
Tommie Black-Roff
Piano accordion, Piano
Tommie Black-Roff is an accordionist, pianist, singer and composer. Originally from the very tip of Cornwall in the south-west of the UK, he grew up amongst the local Cornish folk scene.
Michael Ferrie
Guitar
The band’s founder from Callander, Scotland. Michael is an award-winning guitarist and composer who’s toured extensively, most recently with The Outside Track. He’s a former student of Sgoil Chiùil na Gàidhealtachd (National Centre of Excellence in Traditional Music), the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, and Sibelius Academy.
After arriving in Helsinki, Michael was soon asked put a cèilidh band together for a wedding, over the years the band has evolved until it settled on it’s current line-up and gained the name Helsinki Cèilidh Band in 2019.
Oskari Lehtonen
Percussion & Drums
Oskari Lehtonen is a percussionist and drummer from Helsinki whose playing has been heard in many bands and projects over the years. At the moment he’s performing as a solo artist and in ensembles such as Okra Playground and Kasvu. Lehtonen is a versatile player who uses his instruments inventively. One of his main interests for the past years has been Nordic folk music in which Lehtonen has become respected as a groovy and melodic percussion player.
Oskari Lehtonen has worked as a drummer and a percussionist with styles ranging from Nordic, Celtic and Balkan folk music to progressive rock, electronic music and hip hop. He’s work in the music field ranges also to theatre productions and teaching in Sibelius-Academy folk music department.
Photographer: Rakhun Productions