All Comers Band

The All Comers Band is led by Maisie Newell and the group rocks the Community Dance on First Fridays! See the calendar for details, and read the BFS Community Care Policy if you plan to participate.

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MAY 2 ~ SET of the MONTH is One Horned Sheep & Off She Goes ~ One Horned Sheep notation and audio (slow version and faster version) / Off She Goes (notation & audio on North Atlantic Tune List, here)

This month Maisie will arrive early facilitate the collective choosing of the rest of the evening’s set list, followed by running through each tune a couple of times. All tunes will be from the “Frequent Flyers” list, below. If you have favorites, be ready to suggest them!

Everything else will be chosen on the fly. Arrive and tune before 6pm to be part of the picking process!

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The All Comers Band (ACB) is a merry assemblage of musicians, led by Maisie Newell, who play for the First Friday Community Dances and other special programs.

Anyone can play! Musicians of all ages, levels, and instruments make the All Comers Band a diverse and joyful musical experience.

Sitting in with the All Comers Band is a great way to hone your skills playing for dancing. Ear-playing is emphasized. Come early to tune, warm up, and go over some of the repertoire.

Sets are chosen during the warmup, with the goal to play great music at dance speed – and have FUN!

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Frequent Flyers

Reels:

  • Angeline the Baker (more & more)
  • La Bastringue (more)
  • Cotillion de la patte du mouton  (more & more)
  • Dancing Bear (by Bob McQuillen) (more)
  • Eddie’s Reel (by Eddie LaPlante)  (more)
  • Flop Eared Mule (more)
  • Galope des montagnards laurentiens (more & more)
  • Galopede (more, more & more)
  • Gaspé Reel (more)
  • The Girl I Left Behind Me
  • Golden Slippers
  • Joys of Quebec (more)
  • Julia Delaney (more, more & more)
  • Julianne Johnson (more)
  • Kitchen Girl
  • Lamplighter’s Hornpipe (more & more)
  • Liberty (more & more)
  • Liza Jane
  • Louis Cyr (more)
  • The Maid Behind the Bar (more & more)
  • Maple Sugar (more & more)
  • Mouth of the Tobique ~ 3 part reel (more)
  • Nail that Catfish to the Tree
  • Old Joe Clark
  • Old French (more & more)
  • Over the Waterfall
  • Pays de Haut
  • Reel de Montreal (more)
  • Reel des oignons (more & more)
  • Reel Saint Antoine (more & more)
  • Repertoire Gérard Lajoie (more & more)
  • Sam and Elzie (more & more)
  • Sandy Boys (more & more)
  • Seneca Square Dance
  • Shady Grove (more & more)
  • Shenandoah Falls (more, slow, Pete S & Jane R)
  • Shove That Pig’s Foot a Little Further in the Fire (more and more)
  • Spootiskerry (more)
  • Spotted Pony (more & more)
  • Step Along Johnny (more & more)
  • You Married My Daughter But You Didn’t (aka Tout d’un Coup) (more)

Jigs:

  • Aunt May’s Canadian Jig (aka Aunt Mary’s) (more)
  • Blarney Pilgrim ~ 3 part jig (more)
  • Cock of the North
  • Da Lounge Bar (by Annlaug Børsheim) (more, more, more & more)
  • Fair Jenny’s
  • Hundred Pipers
  • The Lilting Banshee (more)
  • The Little Burnt Potato (more)
  • La Maison de Glace (aka Ice House) (more & more)
  • Merrily Kiss the Quaker~ 3 part jig
  • Off She Goes (more)
  • The Old Favorite (more)
  • Out on the Ocean (more & more)
  • Portland Fancy (aka Sugar Jig) (in G) (more & more)
  • Simon’s Jig in D (Journeyman’s Jig) (by June Eikhard) more, more, more, more, and more)
  • Simon’s Jig in G (Jimmy’s Favorite) (more, more, and info about Simon St. Pierre’s music here)
  • Steamboat Quickstep
  • Timmy Clifford’s (more & more)
  • Le Tourment (more)

Marches:

  • Bonaparte Crossing the Rhine (more & more)
  • Coleman’s March (more)
  • Huntsman’s Chorus (more)
  • Jamie Allen
  • McQuillen’s Squeezebox (by Ralph Page) (more & more)
  • Mairi’s Wedding (more)
  • March of St. Timothy (more & more)
  • Meeting of the Waters (more & more)
  • Mistwold (by Dudley Laufman) (more & more)
  • Road to Boston (more)
  • Rollstone Mountain (more)
  • Snowy Breasted Pearl (more & more)

Polkas:

Schottisches:

Waltzes:

  • Margaret’s (by Pat Shuldham Shaw) (Aly B)
  • Amelia (by Bob McQuillen) (Bob McQ)
  • Far Away (by Pete Jung) (more)
  • Judy and Jim’s Wedding (by Larry Unger) (more & Ben F & more)
  • Southwind (more)
  • Country Waltz (more)
  • Tombigbee (more & more)
  • Cherokee Waltz (more)
  • Sebec Lake Waltz (by Pam Weeks) (more)
  • Haapavesi (by Keith Murphy) (more)
  • Ash Grove
  • Sheebeg Sheemore
  • Westphalia

Foxtrots:

Special Tunes:

Links and resources

Other places to play & learn:

  • Belfast Bay Fiddlers – Weekly jam for all levels and instruments at the parish hall of the First Baptist Church (entrance in back of building, adjacent to church parking lot), Sundays at 5:30 pm.
  • SeaStrings – Weekly jam, contact Kay Zegel [email protected]; Wintertime on Wednesdays at 2:00 pm at Belfast Free Library; Summertime on Mondays at Searsport Shores.
  • Fiddlers’ Jam – Every other Tuesday in Belfast, 5-8pm at Marshall Wharf Brewing
  • Irish Session Band – Celtic music at Homeport Tavern in Searsport, Thursdays 5:30 pm
  • Bagaduce Music – Various classes and workshops in Blue Hill, Belfast & Beyond
  • Maine Fiddle Camp – Weekend and week-long music camp sessions for all ages in June and August in Montville, ME
  • Acadia Trad Festival – Week-long music school with a la carte options in Bar Harbor, ME
  • Looking for private lessons? Greater Belfast is home to many excellent teachers of traditional dance music, including Maine Fiddle Camp staff.

Tune Books:

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In 2020, we assembled a virtual All Comers Band!

The v-ACB video premiered at our 15th birthday party on December 4, 2020!  (more info…) It celebrates the phenomenon that is the All Comers Band.  Imagine a first Friday community dance with 20-40 musicians–of all ages, skill levels, and instruments–playing their hearts out. We never know who will show up to play, and with that spontaneity the ACB is always a diverse and joyful group. We hope the v-ACB captures that essence!