All Comers Band

The All Comers Band rocks the Community Dance on First Fridays! ~ See the calendar for details, and please read the BFS Community Care Policy if you plan to participate.

These 103* musicians played in the ACB in 2024—THANK YOU for sharing your talents!

Nate Allard ~ Jim Bauman ~ Polly Beck ~ Chris Bernier ~ Yvette Bernier ~ Eric Boodman ~ Sunniva Brady ~ Mary Brann ~ Elizabeth Bridges ~ Gary Bridgham ~ Laura Bridgman ~ Steve Clement  ~ Willy Clemetson ~ Marcia Coakley ~ David Crofoot ~ Collin Cunning ~ Don Cunningham ~ Muriel Curtis ~ Pat Danscen ~ Sandy Davis ~ Benton Dayan ~ Dixie Dayan ~ Elijah Dayan ~ Eric Dayan ~ Carol Delaney ~ Sofie Dowling ~ Benjamin Foss ~ Samuel Foucher ~ Tom Fowler ~ Ellen Gawler ~ Elsie Gawler ~ Avery Gobin ~ Wade Graham ~ Shana Hanson ~ Michelle Henkin ~ Susan Higgins ~ Ellora Hunt ~ Linda Hurley ~ Jim Hyland ~ Ann Johnson ~ Eric Johnson ~ Jody Johnstone ~ Tracey Kawecki ~ Travis Kirby ~ Jeremy Korr ~ Rachel Korr ~ John Krueger ~ Wendy Krueger ~ Evan Lattimore ~ Michael Marion ~ Chuck Markowitz ~ Andy Matos Powers ~ Mia Matos Powers ~ Tessa Matos Powers ~ Julia McDonald-Plumb ~ Sean McGovern ~ Jennifer McHone-Villalobos ~ Lorelei McKinnon ~ Leslie Mink ~ Joanne Moesswilde ~ Devin Mooers ~ Carter Newell ~ Maisie Newell ~ Kaity Newell ~ Dot Odell ~ Scott Odell ~ Jamie Oshima ~ Trudy Ostby ~ Vin Phelps Scholz ~ Peg Pickering ~ Chuck Piper ~ Andy Pottle ~ Lindsay Powers ~ John Pranio ~ Chris Ricciotti ~ Dennis Riley ~ Elvis Robbins ~ Maggie Robinson ~ Kate Roche ~ Sarah Schrader ~ Nick Seeger ~ Autumn Sewall ~ Alice Slater ~ Amy Smith ~ Quintin Sorrentino ~ Jory Squibb ~ Peter Subramanian ~ Jessica Sullivan ~ Steve Tanguay ~ Ben Taylor ~ Vic Tredwell ~ Emily Troll ~ Katharina Wilkins ~ Annika Williams ~ Kate Wing ~ Maisy Wing ~ Lillian Wing ~ Michael Wright ~ Donee Wyke ~ Eileen Young ~ Kay Zegel ~ Michelle Zelmar ~ Annegien Zuidema

*127 if you count the musicians in Tigh na Coille 

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February 7 ~ TUNES of the MONTH ~ TBD & Coming Soon!!

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 who play for the Belfast Flying Shoes (BFS) Community Dances. The ACB is led by Willy Clemetson & Benjamin Foss,

As the name implies, anyone can play! Musicians of all ages, levels, and instruments are encouraged to participate, making the ACB a diverse and joyful musical experience.

The ACB is a great way to hone your skills playing for dancing. Since ear-playing is emphasized, written music is not provided at the dances, although many tunes in the list below do have notation. (And some ACB players do bring sheet music and others peer over their shoulders.) Come early to tune, warm up, and go over some of the repertoire.

Tunes are chosen on the spot based on the needs of the dance from a common Northeast contra repertoire, especially the classic Maine dance tunes. If you don’t know one of the tunes, just try to pick up whatever notes you can on the fly! The ACB’s goal is 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
  • 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
  • The Old Favorite (more)
  • Out on the Ocean (more & more)
  • Portland Fancy (aka Sugar Jig) (in G) (more & more)
  • 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
  • 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!