Funeral•Reviewed on February 4, 2023•From Daly City, CA
Elise and Phil were absolutely wonderful and filled the room with beautiful music. It was the perfect tribute to my father and created an atmosphere of joy and brought back so many wonderful memories as we celebrated his life.
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Thank you very much Rosanne.
We enjoyed the warmth of your family and friends, and felt honored to participate in giving your father a fine Irish sendoff.
Best Wishes,
Elise and Phil
Review by Pamela C.
Wedding•Reviewed on November 13, 2022•From Sausalito, CA
The Charmas were a wonderful addition to my daughter’s wedding. They are professional , versatile , good vocals and have a great sound. I wanted some special songs for the ceremony and they came through brilliantly. I would hire them again in a moment.
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Thank you very much from all of us, Pamela.
We greatly enjoyed the wedding and meeting your beautiful family.
Not to mention, the surprise of your lovely singing voice!
Best of luck and prosperity to your newlyweds...
May the road rise to meet you,
Elise and Charmas
Review by Bobby L.
Private Party•Reviewed on March 21, 2022•From Santa Cruz, CA
The Charmas provided our group with 4 hours of traditional and fusion Irish tunes on St. Pattrick's day! They were fabulous and a talented group of musicians. Definetly hire the bagpipes, so worth it!
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Thank you very much, Bobby!
Did we mention that you served the best corned beef we've yet had, in all our years of being fed at St. Pat's gigs?
Here's to a prosperous 2022 for your company and the biking community.
Best Wishes,
Elise and Charmas
Review by DEREK M.
Corporate Function•Reviewed on August 4, 2020•From San Ramon, CA
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Thank you very much, Derek. The guys had great fun playing for your crew!
Best Wishes,
Charmas
Review by Niall F.
Birthday Party (Adult)•Reviewed on August 4, 2019•From Monterey, CA
The guys were great. Really loved what they did, especially the three part harmonies. We know a few of the same people, so that was a nice coincidence. Great job by Charmas - would fully recommend to anyone looking for a top notch Celtic crew. Cheers!
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Many thanks, Niall. The guys said they greatly enjoyed your family, and the whole evening. I will enjoy meeting in person you some day, if our paths cross again...
Best Wishes,
Elise and Charmas
Review by Bekah M.
Corporate Function•Reviewed on November 30, 2018•From San Jose, CA
We hired the Charmas for a corporate function and everything went to plan, the guests enjoyed the music and they had some great songs throughout their sets. Thanks again.
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Thank you, Bekah,
You are a great event coordinator. I hope we'll get to work with you again some time in the future, and I hope your guests will encourage lots of first-timers to fly over to Ireland and have the real experience.
Best Wishes,
Elise and Charmas
Review by Deanna D.
Birthday Party (Adult)•Reviewed on September 23, 2018•From Los Gatos, CA
We had a birthday party at our home of about 60 people and this group made the party! All age groups attended -even my 22 year old sons (twins) thought they were awesome. Very special touch to this special event and were very easy to deal with. Follow up and talent with their music is why I gave them a 5!
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Thank you very much, Deanna. We enjoyed all of you, and your goofy songs!
At the end, we each tried one of those chocolate covered strawberries, and wow! It's a good thing we didn't know about them sooner ;)
Best Wishes from both of us,
Elise and Mike
Review by Lauren D.
Birthday Party (Adult)•Reviewed on June 11, 2017•From Fremont, CA
The Charmas were the highlight of this special birthday party. Their music, joy of playing and their willingness to have our guests join in, made my husband's 70th birthday party so much more memorable. They lay seized to our ears and captured our hearts. We hope to have them back.
Lauren Doherty, Fremont, CA
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Thank you for your kind words, Lauren. You were a model hostess - not only exceptionally attentive to your guests (and to us!), but also able to remain completely relaxed while keeping your party right on schedule. Bob is a most lucky husband, and we'll be happy to come play for you again any time.
Now, what I want to know is...when the suitor next door proposed, did she say yes??
Best Wishes,
Elise
Review by Tom S.
Birthday Party (Adult)•Reviewed on June 4, 2017•From Soquel, CA
Perfect day and the music was a big part of it.
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Thank you very much, Tom. It was obvious from looking at Barbara how much she appreciated the celebration you put together for her.
FYI, I'm not sure where you live, but if you're local - Aaron, Phil and I are hosting a "chantey sing" at Rosie McCann's this Thursday. 7:00 arrival (I'm sure the singing will be in full swing by 7:30.) It's an acapella singalong (not a show put on by our band), and all will be welcome to lead any chantey(s) they know, and if you don't know any you'll be able to join in anyway because the songs have choruses that are easy to learn on the fly. Great fun if you want to join us...
Best Wishes,
Elise
Review by Keir P.
Birthday Party (Adult)•Reviewed on March 23, 2017•From Richmond, CA
Fantastic experience. Thank you so much for accomadating our needs.
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Thank you very much, Keir! Please make sure your aunt sends me the recording or printed lyrics to her poem about your mom, and I will follow through with seeing if it would make a good song for our band (even maybe with her singing it, who knows?)
Best Wishes,
Elise and Charmas
Review by Billy S.
Private Party•Reviewed on March 18, 2017•From Walnut Creek, CA
This really is a phenomenal Celtic band. They know their material well, and got SO many people to sing along with them! Such nice, polite, and professional entertainers. I would absolutely recommend them to someone else, as I'm also going to steal them away again in the future!
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Many thanks, Billy. We are basking in your kind words. It was a real treat for us to play and sing, not only for, but also with, people who knew so much traditional music and could enthusiastically sing along with us. We will greatly look forward to joining you again.
Best Wishes,
Charmas
Review by Kanupriya S.
Birthday Party (Adult)•Reviewed on February 14, 2017•From San Jose, CA
Great...sorry guys couldn't say Thanks earlier.... it was amazing. I contacted charms just a few days before my husbands birthday . They learned my husband's favorite songs and were awesome. It was the highlight of the party and will remember it forever. Thanks for your efforts and making our evening memorable.
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Many thanks, Kanupriya. You were a lovely hostess in your beautiful dress, and your husband's disbelieving expression when we appeared at the door showed that you have mastered the art of surprise! We're looking forward to seeing you again next year. Best Wishes, Charmas
Review by Tom S.
Celebration•Reviewed on October 24, 2016•From Mountain View, CA
My church booked Charmas for an Irish Sing-Along evening. We found them to be absolutely professional, yet flexible enough to let our own signers come up and sing on the mics. A superb band with a great sound, very easy to work with. I'd recommend them to anyone.
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Thank you very much, Tom. Our success was made easier by you knowing exactly what your singers wanted to hear, and also by you giving us your list of requests nearly two months in advance. We hope your enthusiasm for singing sea chanteys will inspire you to visit the Balaclutha and Bay Area Irish song sessions...
Best Wishes,
Elise MacGregor Ferrell and Charmas
Review by Sheila K.
Birthday Party (Adult)•Reviewed on October 22, 2016•From Menlo Park, CA
They were great! Could not have been more pleased. They were very flexible and accommodating
with our activities during the party. They were able to engage with everyone and their positive energy was felt throughout the time with us. Lots of positive feedback from all of our partygoers (128!) and would use them again without hesitation. Thank you !
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Thank you, Sheila! Charmas had a great time with all your people. And I must say, if a third of that many enthusiastic guests come to my 90th birthday party (and I can still sing for them, to boot), I will feel as lucky as you and your "birthday boy" must be feeling.
Review by Andrea S.
Saint Patrick's Day Party•Reviewed on August 20, 2016•From Castro Valley, CA
Best Irish Band ever!!!! Charmas performed at our church's St. Patrick's Day Dinner Dance and they were fantastic!! They are incredibly talented and fun! They had a great selection of music and interacted with the audience and encouraged participation during the night. Elise was very communicative and helpful in planning our evening. She was pleasure to work with! I HIGHLY recommend them for any event...our guests are still raving about them! Thank you Elise and Charmas for making our night great!! Hope to see you next year!
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Thank you for your kind words, Andrea! It was especially fun to play for your group because so many know their Irish music and could sing along with us. (We couldn't always hear them, but we could see their lips moving :) We are looking forward to seeing you again.
Warm Wishes, Charmas
Review by Judy O.
Private Party•Reviewed on July 6, 2016•From Santa Cruz, CA
Elise was very flexible and worked with us to insure that we had the best possible playlist of songs to fit the occasion.
Also, worked with us to insure that the musicians and music we requested was a good match.
Excellent communication with us throughout the planning and during the event.
The music at this event was absolutely amazing - very talented individuals/musicians/singers who made our event a very special time! Wish we would have scheduled them for a longer period of time. This was a wake/celebration of life and Charmas made it very special by playing the more somber songs early and working up to the more upbeat songs - perfect in every way!
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Wow, Judy. Many thanks to you. We very much enjoyed your family, and the ambiance of your gathering. I know you had a lot of last minute details to juggle and you stayed calm throughout all of the planning, and were still able to fully relax and enjoy the afternoon - which made it possible for everyone else to also relax and focus on the celebration of life. Salutations to you! - Elise and Charmas
Review by Colleen C.
Birthday Party (Adult)•Reviewed on May 31, 2016•From Woodside, CA
Charmas was the delightful centerpiece of my birthday party. Every member of the band was cheerful, friendly, and very talented. My guests and I enjoyed them very, very much. Elise "piping in the birthday cake" was a joyful treat. I highly recommend Charmas!
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Many thanks, Colleen. You were delightful yourself. It's a great talent to be able to relax, look lovely, connect with everyone, and have fun while hosting a party. We'll look forward to watching you bust out those new dance moves the next time we run into you at an Irish celebration. Cheers, Charmas
Review by Marianne H.
Family Reunion•Reviewed on February 13, 2016•From Campbell, CA
I can't believe I found the best-ever Irish Band to play at our wedding / family reunion event. We asked Charmas to play the first 2 hours of our reception and at dinner. I met with Elise and asked for quite a lot - Irish jig music and traditional music and songs, Irish sing-a-longs, some Mexican music, and some folk. They came early and were ready when people started arriving. The Band was the hit of our evening!!! They were so professional, friendly, patient, and accommodating throughout the evening. They knew exactly what to play for the atmosphere. Now I am lining up my friends for a night-out to see their next gig.
Thank you, Elise and All!!!
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Wow, Marianne. We feel honored by your enthusiasm! Thank you very much for your kind words. We are looking forward to seeing you again - Aaron might just have to bust out singing When Irish Eyes Are Smiling. And I am still remembering that delicious parsley-spiked salsa, and fantastic whipped-cream wedding cake with the little fruit bits in the middle. Yum.
Warm Wishes, Charmas
Review by Maureen D.
Funeral•Reviewed on December 4, 2022•From Los Altos, CA
I hired Charmas for a Catholic Funeral Mass. I spoke with their booker & included her in the mass plan email. They only sang 2 songs at the end, nothing else. None of this plan was performed: Opening Song-Be Not Afraid, Preparation of Gifts-Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee (Hymn to Joy), Communion Music-Panis Angelicus (Franck), Final Blessing–Song of Farewell. They didn't play instruments during communion or anything. Charmas were hired to perform for an entire mass not to sing 2 songs. It was an upsetting disaster on an important day.
When she called after the service, the Charmas representative was full not of apologies, but rather excuses.
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Hello Maureen,
Again, I and my bandmates sincerely apologize for this gross miscommunication.
I have asked The Bash to add a "church music" category, for clients wanting Catholic hymns rather than an "Irish band."
In the future, anytime I start to feel confused, I will insist upon the client answering all my questions, and repeat every detail back to them, just to make sure we are on the same page.
Although Charmas did perform everything we promised (9 instrumental tunes plus the two requested Irish songs), I should have initially interviewed you better, for which I am sorry, and that's why we voluntarily refunded half your money.
Best Wishes,
Elise and Charmas
