Through November and December we played the Black Tie Christmas Party nights at Celtic Manor, in the Caernarfon Suite - mostly sold out, up to 650 guests a night across 70-odd tables, all in black tie.

Nine hundred square metres and a mirror ball

The Caernarfon takes a dancefloor big enough that you cannot see the back of it from the stage once it fills, with a giant mirror ball over the middle of it. Corporate groups winding down after a long year, groups of friends out for the night, and a room that was up from the first number most evenings.

The Brotherhood performing at Celtic Manor's Black Tie Christmas Party — The Brotherhood performing at Celtic Manor’s Black Tie Christmas Party

The set blended party anthems with festive songs. On nights like these the festive material does less work than people expect - by the time the plates are cleared the room wants the same songs it would want in June, with a couple of Christmas ones dropped in where they land.

The rest of the Celtic Collection

Beyond the Black Tie nights we played across the group through December: Celtic Manor Golf Club, The Manor House, and The Parkgate Hotel in Cardiff.

Packed dancefloor at a festive celebration

New Year’s Eve at ICC Wales

Tomorrow night we play the ICC Wales New Year’s Eve Extravaganza, with our acoustic sister band The Apple Tree Theory earlier in the evening. The night runs a cocktail reception with interactive performers, a street food market, both bands, a midnight countdown with a live link to the London fireworks, and a DJ to the early hours.