Are they truly necessary? I mean I know their songs are excellent but I'm honestly tired of using them. They seem like a waste and I always have one in my party. I want to try something different. Am I completely gimping myself by replacing my bard with a fighter? Thanks.

Bard's are overpowered once they get the song that heals the party, IMO.

It would be nice to have one along for the fun of it but seriously I find a cleric or fighter cleric suits me better.

Yea I always have one in my party but they're extremely boring to me. I was thinking of replacing the bard with a halberd-using fighter. I guess I want to make sure I'm not putting myself at an extreme disadvantage by doing so.

You really can't be at a disadvantage - I played the game using two characters - a Brother / Sister Duo - Fighter/Mage and Fighter/Thief - in a no re-load challenge last year. I think you were in on that one if I remember right.

Icewind Dale can be played with any combination without too much trouble.

I really enjoy Icewind Dale and of all the Infinity Engine Games its my personal favorite. Good luck with the game.

No need to use one if you don't like them.

But I'll point out they're far more useful than just as a singer of songs. They also get mage spells, and since they level fast, they get access to higher level spells fairly quickly. As a secondary caster, they're pretty good. Also useful as a ranged combatant. I tend to use slings with my primary warrior types, since you can use a shield with them and this makes it so much easier to switch out your weapons. So the Bard can use any nifty bows or crossbows you find. There are also a few Bard-specific items that are quite nice. I also like using them as my pick pocket, which means my Thief doesn't have to waste points in that skill. Finally, there are a couple Bard-specific XP awards early on that are nice to pick up, although on its own, that's hardly a compelling reason to have one in the party. Still, if you look at the other benefits, it's a nice perk on top.