The TIMES Band & Session Players grew out of a group of DFW-area musicians that comprised the Trinity Hall Session Players that began having sessions on October 13th, 2002. Ken Fleming, host of the sessions, approached Trinity Hall Pub & Restaurant with an idea to have a performance every Sunday afternoon at the Dallas pub featuring the top players of traditional Irish music in the area and guest players from throughout the region. Marius Donnelly, proprietor of the pub, loved the idea and the TIMES Session Players have been playing ever since from 3-6 p.m. each Sunday.
The format is similar to a session, but players are invited and rotated each time to limit the number to four. Essentially, it’s a performance, but it has an element of informality that makes the music fun for the players and listeners alike. In the spring of 2004, the TIMES Session Players recorded their first CD called “Live at Trinity Hall” which is available for download online. All of the proceeds go to support TIMES. To purchase a copy, go to RECORDING.
A few years later in 2005, Ken formed the “TIMES Band” to perfom at private parties, special events and raise funds for the TIMES organization. What makes the band interesting is that its music repertoire changes with each performance because its players change with each performance. It is likely that at every TIMES Band performance the audience will hear musicians from several area bands that are joined together giving their music an exciting new sound each and every time.
In June of 2015, the TIMES Session Players began performing on Sunday afternoons from 3-6 p.m. at the Celt Irish Pub in McKinney, Texas. The format is the same as the one used at Trinity Hall Pub featuring a rotating ensemble of area players with outside guests every Sunday. Sadly, the Trinity Hall Pub closed in 2021 mainly due to the Covid pandemic, but thankfully, a new pub — Gillespie’s Tavern at the Shire — opened in Richardson, Texas and has helped fill the gap. The TIMES Session Players now perform there each Saturday from 3-6 p.m.
TIMES Band and Session Players members currently include dozens of musicians from the Dallas/Fort Worth area. See our complete listing of players.
To book the TIMES Band, send an email to times@irishtradmusic.org. To view the TIMES Session Players schedules for both the Celt Irish Pub and Gillespie’s Tavern, see our schedule.