Artists Represented
String Theory
String Theory is an exciting new Celtic folk band in the D/FW area that specializes in high energy Irish trad tunes and songs. Ranked in the top 4 Best Irish Bands in Texas by the Dallas Observer in 2016, the band features Celtic finger style guitarist and music professor Jesse Ramirez, D/FW fiddle legend Linda Relph, national award winning Irish fiddler Nathan Kennedy, Bill Zauner on upright bass, and Matt Cook on bodhran, octave mandolin, and vocals. The band premiered in 2015 with performances at The Celt and Trinity Hall and has since had over 50 shows between those two pubs. The have also performed in many other venues, festivals, retreats, and weddings including: The O’Flaherty Retreat, The McKinney Music Festival, a Featured performer at North Texas Irish Festival and Irishfest Atlanta. The band released their inaugural CD in November 2016, self titled.
www.stringtheoryirish.com
The Tradition
The Tradition is a D/FW greengrass band. Their music is an eclectic mix of traditional Irish and Scottish tunes, bluegrass, folk music, and a few Appalachian influenced tunes. Band members include Kade Brummet, Ana Skrnich, Caleb Woolverton, and Ben Woolverton.
The band although only a year old, has already booked the top 5 folk festivals in North Texas (NTIF, Sherman Celtic Festival, McKinney CELTic Festival, Texas Scottish Festival, and Allen Arts Festival), and has been confirmed as a monthly weekend performer at The Celt Pub as well as a number of private events. Stan Penn, owner of the Celt Pub called them one of the most exciting new young bands he has seen.
The band plays a mixture of instrumental numbers along with wonderful folk and celtic songs performed by lead singer Ana Sknirch and Ben Woolverton. Their harmonies are breathtaking as is their instrumental skill.
www.thetradition.com
Sarah Copus
Sarah Copus has been performing and recording for over 7 years. For a musician under 21, she has had some extraordinary success: three albums hit the Billboard top 20 that feature her as lead singer, radio airplay across hundreds of stations worldwide, and a Best Vocal Album award from Zone Music Reporter Awards Show in 2015. The band she is lead vocalist in with her parents, 2002, achieves over 80 million pandora plays a year, and just eclipsed 1/2 billion plays in 2018.
Her first recordings in the Irish language of Gaelic appear on the album “Winter Air” in 2013. Sarah has been featured as a soloist in concerts with major touring artists like Celtic Woman and The Irish Tenors. Last July, she sang a duet with Emmet Cahill of Celtic Thunder during his performance in Dallas. She has also performed with Irish musical sensations, Téada as an opening act for their Irish Christmas in America tour.
Sarah is an active member in the Texas Celtic music scene, having given 160 performances in the past 2 years with various bands. Performance venues have included The Celt, Trinity Hall, North Texas Irish Festival, Celtic Christmas Dallas, Kimbellfest: Scotland, Poor David's Pub, among others. In May, 2015, she performed a the ZMR awards show in front of over 700 attendees and will be performing solo again in 2017 where she is nominated again for Best Vocal Album
http://www.sarahcopus.com
Misty Posey
Misty, sometimes referred to as “Opera-Girl,” is a Celtic/ Classical Crossover Singer-Songwriter with strong Irish influences. Inspired by her grandmother’s Irish heritage and her grandfather’s Native American roots, she blends tribal and percussive elements with Celtic instruments. Her music feels timeless – old songs and new – full of moments and fantasy from a Celtic heart.
She has performed as a soprano soloist with symphony orchestras in Florida, most recently singing the Theme from Titanic with the Space Coast Symphony and with the Brevard Symphony Orchestra. She also performs as a soloist with a guitar or piano accompanist.
Songs available on iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, and Google Play, with more coming. Follow her at Facebook.com/MistyPoseyMusic
Nathan Kennedy and Russ Alvey
Nathan Kennedy and Russ Alvey are a folk music performing duo who play traditional Celtic instrumentals and perform original folk songs . They have played at The Celt Pub in McKinney as well as various festivals around the metroplex.
Nathan Kennedy is a national award winning Irish Fiddler who was the first youth from Texas to compete in the World Championships of Irish Music, the All Ireland Fleadh. He is also a Texas State, and national award winning classical violinist as concertmaster for the McKinney, TX ISD orchestras that won Texas State best full orchestra and concertmaster of the Midwest Clinic’s best string orchestra with competitors from 30 countries and all 50 states. Nathan is an active member of the prestigious Traditional Irish Music Education Societies’ Session Players.
Russ Alvey is a guitar and whistle player, and vocalist from the DFW area. He has been playing Irish music for over 40 years starting as a teenager working in the local performance halls and pubs. He was one of the found members of the seminal Texas Irish band Tinkers Damn with Ken and Peggy Fleming. He is also a recording engineer and runs his own home recording studio. Russ is a long time member of the TIMES Session Players and peforms with a number of local bands and artist
Harber Row
Harber Row feature brother and sister twins Declan and Ireland Harber - some of the most gifted young folk musicans to come out of Texas. Emmet Cahill of Celtic Thunder described their rendition of Last Rose of Summer as one of the best he has heard from any artist including many who had performed for decades. Their performances feature some of the common celtic reperatoir as well as americana and even beautiful folk renditions of songs from classic metal and punk bands. Their vocal are emotive, pure and tug at everyones heartstrings.
They also have a very active performance schedule - having performed over 100 shows in the last 2 years. The have also performed with Celtic Woman, Irish Tenors, Celtic Thunder (including a solo with Emmet Cahill). Their venues have included many festivals such as North Texas Irish Festival, Texas Scottish Festival, Sherman Celtic Festival, McKinney Celtic Festival, Kimbelfest:Scotland, Celtic Christmas Dallas, and others.
Cierra Brannies is a 19 year old singer/songwriter from the Dallas area who performs folk songs, Celtic ballads, and even traditional songs in the Irish language of Gaelic. From John Denver classics to pub drinking songs, she covers the map.
Cierra has has an ongoing passion for folk music and performing live. She has performed with the North Texas School of Irish Music for four years in their music and choral ensembles, and in the last year began performing solo. She sings and has been playing piano for 11 years, guitar for 3 years, and violin for 2 years. She specializes mainly in Irish and Classic Oldies songs.
She has performed in many different venues throughout the years such as festivals, private events, retirement communities, pubs, and others including: The Celt, Trinity Hall, at the TIMES Stage at the NTIF, and Monticello West retirement center. In 2014 she performed with Moya Brennan of Clannad in the famous Irish pub, Leo’s Tavern in Donegal, as well as a solo performance in Donegal Castle with the Gaelic Youth Chorus. In the fall of 2015 she was featured in the North Texas School of Irish CD titled Reflections in the chorus and solo pieces. In one of those tracks she did a duet with American Irish music composer and performer Ashley Davis. In the spring of 2016 she was featured in a music video for Anuna singer, Karen Ballew produced by Emmy award winner, Brad Ballew.
www.cierrabrannies.com
Plectra
Plectra is a traditional Celtic folk music band from the D/FW area featuring two brothers: Sam and Arthur Hatch, Sam's wife Ashlie, and Ian Wilkenson. Sam plays guitar and mandolin, Arthur plays button accordion, whistle, and flute, Ian plays tenor banjo, and Ashlie joins the band for some Irish songs. The band debuted in 2016 playing for the Irish American Society and has since played at Trinity Hall and The Celt as well as being performers at The O’Flaherty Irish Music Retreat. They are scheduled as a regular Sunday performers at the Celt through all 2017 as well the Sherman Celtic Festival, Texas Scottish Festival, North Texas Irish Festival, and Allen Arts Festival.
The band plays an instrumental mixture of upbeat Celtic tunes and the occasional ballad. Trading off multiple instruments as they go, they bring a wide variety of sounds and harmonies to their performances.
The band members have also been teachers and members of the senior touring band and Gaelic chorus from the North Texas School of Irish Music for many years and have performed in a multitude of shows including Celtic Thunder, Irish Tenors, Donegal Castle in Ireland, Lughnasa Legends Festival at Grianán Fort in Donegal Ireland, Texas Scottish Festival, North Texas Irish Festival, McKinney St. Patricks Festival, Sherwood Celtic Music Festival, and others.
This harp duo is comprised of Aeryn Richardson and Caroline Davis - two of the most experienced harpists out of the prestigious North Texas School of Irish Music. They have performed in a number of venues and festivals including North Texas Irish Festal, McKinney Celtic Festival, Sherman Celtic Festival and Texas Scottish Festival. They perform monthly at local restaurants and pubs like The Celt in McKinney, as well as a multitude of retirement homes.
Their music is largely instrumental being played on harp, and Irish flute. It is mostly Celtic music - Irish, Scottish, Welsh and others plus some folk songs and popular songs from the radio and broadway. The music is upbeat, beautiful, and wonderful for audiences of all ages.
http://www.harpsaccord.com
- Green Light - a family trio of instrumentalists that plays fiddle, piano, whistle and Irish pipes