LOOSE CHANGE is a group of four musicians from the Dallas/Fort Worth area who have a passion to play traditional music together in many forms – Ol’ Timey, Irish, Scottish, Ragtime, American Folk, Gospel, etc. Each member came to the group from varied musical backgrounds.  It’s this loose collection of musical heritages, tastes and interests that form the songs and tunes of LOOSE CHANGE. And, with the many changes in musical styles and instrumentation that mark their performances, the name LOOSE CHANGE fits them well.

The band has performed at many festivals in the region, but their favorite venue is small concerts.  The reason is simple.  The music is familiar, friendly, and best delivered up close and personal.  With every song, there's an interesting story or funny tale.  Sometimes the band invites their audiences to sing or participate in skits.  Added to their musical talent is the ability to build a rapport with their audiences.  It's family entertainment that takes a refreshingly new look at music from the past -- melodies from as far away as the British Isles and as close to home as the prairies of Texas.

LOOSE CHANGE has two recordings, the first of which is called "Loose Change" containing  a mixture of songs and instrumental tunes.  The band's second recording entitled "Loose Change: A Collection of Traditional Instrumentals" features a wide selection of instrumental music.  To contact Loose Change, call Ken Fleming at 972-783-8445 or email to loosechange@trad-music.com.

Dana Hamilton

is a native of Arlington, Texas, and a widely-known, well-traveled traditional musician and humorist. He is one of the people most responsible for the regional revival of the hammer dulcimer and has won numerous awards for his creative style on the instrument. He also plays guitar, mandolin, banjo, autoharp, mountain dulcimer, and a variety of kitchen instruments from homemade kazoo and paper bag to jaw harp and picking bow. Besides playing dulcimers, he is a highly-respected dulcimer builder and designer and a favorite teacher at dulcimer workshops. He is the co-founder of the Lone Star State Dulcimer Society and the annual Lone Star State Dulcimer Festival that is held in Glen Rose, Texas every Mother’s Day weekend. Dana’s musical interests are as broad as his instrumental abilities and include Old Timey Texas, Appalachian, New England, Irish, Scottish and French Canadian. Records featuring Dana’s playing include Cold Frosty Morn, One Hot Texas Night and Barn Dance with the Sweet Song String Band, The New Dallas String Band with The New Dallas String Band, and Blackbottom Strut by Dana Hamilton and Friends.

Peggy Fleming

began playing violin at 11 in upstate New York, and now lives in Texas where she is regarded as one of the better Irish and Old Timey fiddlers in the region. She first discovered "traditional" music at the Lyon’s Club, a Dallas folk club in the 70s. It was there that she learned enough old timey fiddle to join the New Dallas String Band of which Dana Hamilton was also a member. In 1981, Peggy met her husband-to-be Ken Fleming and along with three other members of the NDSB they formed an Irish band called Tinker’s Dam, one of the prominent traditional groups in the 80s. When not performing with Loose Change, Peggy plays with Jigsaw, an Irish band that includes Ken and Kevin Alewine, the Trinity Hall Session Players and the Lone Star Ceili Band. She is a founding member of the Southwest Celtic Music Association, and gives workshops on Irish fiddle and song traditions. Peggy appears on Sockeroos with Salt Lick, The New Dallas String Band with The New Dallas String Band, Tinker’s Dam with Tinker’s Dam, Game of Cards with Waifs & Strays and Live at Trinity Hall with the Trinity Hall Session Players.

Ken Fleming

took up his dad’s guitar at age 9 and played rock-n-roll professionally at 16. In the years that followed he has played country folk, bluegrass, R&B, Delta folk blues, ragtime, and traditional music of all kinds. Not surprisingly, it was Celtic music, most notably Irish, that showcased Ken’s talents the most. He is an accomplished player on the Irish tenor banjo, button accordion, Anglo concertina, mandolin, guitar, tinwhistle, 5-string banjo, autoharp, Irish bouzouki and bodhran and bones. As a member of Tinker’s Dam, Ken became a key figure in the development of Celtic music in the Southwest. He was founder/president of the Southwest Celtic Music Association and Founder/Director of the North Texas Irish Festival. He is founder and current president of the Traditional Irish Music Education Society (TIMES) and founder and current director of the O'Flaherty Irish Music Retreat.  He has won numerous awards for his musical talents and co-authored an Irish tunebook with Kevin Alewine with whom he and his wife Peggy play together in a group called Jigsaw. He also plays with the Trinity Hall Session Players and the Lone Star Ceili Band.  Recordings with Ken outside of Loose Change include Tinker’s Dam with Tinker’s Dam, Game of Cards with Waifs & Strays, Timeless with Russell Cook, and Live at Trinity Hall with the Trinity Hall Session Players.

Kevin Alewine

plays Irish flute, tinwhistle, guitar, mandolin, tenor banjo and bodhran. A fifth-generation Texan, Kevin heard the "old" songs from his parents. But it wasn’t until the early-80s that Kevin re-discovered traditional music and began playing guitar at contra-dances in the Dallas area. There he met Dana Hamilton and joined the Sweet Song String Band performing "old timey" American songs and dance tunes. In 1983, he met Peggy and Ken Fleming and became involved with the Southwest Celtic Music Association, later becoming its president and a co-director of the North Texas Irish Festival. The three later formed Waifs & Strays which remains a popular Irish band in Texas under its new name Jigsaw. He also plays with the Trinity Hall Session Players and Lone Star Ceili Band.  He has co-authored with Ken an Irish tunebook "The Maid Who Cut Off the Chicken’s Lips." Kevin arranged and performed on the soundtrack for the film "Shady, Arkansas" and is recorded on One Hot Texas Night with the Sweet Song String Band, Blackbottom Strut by Dana Hamilton and Friends, Celtic Caribe with Bonnie Carol, Game of Cards with Waifs & Strays and Live at Trinity Hall with the Trinity Hall Session Players.