Three Times Through Monday at Wild Eye

Wild Eye Pub presents a St. Patrick’s Day celebration on March 17th, when Three Times Through performs their trademark playful musical mashups on hammered dulcimer, bodhran, concertina, mandolin, bouzouki, banjo, fiddle and guitar, while the Pub serves delicious Celtic menu options.

Three Times Through is a quartet that delights in blending traditional Celtic tunes with recognizable contemporary melodies; from the Harry Potter theme to Light My Fire, Jump, StarWars and beyond! They grab the attention of folks who might otherwise never notice Celtic music, with listeners asking, “Did you just mash-up the Rolling Stones with an Irish jig?” Voted three times by Union readers as the Best Band in Nevada County, their mashups have been turning heads for over thirteen years as they share their love of Celtic music. 

The quartet’s repertoire covers eclectic pairings: a quirky Welsh hornpipe or lively Irish polka set; a soft Shetland waltz; a Paul Brady classic or a new Andy Irvine anthem. Tunes aren’t strictly Celtic, with classics from the cultural zeitgeist, like TV’s Leave it to Beaver theme (a comedic little hornpipe) paired with the traditional standard, Off to California. Eagle-eared audiences might catch them slipping a Beatles melody between classic minor Breton tunes. Laughter abounds when hearing IN-A-GADDA-DA-VIDA interwoven with the Rights of Man, an Irish hornpipe tune.

The band started in the late 1970s in Southern California. Soon after Jeff and Gale Peach moved there from New England, they started jamming with local folk music shop owners Greg and Margie Mirken. For five years, the four played regular pub gigs, community concerts and weddings under their first band name, Blackthorn.

Then, the Peaches moved to Nevada City, and the course of life, babies, and jobs separated the two couples by half the length of California. In 2009, after a two-decade break, the Mirkens left Southern California behind. Landing in Nevada City, they rejoined their old friends the Peaches, and the four reconstituted their band as Three Times Through. In 2013, the four bandmates became family, when a Peach son married a Mirken daughter. 

Since 2009, TTT has performed regularly in Nevada City and the surrounding region, where fans can hear them at Grass Valley Brewing Company, the Auburn Alehouse, Tofanelli’s, the Wild Eye Pub and more. Three Times Through appreciates the support for their music from Nevada County audiences and local businesses. They look forward to energizing this St. Patrick’s Day celebration with their fun musical antics. 

“We’ve often hosted Three Times Through for our St. Patrick’s celebrations,” says Wild Eye Pub owner Beth Moore. “They always create a spirited night of Celtic mashups, laughs, and jigs and reels, to go with our great food and libations. But – don’t forget to wear a little green, or else!”

Jeff Peach: Irish bouzouki, bodhran, hammer dulcimer

Gale Peach: Fiddle

Greg Mirken: Concertina, mandolin

Margie Mirken: guitar, banjo