Tim O'Brien

Growing up in Wheeling, West Virginia, Tim O'Brien got his first guitar at age 12. It was seeing Doc Watson on TV that led him to dive head first into bluegrass and traditional country music. He later added the fiddle and mandolin to his bag of tricks. In his second year of college, O'Brien found himself cutting classes to practise and realized it was time to give full-time music a try. What followed were gigs of every sort, from solo to a full-tilt country band and a three-year stint with a jazz-string band in his newly adopted home of Boulder, Colorado.

In 1978 Tim met up with members of Hot Rize and formed one of the most successful and in-demand bluegrass groups in the country. The group was named Entertainers of the Year by the International Bluegrass Music Association. In the spring of 1990, the group disbanded, and Tim went on tour with his current band, Tim O'Brien and The O'Boys. In 1993, Tim was awarded Male Vocalist of the Year by the International Bluegrass Music Association and, in 1995, released Rock In My Shoe, which held #1 on Gavin's Americana chart for six weeks.

Tim certainly has all that's needed for success-stunning vocals; fluency on mandolin, fiddle and guitar; a natural gift for songwriting; and enough charisma to make the package shine. His years of touring have given him a calm assurance and a relaxed stage presence. As a solo, and in support of his critically-acclaimed and Grammy-nominated Red On Blonde recording, he is performing at festivals and concerts around North America this year. Not only that, he has recently returned from a tour of England and Ireland. Rather than try to define his music, just sit back and enjoy it.