In duet with his wife Jan Fabricius on mandolin and vocals, you can expect rootsy acoustic instrumentation and sweet harmony singing, interspersed with O’Brien’s self deprecating humor. Born in West Virginia in 1954, Grammy winning singer-songwriter and multi instrumentalist O’Brien grew up singing in church and school. Gaining attention in the 1980s with Colorado’s Hot Rize, O’Brien scored a country hit with Kathy Mattea’s cover of his song “Walk The Way The Wind Blows” in 1986. Soon artists like Nickel Creek and Garth Brooks also covered his songs. Collaborators include his sister Mollie O’Brien, old time musician Dirk Powell and songwriter Darrell Scott, as well as Steve Earle, Bill Frisell, Mark Knopfler and Sturgill Simpson. O’Brien formed his own record label, Howdy Skies Records, in 1999, and launched the digital download label Short Order Sessions (SOS) with then-partner Jan Fabricius in 2015.

O’Brien says his most recent recording, He Walked On, is about “what you need to do to survive in America.” Covering work, racial issues, and modern technology, its eight originals and five covers offer an expansive portrayal of the nation from its beginnings to the present day. Personnel includes long-time bandmates Mike Bub (bass), Shad Cobb (fiddle) and Jan Fabricius (mandolin and vocal), along with drummer Pete Abbott, bassist Edgar Meyer, guitarist Bo Ramsey, and gospel singer Odessa Settles. Other notable O’Brien recordings like the bluegrass Dylan covers of Red On Blonde and the Celtic-Appalachian fusion of The Crossing led to Grammy winning CD’s Fiddler’s Green (2005) and The Earls of Leicester (2014). 2017’s Where the River Meets the Road paid tribute to the music of his native West Virginia.