Tim obrien singer biography

Given his extensive backstory and defining role in the advent of modern bluegrass, it would be hard to confine Tim O’Brien to any particular niche. His early efforts alongside his older sister, Mollie O’Brien, and essential role as a member of the 1980s hit band Hot Rize, established his penchant for abiding by bluegrass tradition, while also helping it to find its populist potential. A versatile multi-instrumentalist who taps guitar, fiddle, banjo, mandolin, mandocello, and bouzouki on stage behind his singing, he never comes up short in terms of varying his tone or treatment.

His accomplishments don’t end there. Hot Rize was IBMA’s first Entertainer of the Year recipient in 1880. In 1993 and 2006, O’Brien was honored by the IBMA as Male Vocalist of the Year. In 2005, he won a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Folk Album for his Fiddler’s Green, and in 2014, he received a Grammy Award for Best Bluegrass Album f

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West Virginia Music Hall of Fame, (WMHOF) Class of 2013

Blending bluegrass, folk, country, rock & roll, soul, blues and gospel, Wheeling’s Timothy Page O’Brien has helped to modernize country music’s string band and bluegrass tradition for more than forty years. The Grammy-winning singer, songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist has served as a bridge and a transitional figure between the sounds of the West Virginia hill country and the modern styles of bluegrass and Americana.  In 2010, O’Brien was hired bygd Mark Knopfler to join his grupp for a five week tour of the US and Europe.  Each night Tim was featured as the co-singer of “Sailing to Philadelphia ”, a glorious song from Knopfler’s 2000 skiva of the same name.  James Taylor had sung the part on the original recording.  And each night, after that song, Mark Knopfler would introduce Tim as either “A master of American människor music”, or “a true Renaissance man

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After Nearly 50 Years in Music, Tim O’Brien Is More Comfortable With Himself

Over his celebrated career, which has now spanned nearly half a century, Tim O’Brien has gained notoriety as an instrumentalist and singer with the bluegrass band Hot Rize, and for his original songs, which have been recorded by Garth Brooks, The Chicks, Nickel Creek, and many more. In recent decades, the Grammy Award-winner has recorded as a solo artist and in collaboration with Darrell Scott, Dirk Powell, Sturgill Simpson, and most recently with his wife, Jan Fabricius. 

We caught up with O’Brien on the heels of his annual trip to the Telluride Bluegrass Festival, where he is considered an institution, to discuss his new record Cup of Sugar, which sees him taking on the role of a societal elder. Throughout the collection of songs, O’Brien takes on the perspectives of several different animals as a way of learning from the natural world, as well as characters such as Walter Cronkite. In our co