Then, in the fall of ‘74, I ended up in Boulder and briefly played in a bluegrass band called Town and Country Revue with two guys who were affiliated with a music store that I worked for a short time. I had some friends that I had worked with as part of a summer camp out near there that were out there to spend the winter. I saved up for a car and I went to Jackson Hole and played shows in bars and whatever I could get. TO: In the fall of ‘73 I gave up on the idea of college and decided that maybe I could support myself playing guitar and a little bit of fiddle. (Editor’s Note: Read the first half of our interview with Tim O’Brien.)īGS: When did you first start trying to play music professionally? We sat down with O’Brien, our BGS Artist of the Month for July, to ask him about how he got started and how some of these projects came to light. Yet beneath his quiet demeanor is a thoughtful artist who brings a tremendous amount of intentionality to his work. So much of it seems natural, as if each new thing was the obvious next step, whether it was creating a Western swing band alter ego within a bluegrass band, recording duet albums with his sister Mollie O’Brien, earning a Grammy nomination with an collection of Bob Dylan covers, or connecting lines between Appalachian music and traditional Irish music, tying back to his own heritage as a West Virginian of Irish descent.
One might say “seemingly effortless” is a fitting way to describe his career path, too. Tim O’Brien’s seemingly effortless tenor singing, musicianship, and songwriting have kept him in great esteem in the bluegrass community for more than four decades.