Tim O'brien

Biography of Tim O'Brien

Born in Wheeling, West Virginia in 1954, Grammy winning singer songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Tim O'Brien grew up singing in church and in school. After seeing Doc Watson on TV, he became a lifelong devotee of old time and bluegrass music. Tim started touring nationally in 1978 with Colorado bluegrass band Hot Rize. His songs Walk the Way the Wind Blows and Untold Stories were bluegrass hits for Hot Rize, and country hits for Kathy Mattea. Soon more artists like Nickel Creek, Garth Brooks, and The Dixie Chicks covered his songs.

Over the years, Tim has collaborated with his sister Mollie O'Brien, songwriter Darrell Scott, and noted old-time musician Dirk Powell, as well as with Steve Earle, Mark Knopfler, Dan Auerbach, Sturgill Simpson, and Steve Martin. Living in Nashville since 1996, O'Brien's skills on guitar, mandolin, fiddle, and banjo make him an in-demand session player. He tours in a duet setting with his wife Jan Fabricius on mandolin and vocals, and in a band that includes bassist Mike Bub, fiddler Shad Cobb, and Fabricius. A voracious reader who loves to cook, he has two sons, Jackson (born 1982) and Joel (born 1990).

Awards and Recognitions

The International Bluegrass Music Association awarded him song of the year in 2006 and named him best male vocalist in 1993 and 2006. He was inducted into the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame in 2013 and into the Colorado Music Hall of Fame in 2022.

Recent Releases

Recent releases He Walked On and Cup of Sugar wove stories of everyday life into socially conscious themes. Other notable O'Brien recordings include the bluegrass Dylan covers of Red on Blonde, the Celtic-Appalachian fusion of The Crossing, and the Grammy winning folk of Fiddler's Green. His duet with Darrell Scott, Real Time, is a cult favorite, and he won a bluegrass Grammy as part of The Earls of Leicester. Tim O'Brien and Jan Fabricius released their first full collaboration, Paper Flowers, in June of 2025. Its fifteen original songs serve as a narrative of the married couple's life together.

General Admission Tickets

General Admission tickets guarantee entry into the venue but do not guarantee a seat. All tickets are non-refundable and non-transferable. We ONLY accept tickets purchased through Ticketweb. Seating and venue layout vary by show. Handicap accommodations are available, please contact the venue in advance. You do not need to present the credit card used for purchase. You will just need to provide the name the tickets were purchased under to enter; your party does not need to arrive at the same time, each guest can enter under the name the tickets were purchased under.