Tim O'Brien

Songwriter · b. 1954 · Wheeling, West Virginia · timobrien.net · Also a musician

Tim O'Brien is a two-time Grammy-winning singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist whose career bridges bluegrass, old-time, folk, and Americana. As the lead voice of Hot Rize and a prolific solo artist, he has become one of the most respected and versatile figures in roots music over the last 45 years.

Born in Wheeling, West Virginia on March 16, 1954; became a devotee of old-time and bluegrass music as a teenager after seeing Doc Watson on television.
Co-founded Hot Rize in Boulder, Colorado in 1978, serving as lead vocalist and mandolin/fiddle player for the band's 12-year touring run and every reunion since.
Won the IBMA's Male Vocalist of the Year in 1993 and again in 2006, and was part of Hot Rize's inaugural Entertainer of the Year win in 1990.
Songs he wrote have been recorded by Garth Brooks, The Chicks, Nickel Creek, and Kathy Mattea, whose versions of "Walk the Way the Wind Blows" and "Untold Stories" became country hits in the late 1980s.
Notable solo albums include Red on Blonde (1996, Bob Dylan covers in bluegrass), The Crossing (1999, Celtic-Appalachian fusion), and Fiddler's Green (2005, which won the Grammy for Best Traditional Folk Album).
Founded his own record label, Howdy Skies Records, in 1999.
Won a second Grammy in 2015 as part of The Earls of Leicester's self-titled debut, which took Best Bluegrass Album.
Frequent collaborator with his sister Mollie O'Brien, Darrell Scott (as the duo Real Time), Dirk Powell, and more recently his wife Jan Fabricius.
Inducted into the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame (2013) and the Colorado Music Hall of Fame (2022).

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