Tim O'Brien and Jan Fabricius (USA)

Note - to book for this event, please email - bluegrass@xtra.co.nz before the day of the concert.

Born in Wheeling, West Virginia on March 16, 1954, Grammy Award winning singer songwriter and multi instrumentalist Tim O’Brien grew up singing in church and in school. Gaining attention in the 1980s with Colorado’s Hot Rize, O’Brien scored a country hit in 1986 with Kathy Mattea’s cover of his song Walk The Way The Wind Blows.

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 songwriters Darrell Scott, Steve Earle, and Mark Knopfler. O’Brien formed his own record label, Howdy Skies Records, in 1999, and launched the digital download label Short Order Sessions (SOS) with his partner Jan Fabricius in 2015.

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 CDs Fiddler’s Green (2005) and The Earls of Leicester (2014). In 2017, Where the River Meets the Road paid tribute to the music of his native West Virginia.

The 2019 release, Tim O’Brien Band, features well known players Mike Bub (bass), Shad Cobb (fiddle), Patrick Sauber (banjo/guitar) and Jan Fabricius (vocal and mandolin). Shaping Tim’s blues, jazz and Celtic influences within a string band setting, they transform five originals and eight well chosen covers into his own unique brand of bluegrass.

Tim O’Brien performs in a duet setting with his partner Jan Fabricius on harmony vocals. Featuring his solid guitar and fiddle, performances showcase a range of original compositions and traditional arrangements, mixed with stories and Tim’s self-deprecating humour.

Jan Fabricius grew up in western Kansas. Her father was a wheat farmer and US Postal worker and her mother was a nurse. Her older sister Diane taught her piano and later mandolin. She played clarinet in her high school band and was in choir in school and church. Jan has attended the Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield KS since 1976 and also enjoyed attending various bluegrass festivals over the years, singing and jamming around the camp grounds.

Jan is a Registered Nurse. She raised two sons and has three granddaughters. Jan started dating in 2011 and in 2013 moved to Nashville. The two play fiddle tunes and bluegrass songs around home. Tim and Jan started a label for singles called 'Short Order Sessions' which Jan added harmonies to some of those tracks. Then when Tim made his recording, Pompadour in 2015, Jan sang background vocals on several songs and was soon singing on stage with Tim.

Jan's early influences include Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Hot Rize, New Grass Revival, Guy Clark, Rodney Crowell and Norman Blake, amongst many others. Her vocals and mandolin are also featured on Tim’s recordings Pompadour, Where the River Meets the Road (2017) and the latest 2019 release Tim O’Brien Band.

Bookings:
- accepted before the day of the show
- email - bluegrass@xtra.co.nz
- include your name, phone contact and the number of tickets required
- you will receive a reply by email to confirm your booking
- there are no booking fees nor any additional fees for this event

Notes:
- door sales on the day, at the venue, from 7:50pm
- seating is general admission
- ticket includes complimentary tea and coffee
- free parking available by or near the venue
- licensed bar at venue (no BYO allowed)