Tonight we welcome to our stage Tim O’Brien, one of the spearheads of country bluegrass. O’Brien serves as a bridge between the traditional sounds of the hill country and the modern styles of bluegrass. This Grammy winner has just released his thirteenth solo album. Avi & Celia of Hey Mama open the show. Performer Magazine says that Avi’s deep, smooth vocals complement Celia’s perfectly, possessing all the rugged richness of an appropriate male counterpart.

O’Brien listens to bluegrass and hears the music’s roots in modal Irish ballads and vintage swing. He insightfully re­examines and reconstructs those styles, and many others, in his own music, throwing off new sparks by reawakening the tension and interplay of the colliding components at the heart of American music. “Over the years,” he explains, “my music has become a certain thing. Each time I go into the studio to make a new album, I could make an Irish record, or a bluegrass record, or a country record . . . but it seems artificial to sift anything out. I feel like I’d be leaving out something important. In the end, I just try to make it round. . . .” That roundness of vision and scope permeates every aspect of Chicken & Egg, O’Brien’s thirteenth solo album, via his own Howdy Skies imprint. Mixing O’Brien originals, collaborations, and a handful of outside compositions, Chicken & Egg is an illuminating, engaging, and ultimately life-affirming meditation on the art of living. “This stuff reflects what goes on in the life of someone my age,” O’Brien reflects. “I’m 56 years old. I’m not the young kid on the scene — and I’m happy about that. I’m at a strange point in my life: my kids are growing up, while my parents and teachers are passing on. There’s a lot happening — but it’s just life, and that’s what this album is about. There’s a little love song action here and there, but mostly it’s about living life.”

Born in March, 1954, in Wheeling, West Virginia, Tim O’Brien grew up listening to big band and jazz music. When still in his teens, he started listening to a local country music show that was recorded live at a local theater. He began attending tapings of the show, and there he saw performers like Merle Haggard and Roger Miller. Soon, O’Brien began learning Scruggs’ Style banjo and then learned the mandolin. Soon thereafter, Tim formed the groundbreaking bluegrass group Hot Rize. O’Brien has released 13 albums on Sugar Hill Records, and has received Grammy Awards and IBMA Awards for his incredible work and is once again nominated for an IBMA award for best male vocalist this year.

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Little did Carlos Santana know that he would have so much to do with the chance meeting of Avi Salloway and Celia Woodsmith. After breaking into a college dorm to find the man responsible for wailing electric guitar sounds, Celia’s roommate introduced Avi to one powerhouse of a woman. Their creative chemistry was quickly realized which led to formation of Avi & Celia. Weaving tours in and out of their exam schedule, they built up a strong grassroots following throughout the Northeast. They released their first CD, Off the Floor, as seniors at the University of Vermont. Immediately following graduation and a southern tour, they moved to Boston, hitting the ground running right into the music scene. By this time in their career they had already opened for Taj Mahal, Leon Russell and Big Brother and the Holding Co, had toured as far as San Francisco and had released their second critically acclaimed album, Let it Rise, in 2008.

January 2009 found them plunging into a new era. In collaboration with the talents of Jared Seabrook and Paul Chase, two accomplished Boston musicians, Avi & Celia tapped into a fiery synergy that eventually exploded and Hey Mama was born. The band has played more than 200 shows and festivals throughout the Northeast and Canada, and have released a third full length album self titled Hey Mama. The Boston Globe calls them “Sexy roots swagger with popu­list fire.” This fire has an undeniable presence in their performances, which leave the audience sweating. The band truly believes in freedom, and in every sense of the word embodies their ideals while on the stage.

Avi & Celia photo by Tim Angle (apologies to the rest of the band)

• [Tim O’Brien is] a master of American folk music, Irish music, Scottish music — it doesn’t matter; a fine songwriter and one of my favorite singers. Mark Knopfler
• . . .
• You can tell right away that [Avi & Celia’s] music comes from the very fiber of their souls and it is absolutely spellbinding to listen to. Rock and Roll Report
• A bright and energetic combination of folk, country, bluegrass and rock. . . . Each track, including the slower ones, is filled with so much energy. . . . The EP is artfully arranged — its pace is perfectly timed, satisfying the listener and creating a twinge of regret when the songs give way to silence. Performer Magazine