Tim O'Brien / Old Man Luedecke (award winning bluegrass / Americana musicians!)

Tim O’Brien is best described as one of the spearheads of contemporary bluegrass. Old Man Luedecke, based in Nova Scotia, opens. This multi-Juno winner sings his songs accompanied only by his inspired clawhammer playing and his stomping foot in banjo songster tradition.

Growing up in Wheeling, West Virginia, Tim O’Brien was surrounded by classic country and bluegrass music first, subsequently augmented by the revolutionary folk music era. While his sister (and occasional collaborator) Mollie took piano lessons, O’Brien pursued guitar and banjo on his own, eventually adding mandolin and fiddle to his arsenal by the time he left for college. Dropping out of college after a year, O’Brien headed west, eventually settling in Boulder, Colorado, where a burgeoning, eccentric roots music scene was forming.

Following a stint in the endearingly ramshackle Ophelia Swing Band, O’Brien co-founded the bluegrass band Hot Rize in 1978. Combining a healthy reverence for bluegrass tradition with a playfully postmodern sensibility, Hot Rize became a fan and festival favorite, recording a series of acclaimed albums for the Flying Fish and Sugar Hill labels until dissolving in 1990 — at which point O’Brien had already begun to establish himself as a solo artist.

Over the years O’Brien has recorded what many listeners have come to think of as classics, among them Rock in My Shoe, (1995), which O’Brien considers one of his personal best, When No One’s Around (1997), and the four “concept” albums that precede his latest: 1996’s Red on Blonde was a collection of O’Brien covering Bob Dylan; 1998’s Songs from the Mountain found O’Brien, Dirk Powell and John Herrmann paying tribute to traditional music and Charles Frazier’s novel, Cold Mountain; in 1999 O’Brien explored his Celtic roots on The Crossing; and in 2001 O’Brien went back to his Irish heritage again on Two Journeys. In 2000 he and longtime friend Darrel Scott joined forces to record Real Time in Scott’s living room and reunited again in 2012 for a live album, We’re Usually Better Than This. He has also recorded three highly regarded albums with his sister, Mollie O’Brien.

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Old Man Luedecke isn’t afraid to put his neck on the line. His latest album, Tender Is The Night, goes beyond his beloved solo, banjo-driven folk tunes. Driving a Nashville band from beginning to end with his recognizable voice, this is an artist honing his cunning lyrical flair — tenderly pushing the boundaries of his storytelling with his unique mix of folk, bluegrass and pop hooks. Old Man Luedecke has a penchant for language.

Based in Chester, Nova Scotia, the award-winning roots singer-songwriter’s latest album, Tender Is The Night, gives nod to F.R. Scott Fitzgerald’s famous novel, a title lifted from John Keats poem, “Ode To A Nightingale.” With skillful precision and a storyteller’s heart, Luedecke’s narrative-driven folk songs are playful, coy, and soul warming. Rich in metaphor, heart and instrumentation, Tender Is The Night muses on love, art and purpose. The album was just nominated for a Juno Award — Canada’s equivalent of the Grammy. The recording was produced by Tim O’Brien. After touring the globe, winning multiple Junos, and becoming a father to twin girls, Luedecke has finally found confidence in himself, and his art.