Tag: Tim O’Brien

Feb 7 2025

Tim O’Brien & Friends

Friday 17th January 2025

Review, photos and video by Keith Belcher

Tim O’Brien with Jan Fabricius and Seamie O’Dowd, TLRFriday 17th January 2025. The Live Room, Caroline Street Social Club, Saltaire.


The first show at TLR last year was Tim O’Brien. Roll on a year and Tim O’Brien , Jan Fabricius and Seamie O’Dowd opened the music for 2025. Family reasons prevented Dermot Byrne appearing. Such is the calibre of these musicians that they adapted the arrangements to give a superb performance lasting over 2 hours. Tim & Seamie swapped instruments throughout the night.

Both played guitar, bouzouki and fiddle to a great standard. Jan played mandolin throughout and also contributed some lead vocals. Tim was in comedy mode in between songs and regaled the audience with humourous banter. Some new songs were played from a forthcoming album and the back catalogue was visited even including older Hot Rize classics as well as many old favourites.


2024 was a superb year for music at TLR. We were treated to some really awesome (a much overused word but appropriate here) performances . The line up for 2025 shows no sign of letting up. Two of the 3 shows this January are already sold out with few tickets left for the third. Tim and band got the year off to a great start. A capacity crowd were entertained with both songs and music of the highest standard. He can open again next year if he likes.

videos by keith belcher

Arthur Darley's Jig

I Breathe In

Keep Your Lap Trimmed and Burning

Jan 30 2024

Tim O’Brien & Jan Fabricius

Friday 19th January 2024

Review, photos and video by Keith Belcher

The first gig of the year. The very welcome return of Tim O’Brien and Jan Fabricius with special guest, master fiddler Kevin Burke for the start of Set 2. We were very lucky to see Tim and Jan. They had a 36 hour nightmare journey from Nashville, delayed by snow. The gig scheduled for Sheffield on Thursday was cancelled. Tim and Jan had travelled up from Heathrow to make our show.

You really would not have guessed they had been travelling for 36 hours. The quality of the playing and singing was top notch. Jan playing mandolin , Tim, guitar, fiddle and mandolin and Kevin fiddle. Tim sang most lead vocals with Jan taking 2 songs as lead and they harmonised beautifully.

Special guest Kevin Burke opened the second set with Tim with 2 instrumentals . Jan joined the stage with Kevin and Tim for a third instrumental (Pear Tree/The Muddy Roads/Ladies Pantalettes/ The Kid On The Mountain and O’Carolans’s Concerto – for those interested) Lots of new songs as it’s been quite a few years and 3 albums since we’ve seen Tim on these shores.

Some old favourites like Brother Wind and Look Down That Lonesome Road.As you would expect at a Tim O’Brien show lots of humour throughout especially in new song Nervous.

70 years young this year and 50 years in the business and he played for just under 2 hours! The beauty of Tim is that it all looks so effortless whether its guitar,mandolin, fiddle or banjo. A true master tradesman.

Videos

Pretty Maid In A Garden; Bear; Pear Tree/The Muddy Roads/Ladies Pantalettes