Tim O’Brien (born March 16, 1954) is a bluegrass, country, and folk singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist who grew up in Wheeling. He was influenced in his younger days by the Wheeling Jamboree, which regularly featured artists such as Jimmy Martin, The Country Gentlemen, and Buck Owens. 

O’Brien’s sister, Mollie, played a key role in shaping his early musical tastes, introducing him to the songs of Bob Dylan and the Beatles. In 1964, the siblings persuaded their mother to drive them to Pittsburgh to see the Beatles in concert, which inspired Tim to learn guitar. He received his first instrument on his 12^th birthday and quickly showed a talent for it. At 13, after watching a PBS show, he began imitating “Doc” Watson’s distinct flat-picking guitar style. Later, after seeing Merle Haggard perform from the Jamboree’s balcony seats during a 1970 tribute to fiddler Bob Wills, he added the fiddle to his growing repertoire. By high school, O’Brien was also playing banjo and mandolin, performing whenever he had the chance, including with Mollie during folk masses at St. Michael’s Church in Wheeling.

After graduating from Linsly Military Institute, O’Brien enrolled at Colby College in Maine but left after a year to pursue music in Colorado. Following several years as a solo performer, he co-founded the band Hot Rize with musicians he had met at the Denver Folklore Center. Named after the “secret ingredient” in Martha White Flour—famously promoted in Flatt and Scruggs jingles—Hot Rize toured four continents and gained a devoted following. Their comic alter egos, Red Knuckles and the Trailblazers, often appeared mid-concert to play honky-tonk western tunes. Over 12 years, Hot Rize became a leading force in modern bluegrass, garnering the Entertainer of the Year award from the International Bluegrass Music Association (IMBA) in 1990, followed up by Song of the Year, “Colleen Malone,” the next year.

During this time, Kathy Mattea charted success with his songs, including “Walk the Way the Wind Blows,” and co-wrote “The Battle Hymn of Love” with him. New Grass Revival also had a hit with O’Brien’s “Hold to a Dream.”

In 1990, O’Brien left Hot Rize to pursue a solo career. Moving to Nashville, he built a reputation as a songwriter whose work was recorded by artists such as Garth Brooks and The Chicks. He also collaborated with Steve Earle, Darrell Scott, his sister, and many others.

O’Brien’s 2005 album Fiddler’s Green won a Grammy Award and solidified his reputation as both a songwriter and a highly sought-after session musician. Since then, he has appeared on countless recordings, toured with Mark Knopfler, recorded with Steve Martin, and performed internationally with his wife as part of the Tim O’Brien Band.

Across more than four decades, O’Brien has earned wide recognition, including two International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) Male Vocalist of the Year awards (1993 and 2006) and inductions into the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame (2013) and Colorado Music Hall of Fame (2022).