Paul O’Brien

“Paul is a listener. He picks up on real histories and issues, turning them into succinct musical stories that…hurl themselves at you and make you want to sit down and talk about the people, their lives and what we can learn from them.” Mike Scott, Ashby Folk Festival, UK.

Paul O’Brien is a singer-songwriter-instrumentalist with a gift for going straight to the emotional heart of the story and taking his listeners with him. After 20 years of performing in the UK, Europe, the Middle East and the United States, Paul moved to Vancouver Island, with the intention of leaving music behind entirely. Instead, he kicked off the second half of his illustrious career, which has seen him play across North America and Europe, recording several albums in both continents and touring regularly for the last decade.

From Canada’s West to East, Paul now calls Nova Scotia’s Annapolis Valley home. In 2018 he recorded a new album Years and Not Just Days with east coast legend JP Cormier. Paul continues bringing his emotional and dynamic stories of family, immigration, and love lost and found to new audiences around the globe.