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Photo By: Wayne Tozzi / www.oprynorth.com

Opry North

Name: Colleen O’Brien

Age: 25

Birth date: June 17, 1977

Birthplace: Hamilton Ontario

Hometown: Hamilton Ontario

Resides in: Burlington, but on November 1^st I’m returning to Hamilton.

Pets: My mom’s dog “Peanut”

Group name: Colleen O’Brien

Instruments played: Vocals, keyboards, trumpet, harmonica, French horn, djembe and bodhum drums.

Started performing at age: 2 (professionally at age 7)

Most memorable performance: Opening for John Landry & Steve Fox at Burlington’s Sound of Music Festival.

What do you do to relax? Get together with friends and jam.

Finished CD’s: “Blurring The Image”

CD’s for sale: “Blurring The Image” – 2000

Management: Colleen O’Brien

Record Label: Indie

Website: http://www.colleenobrien.ca

For Colleen O’Brien’s family the inevitable truth would surface when she was only two…they had a performer in their midst. Natural talents combined with a flair for the dramatic had this little girl out front and centre at many an event and at the age of 7 she captivated an audience of over 500 people at a church performance. With an ear for music and her naturally friendly, outgoing personality it was obvious that lessons were in order. Piano, to be exact. While Colleen admits she was no fan of the practicing she did love the instrument and that is evident in her accomplished performances today. Born in Hamilton Ontario and later moving to neighbouring Burlington Colleen would eventually take her steps toward a ‘professional training’ program in Oakville, at Sheridan College. With a degree in Musical Theatre Colleen embarked on a series of performances all across the country, eventually turning her attention to a recording career.

An avid songwriter and vocalist who has a firm grasp on many genres of music has an open playing field when it comes to recording and Colleen prepared herself by writing, orchestrating and then producing her first CD, a pop/rock collection called “Blurring The Image”. With the formation of the ‘Colleen O’Brien Band’ the turn has been to country/rock, with the foursome able to do justice to cover songs from the likes of the Dixie Chicks to Shania to Colleen’s self-written tunes. A new project is in the works for the next few months and with the powerful vocals, energy and enthusiasm that this group has it’s guaranteed to be a success. Southern Ontario should pay attention now, because she won’t be ‘a local girl’ for too much longer.

Colleen O’Brien is the type of performer you know will succeed. Why? Because she gives it her all, she has the confidence to try, she has plenty of guts and most importantly she has the talent to back it all up. If there are any doubts about any of the above all it takes it catching one of her shows…the proof is right there, running around on the stage (if space will permit). The steps that she’s taken in making her ambitions into reality are impressive; a degree in Musical Theatre, to learn the ‘art’ of performing and presentation; producing her first CD herself, to learn by doing and in doing so getting her feet wet in the whole ‘other world’ of production. Many artists are afraid of the studio at first; it can be very intimidating when you first get going. More still are hesitant about taking on the production aspect, that’s a lot of responsibility and weight on your shoulders. Colleen is afraid of nothing at this point. It’s not cockiness, it’s confidence – there’s a difference. And that difference is what will make her a winner.

We were first aware of The Colleen O’Brien Band earlier this year when the name seemed to be everywhere, all of a sudden. She was then just a photo on a website, or a name mentioned by someone in passing. That, and the comment, “Yeah, she’s pretty good.” It’s a known fact that for another performer or musician to say anything more than that is rare, “pretty good” being about the highest compliment you’ll get. Well luckily we’re not bound by that ‘rule of the road’…I’ll tell anyone – she’s amazing! Next we received a package from her in the mail and it was very interesting to look through. Our first actual ‘show’ experience happened last June, at the Burlington Sound of Music Festival. The Friday night is traditionally ‘country night’ and we were planning to attend to see a friend of ours, John Landry. The lineup would include The Colleen O’Brien Band and Steve Fox too and Steve is another artist best known for being an original character.

For anyone to be booked into such an event is exciting enough, to get to open for two highly respected, incredibly talented and award winning artists would be too much! Colleen took off running and won the crowd over with an energetic, variety filled set that allowed her to show what she was made of and in doing so she more than held her own in what would turn out to be an outstanding night of the best country music. Following her ‘show’ Colleen made an appearance to the side of the stage at the merchandise area to meet folks, sign autographs and say hi to anyone who wanted to come up and meet her. I was planning to introduce myself at that point but I had a bit of a wait ahead of me. The lineup to see her went on forever and she was still there by the end of the Steve Fox set…she told me recently that it was so surprising to her, she never expected to have that many people to come up and they’d been so nice.

That’s Colleen – she’s so good at what she does, yet she doesn’t really see how special that is to the public at large. When you work hard at doing what you love, you sometimes miss the effect you have on the world as a result. That’s why you’ll find performers who are so awestruck that anyone would wait in a lineup to buy tickets to one of ‘their shows’…or that someone would drive that far to meet them or write them such a wonderful letter. These performers tend to feel that they’re lucky enough to do what they love to do – it makes them happy. That they’d succeed in making so many other people happy at the same time is a bonus they never expected and it’s very humbling. For the young woman who has spent most of her life working toward her dream I’d say it’s payback time. She’s earned it.

We would like to thank Colleen O’Brien for her help with this profile. It’s been absolutely inspiring for us to meet such an enterprising and diligent artist, she is proof that a little elbow grease will get you where you want to go. We need people like Colleen – they urge us up when we may just want to sit and they show us that anything is possible, if you just believe. You’ve made believers out of us Colleen. Thanks again.

Written by Kim Jamieson

October 2002

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