Tyrone’s namesake is featured as the summer concert series continues this Sunday, July 20, with the music of Ireland.
The Michael O’Brian Band consists of Michael Zerbee and Brian Anderson. They met in the mid-seventies and have performed together in rock bands since 1976.
Then in 1998, they had the opportunity of hearing live Celtic music and were inspired by the amazing spirit of the music, and decided to perform Irish music themselves.
Searching for a moniker to convey they were an Irish act, they struck on the idea of using their first names and formed, “The Michael O’Brian Band”.
The band offers an audience-participation show laced with humor and Irish pub songs, but also includes ballads and rebel tunes.
The emphasis is always for the audience to enjoy their time with the band. The music is simple with Michael’s guitar work as the foundation, and Brian adding the flute, penny whistle and Bodhran. The final touches are the rich vocal harmonies.
What really makes the act is the cohesive chemistry between the performers. An interesting chemistry, some twenty years in the making that says to the audience, “These guys are having a good time. Let’s join the fun”.
The band’s brand of entertainment appeals to all ages and has been seen at a variety of events including the Johnstown Folk Festival, Johnstown Heritage Festival, State College Arts Festival, Allegheny Portage National Historical Site, Holiday Valley Resort in New York and the Fire & Ice Festival in Somerset.
Summer Sunday concerts begin at 6 p.m. in Reservoir Park and, in the event of rain, will be held in the First English Lutheran Church on Logan Avenue and Thirteenth Street.
Concerts are free of charge and audience members should bring a chair or blanket for seating. This series is made possible by a grant from the PA Council on the Arts, a state agency, the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency, and Tyrone Borough.
For additional information contact the Arts Line Office at 684-ART2.
