Ollabelle is a New York-based

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...

group named after the influential Appalachian songwriter

Ola Belle Reed Ola Belle Reed (August 18, 1916 – August 16, 2002) was an American folk singer, songwriter and banjo player. Early life Reed was born Ola Wave Campbell in the unincorporated town of Grassy Creek, Ashe County, North Carolina, to Arthur Camp ...

. The group is composed of five singing multi-instrumentalists hailing from disparate parts of the United States, Canada and Australia.Biography
ollabellemusic.com (accessed August 18, 2008)

History

Ollabelle formed during the post- 9/11 days of 2001 at Sunday night gospel music sessions humorously dubbed "Sunday School for Sinners" held in a small bar called 9C (so named for its location at the corner of East 9th Street and Avenue C on Manhattan's Lower East Side). Their individual talents and musical tastes fused together to provide a unique musical experience influenced by various genres such as gospel, traditional/folk, blues, bluegrass,

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest atte ...

, and even

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

. The group was featured on the

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

program

All Things Considered ''All Things Considered'' (''ATC'') is the flagship news program on the American network National Public Radio (NPR). It was the first news program on NPR, premiering on May 3, 1971. It is broadcast live on NPR affiliated stations in the United ...

in a 2004 segment,"The Southern Sound of Ollabelle"
''

'',

, March 23, 2004 and was part of bluegrass/country artist

Alison Krauss Alison Maria Krauss (born July 23, 1971) is an American bluegrass-country singer and musician. She entered the music industry at an early age, competing in local contests by the age of 8 and recording for the first time at 14. She signed with ...

' national Great High Mountain Tour (2004) which in addition to Ms. Krauss also featured the revered American traditional artist

Ralph Stanley Ralph Edmund Stanley (February 25, 1927 – June 23, 2016) was an American bluegrass artist, known for his distinctive singing and banjo playing. Stanley began playing music in 1946, originally with his older brother Carter Stanley as part of ...

. The past several years have seen Ollabelle on the road touring many states including

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S. ...

, several European countries, and they have also played at the 2004

Newport Folk Festival Newport Folk Festival is an annual American folk-oriented music festival in Newport, Rhode Island, which began in 1959 as a counterpart to the Newport Jazz Festival. It was one of the first modern music festivals in America, and remains a foca ...

, the 2007 South by Southwest music event held annually in

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

, and

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...

's MerleFest, (2008). More recently, Ollabelle toured as part of "The American Beauty Project" a live presentation of songs from the classic Grateful Dead album '' American Beauty'' in which Ollabelle do their interpretations of several songs including the beautiful "Brokedown Palace". The American Beauty Project released a 2-CD live recording in 2007 featuring Ollabelle,

Jim Lauderdale James Russell Lauderdale (born April 11, 1957) is an American country, bluegrass, and Americana singer-songwriter. Since 1986, he has released 31 studio albums, including collaborations with artists such as Dr. Ralph Stanley, Buddy Miller, and ...

Larry Campbell Larry W. Campbell (born 28 February 1948) is a Canadian politician that served as the 37th mayor of Vancouver, Canada from 2002 until 2005 and since 2005 has been a member of the Senate of Canada. Before he was mayor, Campbell worked for th ...

, Teresa Williams, Catherine Russell &

David Gans David Gans ( he, דָּוִד בֶּן שְׁלֹמֹה גנז; ‎1541–1613), also known as Rabbi Dovid Solomon Ganz, was a Jewish chronicler, mathematician, historian, astronomer and astrologer. He is the author of "Tzemach David" (1592 ...

. Ollabelle served as the house band for the Simon & Garfunkel tribute show at New York's

Central Park Summerstage Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

in June 2010. Ollabelle's members continually add traditional and original material to their live performances. Ollabelle's first album ('' Ollabelle'') was produced by the legendary

T-Bone Burnett Joseph Henry "T Bone" Burnett III (born January 14, 1948) is an American record producer, guitarist and songwriter. He rose to fame as a guitarist in Bob Dylan's band during the 1970s. He has received multiple Grammy awards for his work in fil ...

while their second album ('' Riverside Battle Songs'') was co-produced with former

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

sideman

. Several members of Ollabelle guest on the 2006 album by American folk-blues artist Chris Smither entitled '' Leave the Light On'' and 2009 has seen the release of Before This Time an album culled from live performances featuring both old and new material. Two members of Ollabelle, vocalist/mandola player Amy Helm and bassist/vocalist Byron Isaacs, are regular members of the Levon Helm Band (the late Levon Helm was Amy's father) and perform at Levon's Midnight Ramble concerts. Other Ollabelle members have occasionally joined up with the Levon Helm Band, including Tony Leone, who sometimes sat in on drums with the band while Levon Helm stepped out front and played mandolin. Since leaving Ollabelle, Jimi Zhivago has focused on a solo career, as well as production for other artists. Most notably, he has recorded multiple times with singer-songwriter Kim Taylor, including 2006's ''I Feel Like a Fading Light'' and 2010's ''Little Miracle'' EP. Since 2013, bassist Byron Isaacs has been the touring bassist and backing vocalist for

The Lumineers The Lumineers are an American alternative folk band based in Denver, Colorado. The founding members are Wesley Schultz (lead vocals, guitar) and Jeremiah Fraites (drums, percussion, piano). Schultz and Fraites began writing and performing toge ...

, and has appeared on three of their albums, '' Cleopatra'', '' III'' and '' Brightside''. He has also released a solo album, ''Disappearing Man''.

Members

Ollabelle consists of (as pictured left to right): * Amy Helm – vocals, mandola *Glenn Patscha – vocals, keyboards, accordion *Byron Isaacs – vocals, bass, guitar, dobro *Fiona McBain – vocals, acoustic and electric guitars, electric bass * Tony Leone – vocals, drums, percussion, mandolin Former member *Jimi Zhivago – electric guitar, vocals

Discography

*'' Ollabelle'' (2004) *'' Riverside Battle Songs'' (2006) *''Before This Time'' (2009) *''Neon Blue Bird'' (2011)

References

External links

Ollabelle
official website
Ollabelle

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

channel
Glenn Patscha's personal website

Amy Helm's personal website

Byron Isaacs's personal website
{{Authority control American folk musical groups