Marty O'Reilly

Marty O'Reilly is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist from Sonoma, California, whose unique sound pulls inspiration from the roots of Americana, referencing folk greats like Woody Guthrie, blues legends like Howlin' Wolf, gospel pioneers like Sister Rosetta Tharpe, and master storytellers like Tom Waits. His father John O'Reilly, a poet and music lover who listened to jazz, classical, and cassette tapes of John Lee Hooker, shaped Marty's musical influences from an early age. Attending Summerfield Waldorf school near Sebastopol helped shape the way he thinks about art, people, and stories. His parents got him a guitar for Christmas during his teens, and his first teacher encouraged him to play blues, allowing him to focus on really feeling things early in his musical development. O'Reilly attended UC Santa Cruz in Northern California, where he met violinist Chris Lynch during a naturalist internship, and the two started playing music together casually. In 2012, when offered a music gig that required a trio, O'Reilly asked Lynch to join him, and Lynch suggested Jeff Kissell on upright bass, unofficially forming Marty O'Reilly & the Old Soul Orchestra that night. The band combines elements of Delta blues, soul, folk, jazz, and occasional hints of classical or bursts of rock. O'Reilly has poured everything into his music, spending years on the road, self-funding his albums, and navigating the ups and downs of life as an independent artist, husband, and father, creating a sound that is both deeply rooted in tradition and startlingly original.

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