Mark O'Connor was a child prodigy on the violin as a 12-year-old. His recording and performance history includes classical music, jazz/swing bands and Americana. Radio Heartland listeners are probably most familiar with O'Connor's recordings with Yo-Yo Ma and Edgar Meyer, or perhaps O'Connor's Hot Swing Trio.

Somewhere along the way, Mark's son Forrest was born. Forrest took music lessons, but the music bug didn't bite him till his college years. Now, Forrest has put a promising business career on hold to focus on his music and songwriting. He and his fiancée, Kate Lee, have a duo in Nashville called Wisewater. Oh — and did I mention Mark O'Connor's wife Maggie is also an accomplished fiddler player and singer?

Put it all together, and you get the O'Connor Band, featuring Mark, Maggie, Forrest and Kate, plus two Nashville ace musicians, Joe Smart and Geoff Saunders. Their new release, Coming Home, came out this past summer on Rounder Records — Mark's label since he was 12.

The O'Connor Band were in the Twin Cities for an extended run at the Dakota recently. They took an afternoon to drive over to St. Paul and play in the Radio Heartland studio.

Songs Performed

"Emily's Reel"
"I Haven't Said I Love You In A While"
"Black Top Boy"
The second and third songs are from the O'Connor Band's 2016 album, Coming Home, available on Rounder Records. "Emily's Reel" is an original composition by Mark O'Connor that appears on several recordings.

Personnel

Mark O'Connor - fiddle
Maggie O'Connor - fiddle and vocals
Geoff Saunders - bass
Joe Smart - guitar
Forrest O'Connor - mandolin and vocals
Kate Lee - fiddle and vocals

Hosted and produced by Mike Pengra
Engineered by Cameron Wiley
Visuals by Nate Ryan

Resources

O'Connor Band - official site

Gallery

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