There’s something special about real songwriters that allows them to take the long and winding story of their life’s search for meaning and distill it down into a short we can sip that makes us realize we are not alone in our struggle.

With music running 4 generations deep in her blood it’s no wonder Siobhán may have attracted admirers ranging from Bono to Bob Dylan, and Leonard Cohen to Tom Paxton, and even been dubbed “A voice the world should hear” by world famous Paddy Moloney of  The Chieftains.

 

O’Brien may have found her voice as a kid, but after 30 years of chasing her dream she has finally found her feet as an artist and has emerged ready to tell her story.

 

The story is ultimately one of a small-town girl who grows up by meeting the big bad world.  It’s the story of the continual leaps of faith we all must take in ourselves if we are to keep alive the dream of living authentically to our calling.  It is the story of coming to accept a truth we all resist – that to pursue life on our own terms we must be continually prepared to risk what we have in the hope of something better.

 

We must find the courage to walk through our own valley of darkness sure in the knowledge that love will guide us to the other side.  In O’Brien’s case, that means the other side of the Atlantic.

 

A single mother, a sister, a daughter, a friend - the bonds to home are strong, but the call of the wild is stronger.  “America has always beckoned the artist in me” she says, “Finally, it has won!”

 

Only 5 weeks in and as a regular in the DC pub music scene by night she had secured an opening slot at the acclaimed Birchmere Music Hall, been awarded a coveted spot in the Folk-DJ Showcase at North East Regional Folk Alliance (NERFA) and - thanks to co-producers, John Bush and Matt Hubbard, drummer and keyboardist for Edie Brickell & The New Bohemians  - she has recorded her third album “You Can’t Run Out Of Love” in none other than Austin Texas.

That’s a lot of work for a small-town girl!

 

When asked what she hopes her listeners will take away from the album, O’Brien says:

 

“They will take from it whatever they need.  What I get from it is the wisdom of knowing that living comes from leaping when you don’t know where your feet will land, that it’s not about the end goal or how fast you get there, it’s about growing as a person in your own skin, it’s about facing your fears of not being enough, and it’s about the community of friends you build along the journey who are all going through the same thing in their own way”.

 

“You Can’t Run Out Of Love” is an indie / folk music blend reminiscent of Joan Baez, Brandi Carlile, and Joni Mitchell.

 

Against the backdrop of a corporate controlled music landscape that actively suppresses anything that is not destined for a mass audience, Siobhán has taken yet another leap of faith, this time in the generosity of the human spirit, and launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund wider promotion of her album.

 

Why?  “Because an artist has a duty to express herself to as many souls as possible if there is even a chance that it can change one person for the better.  Why else would I bear my soul to the world if I didn’t believe there was someone out there like me who’s face I could lift from the mud, just as mine has been lifted so many times by others who have gone before.