"Come all ye fans of the roots and the branches . . . I like to view the big mountain of music from every angle," says Tim O'Brien, the West Virginia multi-instrumentalist and songcrafter who has spent the past three decades building a fascinating bridge between the traditional sounds of the hill country and many of its roots and branches, including modern styles of bluegrass. As co-founder and lead vocalist of Hot Rize and Red Knuckles and The Trailblazers, and more recently a wide variety of innovative collaborations like Newgrange, Tim has become one of the most respected and beloved singers and musicians in the ever-growing Americana explosion. Nominated for three Grammys and the winner of the 1993 International Bluegrass Music Association Male Vocalist of the Year, he is well known for his pitch-perfect voice and enlightened explorations of the landscape of roots music, on acclaimed albums like The Crossing (Alula), which digs into the rich wellspring of Celtic music and its Appalachian and bluegrass descendants. Tim's latest CD, last year's Traveller, is an album of original songs displaying his gift for narrative songwriting and for melding modern and traditional music.