[Cover photo credit to Scott Simontacchi]
Grammy-winner Tim O’Brien is returning with a new album that he collaborated on with Jan Fabricius, titled Paper Flowers, out June 6th, 2025 on Howdy Skies Records. The album’s first single, “Lonesome Armadillo,” is out now, and “recalls classic cowboy songs of yore.”
The song shares the tale of “a lonesome armadillo who longs for his home back in Amarillo.” That’s just one of 12 songs written by O’Brien, Fabricius, and Folk artist Tom Paxton for the project.
O’Brien shared the song’s inspiration with The Bluegrass Situation:
There’s an awful lot of talk about migrants invading from the South, but nobody’s talking about armadillos. After we started trippin’ over little holes in our yard, Jan baited a raccoon trap, focused the security camera on it, and then we drove to Memphis to play a show. On the set break we saw we’d caught the hard-shelled offender, but after the show we saw that he’d arched his back, bent the trap, and escaped. We told Tom Paxton about it the next week and he said, ‘Let’s tell his story.’
Paper Flowers will be O’Brien’s first true collaboration and duo album with Fabricius, with Paxton co-writing 12 of the album’s 15 original songs. It was recorded at Cowboy Arms in Nashville with Tim on guitar and vocal and Jan on mandolin and vocals, along with longtime collaborators Mike Bub (bass), Mike Rojas (accordion), Justin Moses (resophonic guitar), and Larry Atamanuik (drums).
O’Brien explains about the album:
Jan and I started weekly co-writing sessions with Tom in the spring of 2023 and 12 of songs on our album come from those Wednesday afternoon Zooms. It’s our first real collaborative project, and a narrative of Jan’s and my life together runs through the record, from courtship to growing old together, with a road trip, the Armadillo, and a granddaughter’s wedding in between.
O’Brien began as singer, instrumentalist, and songwriter with the 1980’s Bluegrass group Hot Rize, and the West Virginia native has continued down diverse musical pathways. In the process he’s written songs for people like Garth Brooks and the Dixie Chicks, released his own albums and earned a few Grammy awards. He was recently tapped to join Steve Martin and Alison Brown for a new single, “5 Days Out, Two Days Back.”
TOUR DATES:
04-16-2025 Nashville, TN — The Station Inn
04-18-2025 Maplewood, MO — Focal Point
04-24-2025 Houston, TX — Mucky Duck
04-26-2025 Dale, TX — Old Settlers Music Festival
05-14-2025 Nashville, TN — The Station Inn
05-15-2025 Corrales, NM — Historic Old San Ysidro Church
05-16-2025 Santa Fe, NM — San Miguel Mission
05-17-2025 Aztec, NM — Tico Time Bluegrass Festival
05-18-2025 Aztec, NM — Tico Time Bluegrass Festival
05-25-2025 Cumberland, MD — DelFest
05-29-2025 Bozeman, MT — Pilgrim Church
05-30-2025 Missoula, MT — Long Staff House
06-20-2025 Telluride, CO — Telluride Bluegrass Festival
