{"id":45125,"date":"2026-01-15T09:52:48","date_gmt":"2026-01-15T14:52:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/?p=45125"},"modified":"2026-01-15T09:54:16","modified_gmt":"2026-01-15T14:54:16","slug":"on-stage-ojr-grad-omara-celebrates-new-album","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/?p=45125","title":{"rendered":"On Stage: OJR grad O’Mara celebrates new album"},"content":{"rendered":"
By Denny Dyroff,<\/strong> Entertainment Editor, The Times<\/em><\/div>\n
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John Francis O\u2019Mara<\/p><\/div>\n

John Francis O\u2019Mara is the second most famous musician to graduate from Owen J. Roberts High School.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

If you\u2019re wondering who is the most famous, think \u201cSara Smile,\u201d \u201cShe\u2019s Gone\u201d and \u201cManeater\u201d \u2013 think Daryl Hall of Hall & Oates.<\/div>\n
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Like Hall (actually Hohl), O\u2019Mara has toured a lot over the last few decades and performed at venues all around the world.<\/div>\n
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However, the two talented musicians have operated in different genres and at different levels.<\/div>\n
O\u2019Mara, a singer-songwriter\/guitarist, has never had an MTV hit but has reached people on an intense personal level ever since his high school days.<\/div>\n

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Now, O\u2019Mara is celebrating a new album \u2013 \u201cForbidden Hymns\u201d \u2013 with an album release show on January 17 at 118 North (118 North Wayne Avenue, Wayne, www.118northwayne.com<\/a>).<\/div>\n
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On his first full-length album in a decade, O\u2019Mara delivers a\u00a0<\/b>collection of 13 songs encompassing a variety of genres — alt-country, Americana, folk and rock.<\/div>\n
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They are also songs that explore social justice, hope and heartbreak.<\/div>\n
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O\u2019Mara recorded the album many years ago but held off releasing it until recently.<\/div>\n
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\u201cThe reason I held off putting the album out was that I wanted it to have a fighting chance,\u201d said O\u2019Mara, during a phone interview Wednesday afternoon from his home in Richmond, Virginia. \u201cI wanted to have a team around me that could give it that chance.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Talking about the album\u2019s title, O\u2019Mara said, \u201cWhy \u2018Forbidden\u2019? Look around! The social and political landscape has taken a very dark and ugly turn. Stateside, the innocent and most vulnerable are being kidnapped and denied basic civil and human rights, while literal genocide and starving children\u2019s screams are live streamed in real time.<\/div>\n
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\u201cElites and the billionaire class rule from their ill-gotten thrones. Truth, beauty, and conscience are being legislated into silence, banned, and literally \u2018forbidden\u2019. The soul of America, and the very soul of humanity, is at stake. Many among us are being made to fear raising our voices.<\/div>\n
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\u201cMany among us are not afraid! I\u2019m here to tell you, not on my watch. This is the precise moment many of us have been preparing for, and I will not be silenced. We who believe that a world full of empathy, justice, dignity,\u00a0and love is possible, will not be silenced! This record will not be silenced! Time to turn up the volume! Time to sing\u00a0\u2018Forbidden Hymns.\u2019\u201d<\/div>\n
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Hymns also play a role in O\u2019Mara\u2019s other career.<\/div>\n
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In addition to his career as a singer-songwriter,\u00a0O\u2019Mara\u00a0is an ordained <\/a>Episcopalian priest and Liberation Theology scholar, currently working toward his Doctorate in Theology with a Social Justice focus, from Howard University School of Divinity.<\/div>\n
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\u201cI got ordained in the Episcopalian Church even though I had a background as an Irish Catholic,\u201d said O\u2019Mara, who had just hung up from talking to his 102-year-old great aunt.<\/div>\n
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It seems that O\u2019Mara was destined to be a member of the clergy.<\/div>\n
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\u201cI\u2019m from Philly and lived in Kensington when I was a baby,\u201d said O\u2019Mara. \u201cMy childhood and teen years were spent in Chester County.<\/div>\n
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\u201cMy mom is from West Chester, and my dad is from Upper Darby. \u00a0They met when they were students at Kutztown University. Both were from Irish immigrant families.<\/div>\n
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\u201cWe lived in St. Peter\u2019s Village, and I graduated from Owen J. Roberts High School. My dad is still a priest at St. Mary\u2019s Episcopal Church in Warwick.<\/div>\n
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\u201cI went to Messiah College in Grantham and majored in English Literature and World Religion. After I graduated, I hit the road for 18 years.<\/div>\n
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\u201cI moved to Philly and lived at 13th\u00a0and Christian for eight years. I moved there with goals \u2013 to make a record, to get played on WXPN, to play the Point and the Tin Angel \u2013 and I did it all quickly.\u201d<\/div>\n
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It seems that O\u2019Mara was destined to be a musician.<\/div>\n
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\u201cMusic is in the family,\u201d said O\u2019Mara. \u201cBoth parents played guitar and sang with powerful voices. I cut my teeth in church. I\u2019d write songs and bring them to my dad. Music was just part of the family.<\/div>\n
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\u201cMy early influences were Dylan and Neil Young. My dad also had Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin albums that I listened to. There were also albums by Loretta Lynn, Johnny Cash and Peter, Paul & Mary.<\/div>\n
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\u201cMy main influence as a songwriter was Dylan. I became a student of Bob Dylan. Dylan is a bridge that every singer-songwriter has to cross.<\/div>\n
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\u201cI also love artists like Bob Marley, Bruce Springsteen and Odetta \u2013 artists who are saying something and speaking truth to power in a creative way.\u201d<\/div>\n
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After his time in Philly. O\u2019Mara headed south.<\/div>\n
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\u201cI moved to Nashville,\u201d said O\u2019Mara. \u201cI was in Nashville for five years and I made a record there. I played 200-250 dates a year for 15 years.<\/div>\n
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\u201cThen, I went to seminary, I went to Princeton Seminary and got a masters in Liberation Theology. After that, I went to General Seminary in New York \u2013 in Chelsea \u2013 and got another masters degree.<\/div>\n
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\u201cI got ordained in the Episcopalian Church. I was a priest in northern New Jersey \u2013 in Westfield \u2013 for five years and then in Madison, Wisconsin for three years. I\u2019ve still been performing shows the whole time.<\/div>\n
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\u201cFor the last year-and-a-half, I\u2019ve been back in Virginia where my family moved 12 years ago. I do priesting on Sunday and other things during the week.\u201d<\/div>\n
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With song titles such as \u201cJesus Walked on Water,\u201d \u201cAshes, Ashes,\u201d \u201cMiracle,\u201d \u201cNo One Gets Out Of Here Alive\u201d and \u201cMighty Power,\u201d it\u2019s fairly easy to see where O\u2019Mara\u2019s new album is coming from.<\/div>\n
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And it has timely themes \u2013 especially during a time when things like the atrocities in Minnesota are getting headlines.<\/div>\n
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\u201cThis is a time when teaching history is being banned, and books are being taken out of libraries and that\u2019s not good,\u201d said O\u2019Mara. \u201cStories about marginalizing people of color are not O.K. with me.\u201d<\/div>\n
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But \u201cForbidden Hymns\u201d is not a somber, depressing album. It is an LP filled with hopeful, energizing songs.<\/div>\n
Produced by\u00a0<\/b>Ken Coomer\u00a0(Grammy winning Producer, and drummer for\u00a0Wilco, Uncle Tupelo, Steve Earle), the album includes a studio band of guitarist\u00a0Kenny Vaughan\u00a0(Marty Stuart, Lucinda Williams), multi-instrumentalist\u00a0Chris Scruggs,\u00a0John Lancaster\u00a0on keys, the late great bassist\u00a0Dave Roe\u00a0(Johnny Cash, John Mellencamp, Dwight Yoakam) as well as backing vocalist,\u00a0Vinchelle Woods.<\/div>\n
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O\u2019Mara has a network of musicians with which he works.<\/div>\n
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\u201cI have a band in Nashville, in Ireland, in Switzerland and in Philly,\u201d said O\u2019Mara.<\/div>\n
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\u201cMy Philly band that will be with me this weekend is Chris Giraldi on drums, Todd Erk on bass, Jaron Olevsky on keys and Erik Sayles on guitar.<\/div>\n
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\u201cI\u2019m headlining the show but there will be acts on before and after me. Adrien Reju will open \u2013 and sing a song with me. Thr Jason Ager Trio will close the show.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Video link for John Francis O\u2019Mara — https:\/\/youtu.be\/uKhdoLXvows<\/a>.<\/div>\n
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The show at 118 North on January 17, which has Adrien Reju and Jason Ager as the support acts, will start at 8 p.m.<\/div>\n
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Tickets are $20.75.<\/div>\n
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Other upcoming shows at 118 North are Almost There on January 16 and Damn Tall Buildings with Box of Books on January 18.<\/div>\n
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Roomful of Blues<\/p><\/div>\n

Roomful of Blues has a long history of touring internationally over the last five decades.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The band from Providence, Rhode Island, which has had many lineups in its history, is led by Chris Vachon (guitar, background vocals) and Rich Lataille\u00a0(tenor and alto saxophone).<\/div>\n
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One of the band\u2019s favorite annual destinations over the years has been the Sellersville Theater.<\/div>\n
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This weekend, Roomful of Blues will make their yearly trek from New England to this area for a show on January 16 at the Sellersville Theater (24 West Temple Avenue, Sellersville, www.st94.com<\/a>).<\/div>\n
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\u201cWe come to Sellersville once a year, and it seems it\u2019s always in winter,\u201d said Vachon, during a phone interview Wednesday afternoon from his home in Wakefield, Rhode Island. \u201cThere\u2019s usually snow \u2013 and it\u2019s cold in that back room at the theater.<\/div>\n
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\u201cWe\u2019re doing mostly weekends now. Weekday stuff isn\u2019t there anymore. We still play a lot of shows every year \u2013 mostly on Thursdas, Fridays and Saturdays.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Roomful of Blues has a new album \u2013 \u201cSteppin\u2019 Out!\u201d \u2013 and a new vocalist \u2013 D.D. Bastos, the band\u2019s first female vocalist.<\/div>\n
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\u201cD.D., who joined in June 2024, is the first female vocalist in the band,\u201d said Vachon.<\/div>\n
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\u201cLou Ann Barton was in the band for about 10 minutes several years ago. She was in Rhode Island and played with the band for about three months but never recorded anything with us.<\/div>\n
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\u201cI have another band \u2013 Sons of Providence \u2013 and D.D. would front us once in a while. We did that for 10 years but only for a handful of gigs.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Bastos replaced Phil Pemberton, who retired because of health issues. He was the band\u2019s vocalist from 2009-2024.<\/div>\n
\u201cWith Phil leaving, I thought about D.D.,\u201d said Vachon. \u201cI gave her a few gigs, and she made a good impression. Fans really enjoyed her.<\/div>\n
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\u201cAnd it allowed us to change everything. The current lineup has been together for little over a year. Prior to that, we had a mass exodus.\u201d<\/div>\n
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The 2025 Roomful of Blues lineup features Jeff Ceasrine (Keyboards, Background Vocals), Lou Bocciarelli\u00a0(Upright Bass), Mike Coffey\u00a0(Drums), Craig Thomas\u00a0(Tenor and Baritone Sax), Christopher Pratt\u00a0(Trumpet) Lataille, Bastos and Vachon.<\/div>\n
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\u201cSteppin\u2019 Out!\u201d was released on Alligator Records and was the band\u2019s sixth album for the legendary blues label. The first was \u201cThat\u2019s Right!\u201d in 2003.<\/div>\n
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\u201cWe started making the new album last year (2024),\u201d said Vachon. “It took a while to get it mixed. We spent seven months cutting tracks and mixing it.<\/div>\n
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\u201cWe recorded the basic tracks at Power Station Northeast in Waterford, Connecticut. I mixed it here at my studio in Wakefield, which is about a half-hour south of Providence.<\/div>\n
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\u201cThis is a covers album because we didn\u2019t have much time to write after D.D.\u00a0 joined.\u201d<\/div>\n
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The album covers songs by legendary blues acts such as Big Mama Thornton (\u201cYou Don\u2019t Move Me No More\u201d), Big Maybelle (\u201cI\u2019ve Got a Feeling,\u201d \u201cTell Me Who\u201d), Etta James (\u201cGood Rocking Daddy\u201d), Buddy & Ella Johnson (\u201cWhy Don\u2019t Cha Stop It\u201d), Jimmy McCracklin (\u201cSteppin\u2019 Up in Class\u201d), and Z.Z. Hill (\u201cYou Were Wrong\u201d).<\/div>\n
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\u201cSteppin\u2019 Out!\u201d was produced and mixed by\u00a0Vachon\u00a0for Easy-Vee Productions with horn arrangements by\u00a0Rich Lataille. It was recorded and engineered by\u00a0Evan Bakke\u00a0assisted by\u00a0Trevor Okonuk\u00a0at The Power Station New England and mastered by\u00a0Collin Jordan\u00a0and\u00a0Bruce Iglauer\u00a0at The Boiler Room in Chicago.<\/div>\n
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Roomful of Blues makes good records, but the band really thrives on stage. The band has toured worldwide and has treated fans around the world to its unique blend of a variety of music genres including rock and roll, swing, R&B, boogie-woogie, soul and a number of different blues styles.<\/div>\n
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Roomful of Blues has received five Grammy Award nominations and seven Blues Music Awards, including \u201cBlues Band Of The Year\u201d in 2005. The Down Beat International Critics Poll has twice selected Roomful of Blues as \u201cBest Blues Band\u201d.<\/div>\n
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Over the years, more than 50 different musicians have been part of Roomful of Blues\u2019 line-up, including vocalist\/guitarist Duke Robillard, vocalist Lou Ann Barton, keyboardist Junior Brantley and trumpeter Fred Jackson.<\/div>\n
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\u201cThe reason for our longevity is the music we like to play,\u201d said\u00a0Vachon. \u201cWe\u2019ve had our ups and downs. Some years we\u2019ve toured more than others. We currently play about 150 shows a year.<\/div>\n
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\u201cThe band keeps getting new fans, and there are a lot of older people who have been listening to us for years. For young people, their only exposure to us has been at festivals.\u201d<\/div>\n
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With Roomful of Blues concerts, it\u2019s never a case of \u201csame old, same old.\u201d<\/div>\n
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\u201cOur live set is really different now,\u201d said Vachon. \u201cWe\u2019re doing all the stuff off the new record and only a few old ones.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Video link for Roomful of Blues — https:\/\/youtu.be\/2MAc_sqxG3c<\/a>.<\/div>\n
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The show at the Sellersville Theater on January 16 will start at 8 p.m.<\/div>\n
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Tickets start at $29.50.<\/div>\n
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Other upcoming shows at the Sellersville Theater are Bill Kirchen on January 15, The Harry Chapin Band on January 17, \u201cA Night of Acoustic Guitar Magic featuring Rolly Brown, Bunny Barnes & Curt Lippe\u201d on January 18, \u201cGary Ho Ho Hoey 30th Anniversary Tour\u201d on January 19, Broken Arrow on January 20 and Joe Cirotti Trio and Wood Flower on January 21.<\/div>\n
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Uptown! Knauer Performing Arts Center (226 North High Street, West Chester, www.uptownwestchester.org<\/a>) will present Joe Conklin on January 15 and Bostyx on January 16.<\/div>\n
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Kennett Flash (102 Sycamore Alley, Kennett Square, 484-732-8295, http:\/\/www.kennettflash.org<\/a>) is hosting The Wild Hymns on January 16 and Atomic Light Orchestra on January 17.<\/div>\n
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Jamey\u2019s House of Music (32 South Lansdowne Avenue, Lansdowne, www.jameyshouseofmusic.com<\/a>) will host Vernon Papers on January 16 and Emanuel Casablanca and B-6 on January 17.<\/div>\n
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On January 18 from 1-3 p.m., Jamey\u2019s will present \u201cSUNDAY BLUES BRUNCH & JAM\u201d with The Blues Muthas featuring\u00a0Steve Shanahan.<\/div>\n
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On January 18, Tantric celebrates the 25th anniversary of their gold-certified debut album with a special show at Bar XIII (1706 Philadelphia Pike, Wilmington, Delaware, www.barxiii.com<\/a><\/u>). Supporting acts\u00a0are Who on Earth\u00a0and Chaos Protocol.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Denny Dyroff, Entertainment Editor, The Times John Francis O\u2019Mara is the second most famous musician to graduate from Owen J. Roberts High School. If you\u2019re wondering who is the most famous, think \u201cSara Smile,\u201d \u201cShe\u2019s Gone\u201d and \u201cManeater\u201d \u2013 think Daryl Hall of Hall & Oates. Like Hall (actually Hohl), O\u2019Mara has toured a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":45123,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[51],"tags":[6518,15346,5927],"class_list":["post-45125","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts-entertainment","tag-featured","tag-john-francis-omara","tag-roomful-of-blues"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45125","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=45125"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45125\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":45128,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45125\/revisions\/45128"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/45123"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=45125"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=45125"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=45125"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}