Dan O’Dea is a multi-instrumentalist and vocalist from Highland Park, NJ. He plays fiddle, mandolin, flatpicking guitar, banjo, and stand-up bass, and also sings lead and harmony vocals.
Dan can be seen performing in MOUNTAIN HERITAGE, a soulful bluegrass band from Eastern Pennsylvania and a staple at Wind Gap with nearly a dozen appearances. O’Dea also performs in an acoustic duo with DAN LAVOIE. Together, the two musicians perform a variety of styles. Additionally, Dan is now performing the gypsy jazz of Django Reinhardt with the SWING GUITARS QUINTET.
O’Dea has performed live on the radio with John McEuen (Nitty Gritty Dirt Band). Dan has jammed on stage with Clarence Clemmons (E Street Band), Jason Hahn from String Cheese Incident, members of Railroad Earth, Vinx (Taj Mahal, Sting), and The Zen Tricksters, and has been billed with Dickey Betts (Allman Bros), Levon Helm (The Band), The Wailers, Pete Seeger, and Rain-The Beatles Experience.
Dan has also shared bills with multiple major bluegrass acts including The James King Band, David Peterson and 1946, Longview, Dan Paisley and The Southern Grass, Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver, Charlie Waller and The Country Gentlemen, The Lonesome River Band, Charlie Sizemore, Karl Shifflett and Big Country Show, The Dillards, Larry Sparks, Bobby Hicks, Michelle Nixon and Drive, Lost and Found, Blue Highway, Ronnie Reno, Mountain Heart, Cherryholmes, Rhonda Vincent and The Rage, and The Del McCoury Band.
Dan has performed at major festivals including Bethlehem Musikfest, the New Jersey Folk Festival, AFBA Bluegrass Festival, Echoes from the Hills Bluegrass Festival, WDVR Bluegrass Festival, Cream Ridge Winery Bluegrass Festival, and the Hudson River Arts Fest. He has played at such venues as Carnegie Hall, NJPAC, The Crossroads Theater (New Brunswick), George St. Playhouse (New Brunswick), The Stone Pony, Mexicali Blues Cafe, Mountain View Park in Wind Gap, PA, The Point in Bryn Mawr, PA. and he can be found performing regularly at venues around NYC. He has performed on television on Comcast’s CN8 network, and has performed on the following radio stations: WKCR (Columbia University, NY), WFDU (Teaneck, NJ), WOR 710AM (NYC), WXLV (Bluegrass Horizons- Schnecksville, PA), and WDIY (Acoustic Eclectic - Bethlehem, PA). Dan also spent a good amount of time as a featured cast member of Heartlands Hayride (WDVR, Sergeantsville, NJ), the only live radio barndance show in the Northeast.
Aside from performing, Dan can be found behind the console, recording albums for some of the areas hottest acts. Dan’s engineering efforts have been featured on albums and compilations as far away as Japan, and have found themselves amongst tracks by David Grisman, Railroad Earth, David Gans, Amfibian, Dark Star Orchestra, Toni Brown, and many others. Dan has recorded albums and demos for Dan LaVoie, Frank Thewes, Natural Breakdown, Water, Cedar Groove, Jones, Andy Hunter Quartet, Barnida, Mountain Heritage and countless others. He has appeared on albums by Water, Natural Breakdown, The Brian McLoughlin Band, and Steep Creek.
In the past, O’Dea has been a member of The Otters, The Rutgers Salsa Band, Clann Fian, Ride, Karsey St., and The Beth Coleman Band. He has also filled in with Jim Murphy and The Pine Barons (OT country music hall of famer), the Nick Clemons Band, Big Boss Sausage, Steep Creek, Water, Mark Miklos and the Raritan Valley Ramblers, Altared Ego, and Blue Plate Special.
O’Dea not only performs and records music, but he is also an instructor of traditional fiddle styles, classical violin, mandolin, banjo, and guitar. Dan has been a guest lecturer on folk music styles at Rutgers University on four separate occasions, and led the fiddle workshop at the 2006 AFBA Bluegrass Festival at Wind Gap, PA. Beginning in 2007, Dan coordinates the jamming segment of the New Jersey Folk Festival. In September 2007, Dan won the Fireback Bluegrass Fiddle contest and also took 3rd place in the ’oldtime’ category. He also owns and operates a music school - Dan’s Music Studio in West Orange, NJ.
