“Ollabelle came together because of these musicians' love of this music, without thought of success or career or any of the other trappings of the modern professional music business. It has great value to our culture, adding new life to a tradition that is an important part of who we are. But mostly, they sound great. They sing great and they play great, and they are wonderful people,” said legendary producer and musician T-Bone Burnett of the band Ollabelle.
Named after Ola Belle Reed, a traditional North Carolina Appalachian singer born in 1916, the quintet of New York City transplants (with the exception of singer Amy Helm) all met at the Nine C club in Manhattan's East Village now called Banjo Jim's. One of its members, Tony Leone, a Connecticut native, migrated to the big city of dreams to work as a jazz drummer, and met bassist and former Indiana resident Byron Isaacs; guitarist and singer Fiona McBain, from Sydney, Australia; and keyboardist Glenn Patscha, originally from Winnipeg, Canada, who spent about 10 years living in New Orleans.
