Zephaniah OHora is a New York City-based singer-songwriter and a pillar of the burgeoning NYC Country-Western music community.
On the heels of his independently released and critically acclaimed debut This Highway (released in June), he has already turned heads at his recent AmericanaFest performance in Nashville. Saving Country Music calls This Highway “classic country mastery” and recently wrote, "Zephaniah OHora live is everything you want him to be like with his record: it’s a completely indefinable, indescribable something-ness that all those old greats had.”
Zephaniah has received similar praise from publications such as Wide Open Country and American Songwriter who wrote, “Channeling the country icons of decades past is something of a trend these days, but only a handful of artists are able to pull off such homage without devolving into mimicry. Brooklyn’s OHora is one of those artists.”
It's to no surprise Zephaniah has spent years performing classic country with some of the best musicians in New York. From his Western Swing and Ray Price tributes with Honeyfingers, to his Red Simpson era truck driving country collaboration with Jim Campilongo. Right up to the present day where he holds a weekly residency with his group The Last Roundup Boys, performing three hours of Merle Haggard.
"Rest assured that Zephaniah OHora is no put-on, Howdy Doody show relying on styling and vintage duds for his country authenticity. This is a singular singer, songwriter, and performer." -SCM
After listening to This Highway, one might wonder how this album could come out of New York? To find the answer you could take a trip to Brooklyn and visit a Honky Tonk bar called Skinny Dennis named after Guy Clark’s bass player Skinny Dennis Sanchez. Zephaniah has been the director of all of the music programming at Skinny Dennis since the doors opened in 2013.
While helping carve out a scene in Brooklyn for people who love traditional country music and those new to it, he brought some of the finest musicians in New York together. Out of that musical community This Highway was born. Now Zephaniah is answering the call from fans far and wide to hit the road and bring his honest, right to the heart country music to the people who love and treasure American tradition.
Tennessee Shines Radio Show is performed for a live audience every Wednesday at 7pm at Boyd's Jig & Reel musical pub in Knoxville's historic Old City. The show is broadcast live on WDVX FM and WDVX.com. Tickets are $7 plus applicable fees in advance, available at http://jigandreel.ticketleap.com/ or $10 at the door starting at 6pm.