John O'Dea

John O'Dea used to runs a 400 ha farm south of Orroroo which borders the Flinders Ranges in the upper north of South Australia. Orroroo is a town of approx. 600 people and community of around 1000 people. Orroroo is surrounded by several small towns/communities, Carrieton, Morchard, Black Rock and John's home town of Pekina.

The strong sense of community that exists in this area is where much of the spirit of John's music has evolved.

With the release of his self penned album "IF STONES COULD TALK", John now spends much of his time involved in his passion/addiction for music travelling around sharing his songs, songs of people who have influenced him and stories of the people and places he has come to know and love during his life.

John has played in and been front man in many cover bands and travelled much of the mid and upper north of S.A. since the mid seventies and still plays many of the songs he has learnt along the way. He feels many of these songs have influenced his music in some way, over the years, and also shows, versatility and character in his voice and playing.

John now plays solo (to quote him "just the guitar and me" ) and up until recently spent much of his time in the upper north and outback of S.A. at tourist venues sharing his music. Now he's working at playing those gigs but also getting to more festivals and venues where he can share his new songs and where people can get to know him and his music.

Through the recognition John has received as a finalist in the Heritage Song of the year category at Tamworth recently, he is quickly gaining recognition as a very talented and sought-after singer/songwriter.

With his Australian style John has been described as a storyteller with a unique raw voice who paints pictures with words about people, places and situations in everyday life.