We’re thrilled to welcome multi-instrumentalist Forrest O’Connor to the Count It Off podcast! Check out his history!

Nashville-born mandolinist, guitarist, and songwriter Forrest O’Connor earned national recognition as one of the lead vocalists and instrumentalists in the O’Connor Band, a group he co-founded with his wife, Kate, and his father, seven-time CMA Award-winning violinist Mark O’Connor. Forrest wrote several songs, including the title track, for the O’Connor Band’s first album Coming Home, which debuted at #1 on Billboard’s Top Bluegrass Albums Chart and won a Grammy Award in 2017. He also arranged and contributed a track to the John Hartford Fiddle Tune Project Vol. 1 tribute album, which was nominated for a Grammy in 2021.

Both independently and as part of the O’Connor Band, Forrest has performed or recorded with Paul Simon, Zac Brown, Steve Martin, Kenny Loggins, Clint Black, Emmylou Harris, Suzy Bogguss, Judah & The Lion, Bela Fleck, Jerry Douglas, and many others. He has played numerous times at The Grand Ole Opry and The Ryman as well as Fenway Park, the 57th Annual GRAMMY Awards Ceremony, and many prominent festivals and venues around the country. He appeared in the last season of ABC’s hit show Nashville and was one of the lead instrumentalists in Marcus Hummon’s folk opera Favorite Son (premiered by the Nashville Opera in 2022) and musical No Man’s Land (Belmont University, 2024).

Prior to the O’Connor Band, Forrest toured nationally as a duo with Kate and frequently performed as a sideman at The Station Inn in Nashville. In 2014, he won the Tennessee State Mandolin Championship. He is a graduate of Harvard University.