Melanie O'Brien

Melanie O’Brien hails from Paradise, Newfoundland. She began her music career by taking private voice lessons at age eight and performing in local musicals, concerts and the Kiwanis Music Festival. At age fourteen, she began to teach herself how to play guitar and began to write her own music. While working on developing her songs, Melanie performed in several musicals at the Arts and Culture Center, including “Narnia” and “Rumplestilzkin.” At age nineteen, she was cast in Stagefright Dinner Theatre productions for the next two seasons. Then at age twenty, Melanie auditioned and was accepted into the Music - Performance program at Sheridan College in Ontario. While attending Sheridan, Melanie’s original music became the center of her studies. She became a well-rounded triple threat, songwriter and guitarist. After completing her second year of study, Melanie was awarded the Prime-time Radio Scholarship for her accomplishments as a singer/songwriter.

After graduating with Honours in 2005, Melanie moved to Toronto where she was cast as the lead singer in the first production of “School of Rock” at Paramount Canada’s Wonderland. She then went on to perform regularly in a popular Toronto cover band while working on her song writing skills and performing her original tunes in local cafes.

Then in the fall of 2006, itching to record her first album and longing for time and inspiration from home, Melanie decided to move back to Newfoundland. Upon returning in December 2006, Melanie dove into the live music scene in St. John’s. She began to regularly perform her music in local downtown venues as well as becoming involved in several special event shows. She was a featured performer at the “Rock Can Roll” Music Festival in January. Melanie also performed in the “Let’s Rock Poverty” fundraiser at the Majestic Theatre. She was a soloist in “Drawn to the Rhythm” the Sarah McLachlan tribute concert which featured seven of Newfoundland’s finest female vocalists.

Melanie is very excited to be a part of Newfoundland’s fast-growing music scene. She was recently awarded the New Talent Demo grant from Music Newfoundland and was also chosen to showcase at their award show. She is very eager to record her music and is working on material for her debut album