..Born in Austin in the mid-Seventies, O'Bannon moved to Houston when he was three, growing up in the Bayou City before shuttling his adult life between the two cities. Work brought him back to Houston five years ago, where he picked up the guitar and started writing. Raised on Townes Van Zandt and the Band, Ray Lamontagne and Norah Jones, he nestled into a warm, cozy corner of narrative storytelling almost immediately. Olivia, due this autumn, is the consummation of that process, the first showcase of a songwriter working with a steady hand.

"It was a peace," he says of the album. "Many things can overwhelm you, but you can find that peace where something brings you that kind of true fulfillment without question. Whatever happens, if I can write these songs and continue to work on something I love, everything's going to be all right."