Ollabelle was formed as a side project by a group of six New York-based singer/songwriters to play informally at the Sunday night gospel show of a local club. Singer and mandolin player Amy Helm came from Woodstock, NY, where she had performed in blues bands; bassist Byron Isaacs was living in Brooklyn; drummer Tony Leone came out of jazz; singer/guitarist Fiona McBain had moved to New York from Sydney, Australia; keyboard player Glenn Patscha had played extensively in New Orleans; and guitarist Jimi Zhivago was a producer and multi-instrumentalist. All were pursuing various solo and group projects, but they had come to know each other and interact at 9C, a bar located at the corner of 9th Street and Avenue C in Manhattan's East Village neighborhood.

When the barman instituted a gospel night in 2002, the bandmembers began playing together, working up originals to go with traditional gospel material, creating a musical hybrid.

Ollabelle was formed as a side project by a group of six New York-based singer/songwriters to play informally at the Sunday night gospel show of a local club. Singer and mandolin player Amy Helm came from Woodstock, NY, where she had performed in blues bands; bassist Byron Isaacs was living in Brooklyn; drummer Tony Leone came out of jazz; singer/guitarist Fiona McBain had moved to New York from Sydney, Australia; keyboard player Glenn Patscha had played extensively in New Orleans; and guitarist Jimi Zhivago was a producer and multi-instrumentalist. All were pursuing various solo and group projects, but they had come to know each other and interact at 9C, a bar located at the corner of 9th Street and Avenue C in Manhattan's East Village neighborhood.

When the barman instituted a gospel night in 2002, the bandmembers began playing together, working up originals to go with traditional gospel material, creating a musical hybrid. After several months, Zhivago brought in Steve Rosenthal, owner of a recording studio, who asked to record an album on speculation. The name Ollabelle came from country singer Ola Belle Reed. After recording the album, Rosenthal sent it to only one person, T-Bone Burnett, known for the celebrated traditional country soundtrack album O Brother, Where Art Thou?, who had recently begun his own label, DMZ, distributed by Columbia Records. Five days after receiving the album, Burnett flew to New York to sign Ollabelle to DMZ/Columbia, and the album was released in March 2004 and featured mostly traditional songs. Two years later, the group released their second effort, Riverside Battle Songs, which featured more original material. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide