'Rebel Priest' John Francis O’Mara Celebrating New Album At Wayne Show

WAYNE, PA — The Philadelphia-area's own rock and roll "rebel priest" is getting ready for a Wayne show that will celebrate his first full-length album in more than 10 years.

Singer-songwriter John Francis O’Mara is playing 118 North in Wayne Saturday and will be joined by Jason Ager and Adrien Reju at his "Forbidden Hymns" album release show.

"I'm feeling great about it," he said of this weekend's gig. "I haven't played a band show in Philly in years."

O’Mara, who has strong Irish roots, grew up in Philadelphia and Chester County, and spent a large chunk of his adult life in Philadelphia after attending Messiah University and living in Nashville.

The new album was written over several years, and the 13-tracks span the alt-country, Americana, folk, and rock genres while exploring social justice, hope, and heartbreak.

It came together with the help of Grammy-winning producer and Wilco drummer Ken Coomer. Also on the album are guitarist Kenny Vaughan (Marty Stuart, Lucinda Williams), multi-instrumentalist Chris Scruggs, John Lancaster on keys, and backing vocalist Vinchelle Woods.

Also on the album is the late bassist Dave Roe, whose career included playing with Johnny Cash, and John Mellencamp. Roe died in 2023, and "Forbidden Hymns" is dedicated to him.

The Cash connection does not end there. "Forbidden Hymn's" seventh track "No One Gets Out of Here Alive" was co-written by O'Mara's personal friend, John Carter Cash, the son of Johnny Cash and June Carter.

He connected with Cash after a fan approached him following a shot at Philadelphia's iconic Bob and Barbara's Lounge.

"He asked, 'how come you’re not internationally known,' and said I could be," O'Mara said. That fan became a private benefactor to help him release a record.

While putting that album together, O'Mara spoke with producers who worked with stars such as John Mayer, Norah Jones, and Dave Matthews Band.

But it was a documentary that featured John Carter Cash's studio that led him to seek a partnership with the heir to the Carter and Cash legacies.

"They were burning sage and had Lakota people there," he said. "That vibed with what I was after, and I knew in my gut I had to work with him."

O'Mara, having performed with Johnny Cash and June Carter's Rosanne Cash, went through her to connect with John Carter Cash.

"We've been tight ever since," he said.

He recorded at Cash Cabin Enterprises, housed in a cabin built by Johnny Cash in 1979.

"It was very surreal at first," he said. "I was sitting in a rocking chair listening to a playback in the mixing room, letting my fingers rub over the arm of the chair. And I felt some grooves."

Someone carved in the arm "JRC," Johnny Cash's initial, and a date with a knife.

"Moments like that hit you."

And during the recording of his 2011 release "Better Angels," John Carter Cash had O'Mara wear some of his father's outfits for a photo shoot.

"It was crazy," he said. "It felt natural and supernatural at the same time."

The cash connection aside, O'Mara is proud of the album and the work the team put into it.

"I feel like it's going to carry for the next several months," he said. "People will be coming to it in different places where I'm touring, and it's in large part due to the team."

The album's themes are heavily influenced by O'Mara's faith.

O'Mara is now an ordained and practicing Episcopal priest who is pursuing a doctorate degree in theology from the School of Divinity at Howard University, a historically black institution of higher learning.

"The album's themes are centered very much around lament, bordering on outcry," he said. "There's a deep sense of injustice, and a focus on the suffering of disinherited, marginalized people."

He finds similarities in the struggles of both the black and Irish communities to overcome their oppressors.

"Both cultures and people were victims of horrific imperialism and colonial tactics," he said.

While most of the album's tracks were written before 2025, O'Mara said it's themes have only ripened since their penning.

"In a very real way, the powers and forces that are against love and humanity and against compassion and empathy are trying to silence people who stand for those things," he said.

In O'Mara's view, which is informed by two master's degrees in theology, all religious practice leans toward solidarity with the oppressed.

However, O'Mara said he "loathes" the idea of "Forbidden Hymns" being labeled a "Christian" album.

Other themes listeners will pick up on include love and love lost.

"The only agenda I have is to tell human stories and create beautiful things and tell the truth about ugly things," he said. "An agenda of hope."

At Saturday's show, the crowd can expect to hear some serious rock and roll belted out with that agenda in mind.

"People lately come away from my live shows feeling hopeful," he said. "It's like, that thing we just did together in that moment — the longing, the concern for others, the shared humanity — moments like that are more powerful than the machines of any regime. The more we do that, the more the empire trembles."

O'Mara thanked Rising Run Presents and Jesse Lundy for their work in putting together the upcoming gig.

"I'm excited to rock out," he said. "We're not going to pull any punches and deliver straight up alt-country rock."

The gig will also feature Vinyl Chickie's Lisa Schaffer selling vinyl editions of the album and North Philadelphia's Red letter Christians, which seeks to " bring the words of Jesus to today’s most important issues."

Get tickets to Saturday's show online here.