Sonoma County based fans of the NBC reality music competition show The Voice may have seen a familiar face on their screen during the third night of the show’s “blind auditions.”
That’s when Sonoma’s native son and local troubadour Marty O’Reilly belted out a truly gorgeous version of the Ray LaMontagne stunner, “Trouble.”
Armed with his handmade Resonator guitar, the same one he says he’s played “basically every show of my life with,” O’Reilly eased his way into a lovely, throaty chorus. Host Carson Daly seemed authentically taken aback as he exclaimed, “What a voice.” Judge Reba McEntire looked stunned as well. Or, perhaps she realized she left the oven on.
At another point, fellow judge Snoop Dogg lowered his sunglasses to reveal wide eyes, a newly recognized international symbol for “wow.” Niall Horan, former member of the boy band One Direction, leaned over to hear and agree with effusive praise from fellow judge Michael Bublé, who recognized a kindred spirit in the young O’Reilly. As each judge slammed down on a red buzzer signaling O’Reilly was locked into the show, for now, perhaps fans and even O’Reilly himself were wondering, “How did this happen?”
Indeed, O’Reilly seems still somewhat as surprised as anyone that he’s not only on the show but on to the next round. Speaking by phone, he explains how this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity came to be.
An avowed disliker of having to use social media as a modern day artist, O’Reilly was doing his due diligence on Instagram when he saw an odd direct message from a woman claiming to have “an amazing PR opportunity” for him. Recounting the story by phone, O’Reilly says, “So I responded to this woman, and I was like, ‘You have to have a Zoom meeting with me to prove that you’re not a robot.’ She was like, ‘OK.’”
Surprised by this accepted challenge, the two exchanged emails. O’Reilly recalls, “So, I forwarded her email to a few industry folks, and they were like, ‘No, this is real.’ And I was like, ‘Wow.’ So I called her back, and I was like, ‘I’m so sorry; I thought you were a robot. You don’t have to have a Zoom meeting with me.’ And she was like, ‘It’s cool, Marty.’ The internet is a weird place. That was a year ago.”
A long, strange year to be sure. O’Reilly notes that most of the show has already been shot, but he is under strict guidelines to not disclose anything that happens. In fact, during our call, a lovely woman from Warner Brothers, which produces the show, stays on the line in case O’Reilly inadvertently slips up. He doesn’t, but he does reveal a very grateful and sincere approach not just to his nascent celebrity but also, to his career up to this point.
Born in San Francisco, O’Reilly moved to the town of Sonoma when he was four and stayed there until his college years, when he relocated to Santa Cruz. From there, his passion for music became more than just a notion, and he began touring relentlessly across the United States. He also found time to fall in love and get married to his now wife, Caroline. And in 2021, when she was five-months pregnant with their son, Miles, he decided hometown Sonoma was the best place to raise a family.
“She loves it; he loves it; I love it. It’s safe; it’s quiet; it’s beautiful, and I had a really happy childhood here,” says O’Reilly.
As is the norm for reality shows, each competitor on The Voice has a “story” that the producers and editors lean way into to establish a character fans can root for … or against. Although there’s only been one episode featuring O’Reilly, his family as well as his kind, gentle spirit and incredible vocals are looking to be that storyline.
While he performed on the show, Caroline and Miles looked on proudly before the antsy youngster went walking about on the stage, seemingly not really registering the enormity of the moment for his dad. There’s also a genuinely touching moment where O’Reilly explains in an older video clip in which he’s speaking to a baby Miles that when he leaves to go on tour, it’s to take care of his family.
Fellow Sonoma County headliner David Luning was a contestant on season 13 of American Idol back in 2014. Speaking by email, Luning is excited for his musical compadre, saying, “I think it’s super awesome that Marty is going on The Voice; he’s a killer artist.” Yet he also has some advice for staying in the moment.
“One thing I learned pretty quick was: Be ready to be completely out of your comfort zone,” says Luning. He explains, “What I mean by that, other than the obvious of being surrounded by cameras, and celebrity judges, and the fact that millions are watching, was that they would create environments that would push you.”
Luning goes on to talk about the nature of shooting a reality show that has deadlines and such and says that several times, “They had us working late into the early morning, and then had a call time at 6am. So the whole cast was working on a few hours of sleep.” Yet he offers up sage advice as well, saying, “Ultimately, it’s a TV show; they want good TV. If you can waltz through what they throw at ya and still keep your head on, you’re good. I think with Marty’s extensive touring and experience, he will definitely have a leg up.”
Neal Gottlieb, co-founder of the sadly shuttered, Sonoma County-based Three Twins Ice Cream, was also a reality show contestant, having appeared on Survivor: Kaôh Rōng in 2016.
He went considerably farther into the show than Luning, but ultimately an injury pulled him from competition just as he was gaining momentum. Since that time, he seems to be a fairly common target of internet trolls.
Speaking by email, Gottlieb says, “Being on reality television is the best of times and the worst of times. On one hand, you’re privileged to have a spectacular set of experiences that you’ll remember for the rest of your days and find yourself in the spotlight on a national stage. But, that spotlight can be harsh.”
He finished with a clear-eyed note, saying, “Most who compete will see a dream escape them on public view, and while fans can be an absolute joy, those on X and Reddit can be absolute garbage and detract from the joy.”
While it would indeed be amazing for O’Reilly and his career to go deep into the season, for people like him and Luning, their talent supersedes whatever celebrity reality TV can bring. O’Reilly seems to grasp this, noting, “I have my spot in each part of North Bay that I love to come back to, and it’s really nice to be able to just play all these wonderful gigs and be able to go home at the end of the night. It’s not a bad place to have your roots put down when you want to lead the life that I want to lead, which is playing, performing, but also to be able to come home to my family.”
Next up for O’Reilly is more touring as well as the next part of the show, where he will be paired with a fellow contestant for the popular “Duet” round.
Keep up with Marty O’Reilly at martyoreilly.com and watch ‘The Voice’ on NBC or Peacock Monday and Tuesday nights.
