O.A.R. (Of A Revolution) is an American rock band formed by high school friends in Rockville, Maryland in 1996, a jam band staple built on years of college campus touring. Stories of a Stranger (2005) and All Sides (2008) are the studio albums to start with. Find O.A.R. vinyl, CDs, and reissues at Wax Trax Records.
O.A.R. (Of A Revolution) formed in Rockville, Maryland in 1996 as high school friends Marc Roberge, Chris Culos, Richard On, and Benj Gershman. Jerry DePizzo joined as saxophonist in 2000 during their college years at Ohio State University. They have been associated with the contemporary American jam band scene alongside contemporaries like Dispatch, Guster, and Howie Day, with college campus touring presence. They have continued releasing material across multiple decades.
O.A.R.'s sound combines rock, jam band, pop rock, reggae rock, ska, alternative rock, and folk rock with Roberge's distinctive vocal delivery, extensive instrumental improvisation, and arrangements drawing on classic 1970s rock, reggae, and jam band traditions alongside contemporary pop rock influences.
Lava Records, Atlantic Records, and Vanguard Records pressings of the O.A.R. catalog have been issued in color variant editions.
Listeners new to O.A.R. typically start with Stories of a Stranger (2005) or All Sides (2008).
