Submitted photoMarty O’Reilly & The Old Soul Orchestra will perform at 7 p.m. Wednesday at McMenamins Old St. Francis School. Smooth Hound Smith is the opening band.

Give Marty O’Reilly & The Old Soul Orchestra credit for this: The Santa Cruz, California, trio is not afraid of setting its own bar way up high.

In the press release about the band’s West Coast tour in support of its debut album, “Pray for Rain,” a list of influences is offered, and it’s a doozy: acoustic guitar giant John Fahey, revered British folkie Nick Drake, seminal bluesman Howlin’ Wolf and legendary songwriter Tom Waits are on the list, along with a couple of contemporary guys.

Between Fahey, Drake and Waits, O’Reilly and his Orchestra cite three iconic and distinctive artists who almost universally set critics to salivating. And Wolf … well, Wolf is Wolf.

It’s a lot to live up to, and I’d be lying to say the band does so on “Pray for Rain.” But for a debut, the record is an impressively unhurried amble through a dusky place where blues, folk and roots-rock intertwine, with O’Reilly tying it all together by reaching back to the early 20th century and taking on the weathered, wonderful voice of a man who got around the block a few times before he passed away in, like, 1968.

In other words, the only thing with an older soul than O’Reilly’s Orchestra is his incredible voice, which is timeless in its tone but modern in its swagger. On “Pray For Rain,” the OSO’s instrumental work keeps things moving, but it’s O’Reilly’s vocals that make it such a compelling listen. This band may not be Waits or Fahey or Drake quite yet — they only formed in late 2012, after all — but it seems to be laying the groundwork for a future run at those kinds of heights. Or at least closer to those heights.

Check ‘em out at www.martyoreilly.bandcamp.com and judge for yourself.

Marty O’Reilly & The Old Soul Orchestra, with Third Seven; 9 tonight; $5; Volcanic Theatre Pub, 70 SW Century Drive, Bend; www.volcanictheatrepub.com or 541-323-1881.