Bio
Music born from the water
Olivia is an emerging singer-songwriter who for the past two years has lived off grid on a retired arctic research ship on the icy waters of Tucho (Great Slave Lake) in Yellowknife, NWT. Her music is a blend of acoustic Indie-folk that draws on vocal traditions of her Celtic ancestry. Her songs rise out of time spent paddling wild northern rivers through the barrenlands and navigating the waters of heartache and belonging. They are mending songs, mourning songs, empowerment songs, and songs for the heart. Her performances are powerful in their tenderness, weaving haunting vocals and poetic lyricism.
a bit about the journey so far
I have been singing since before I could talk, and my voice has always been the medium between my emotions and setting them free. Music has always felt as essential as breathing. I started writing songs 3 years ago, in a hard place, to find the words for the current waters of depression I was moving through. Since then I’ve written about 20 more, with many more half written, in the works or saved as a voice note. I began taking my music more seriously this past winter, beginning to bridge the gap between songwriting and singing as individual praxis to something more communal and outward by getting up on stage. I’ve been warmly received in my community of Yellowknife and have played small shows in Edmonton, Nelson BC and Tobermory Ontario. My biggest performance was at the Mainstage Showdown for Folk on the Rocks. I love seeing what songs written in the heart of something can do for the hearts of others. That’s what’s lit the fire in me now to want to perform, book more shows and release my first album.