Forever Country

Description

Since first coming to national attention as a contestant on TG4's Glor Tire early in 2016, Olivia has quietly but quickly established herself as one of the brightest new young talents on the Irish country scene, to the point where she's now one of the circuit's most sought after performers. But it's not just Olivia's captivating voice which has garnered her the attention of country fans in all four corners of Ireland and beyond these shores. When it comes to bringing a room alive to the magical sound of the accordion, Olivia is more than capable of holding her own against anyone. Indeed, the odd jamming session with other well-known accordion aficionados Nathan Carter and Michael English have been witnessed by a lucky few on some rare evenings...! Hailing from the small town of Ferbane in county Offaly, Olivia's nuanced vocal skills aim straight for the listener's heart. And, with a gentle precision granted only to a few, those skills find their target every time. This ability, coupled with her always easy-going and friendly personality, have helped make this midlands lady a firm fan favourite on concert stages, in dancehalls, and at other shows all around Ireland, and indeed beyond, as she's become a fan favourite on Phil Mack's Keep It Country concert tours. Olivia's musical journey, however, began at only five years of age when she discovered the tin whistle. From there, she progressed to the button accordion, demonstrating her ability on this instrument at numerous Fleadh Cheoils around Ireland. In fact, in 2005 Olivia placed second at the All-Ireland Fleadh in the under-18 age group. Olivia's family run the well-known midlands public house, Tom's Tavern, in her home-town, and it was here that the appeal of country music first became an important part of Olivia's life. With different bands in the bar every weekend, it quickly became the norm for Olivia to make 'guest' appearances for a few songs, from Philomena Begley's version of the Billie Jo Spears classic, 'Blanket On The Ground' (also the very first song Olivia ever learned), to tunes from Olivia's other musical inspirations such as Dolly Parton, Tammy Wynette, Lee Ann Womack and Alison Krauss. Olivia released her debut album, 'Another Heartache', in 2015, featuring a beautiful rendering of Lee Ann Womack's gorgeous song, 'The Healing Kind', which also became Olivia's official debut single. Her version of the country classic 'Good Hearted Woman' followed as single number two, with the collection's title track becoming the third and final single to be released from Olivia's first long-player. The videos for all three singles have proved to be immensely popular on all of the country TV shows, including Hugh O' Brien's Hot Country. As a contestant on Glor Tire, Olivia was mentored by an iconic figure in Irish country, Johnny Cash's 'Woodcarver' duet partner, Sandy Kelly. During her time on the show, Olivia had the opportunity to open concerts for established stars such as Mike Denver, The Fureys, Johnny McEvoy, and American songwriter Max T. Barnes ('Love, Me', Collin Raye's massive #1 hit), showing that her talent easily transcends all genre-boundaries by conquering hearts and winning admirers among both trad and folk audiences, too. In the summer of 2016 Olivia was also invited to perform at two of the biggest annual events to take place in Ireland, as she entertained fans at both the famous Tullamore Agricultural Show and again during the National Ploughing Championships, events to which she returned in 2017, and is due to perform at again this year. 2018, however, has been the real landmark-year in Olivia's career. Her latest album, 'Forever Country', (released in April) brought her not just her first but also her second #1 singles, as first 'Don't Think Twice' (originally by Bob Dylan) and most recently 'Leaving Tipperary' both topped the country charts. Olivia collected her second awards at both the Sunday World and the Hot Country Award Concerts (details on this site's 'Home' page). Before that, in March, she was invited to represent the best of Irish country on the Sunday World stage at the C2C Festival in Dublin's 3Arena, performing on the same night as Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, Brett Young, Kelsea Ballerini, and Old Dominion. On to May and that month saw Olivia join Daniel O' Donnell for a recording of his tv show Opry Le Daniel in Derry's fabulous Millennium Forum. On top of all of that, Olivia has been busier than ever with her own gigs from week to week. And not to mention recording her very own tv show now as well, 'Keltic Country Ireland with Olivia Douglas', which airs on the Keep It Country channel every Wednesday evening at 6pm. So these are definitely exciting times for 'the flower of Ferbane', and long may they continue, too.