David Olney

• Genre: Traditional Folk
• Hometown: Nashville

About

Singer-songwriter Olney has been plying his craft in Nashville since the 1970s. He has a craggy, deep voice which doesn't fit easily into Music City's notion of what's acceptable, and his songs are a literary and challenging antidote to the fare currently being churned out in the city's songwriting mills. That said, Olney has carved out a career touring on the folk circuit and putting out a series of critically praised records that run the sonic gamut from hard-driving Roots rock to quietly introspective acoustic material. His songs have been covered by a wide range of artists, from Chicago Blues guitarist Lonnie Brooks to Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris, who does a haunting version of his song "Deeper Well" on her Wrecking Ball album.

- Tom Heyman