The not-singing bird
With endless silence. David Olney
People say it was a poetic exit. I assure you, NOBODY wants to die onstage figuratively or literally. On Jan. 18, Americana pioneer, singer-songwriter, recording artist, pre-pandemic streamcaster, actor, and my longtime client and good friend David Olney died of an apparent heart attack midsong. He was center stage between Amy Rigby and Scott Miller at the 30A Songwriter Festival in the Florida panhandle. His last words: “I’m sorry.” His mantra, however, was, “Always be true to the song.”
Understanding the covenant between the audience and performer, David earned rapt attention from folks wondering how to classify what they were witnessing. Was it country? Folk? Blues? Vaudeville? Scottish newspaper