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Keep up with the latest news from our artists as well as industry insights and more.
By Miriam DeYoung
We’re just two weeks out from December, and you know what that means - it’s officially holiday season!! Or at least so we think so here at Olivia Management, our Christmas tree has been up for over a week now. To get in the holiday spirit, we’ve put together a Holly Jolly OM Holiday Playlist packed full of holiday music our full time and consulting clients have put out over the years. Originals and covers alike, our OM artists are excited to help usher in the joy this year!
by Kaila Divak
When I was first researching Olivia Management, before I applied to intern here, I looked through all of their artists’ catalogs. I was really into everything that they put out, but I was particularly drawn towards one duo, and that was Smooth Hound Smith. I was obsessed with their harmonies, a mix of country and blues. Honestly, it was hard for me to even make that comparison because I think that they have so many different genres of music stitched into their three albums that it’s almost impossible to pin them within one.
But my all-time favorite song by them came out after I had discovered them. I would have to say that their newest single, “Little Rock N Roll Clubs”, is by far my favorite song that they’ve ever released. I had the privilege of listening to it to create social media content prior to the release, and I found myself walking around my house, doing something mundane like cooking or cleaning, and singing the song. I wanted to play it on Spotify so badly that I even looked it up a few times, remembering mid-search that the single wasn’t out until August 28th. “Little Rock N Roll Clubs” is a tribute to independent music venues across the world that have been getting hit hard due to concerts and other events being cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This song was written with Save Our Stages, the National Independent Venue Association, and the National Independent Talent Organization in mind. So not only is it an amazing song, it also has some purpose behind it, which makes you feel good.
My second favorite song by Smooth Hound Smith is for sure “Steal Your Crown” off of their 2013 record, Smooth Hound Smith. This song has such a real rockabilly feel, like they were playing homage to The Black Keys and Thickfreakness. Every last detail down to the harmonica, tambourine, fuzzy guitar, and the steady drumbeat compliment Zack’s growly vocals and Caitlin’s harmonies perfectly. This song makes you want to get up and sing a karaoke song at a dive bar. I love to play this one while driving on the highway, with all of my windows down. And I’m sure you’d feel the same way.
My third and final favorite song would definitely be “Stopgap Woman Blues” off of their sophomore album, Sweet Tennessee Honey. For some reason, whenever I listen to this song, I think of “Black Country Woman” by Led Zeppelin. I don’t know if it’s the way the drums enter later on in the song, or the gritty guitar melody, but it gets me every time. The music video for this song also makes me laugh, but it’s true.
And I’ve missed so many amazing songs that Smooth Hound Smith has recorded, because if I listed all of the songs that I loved by them, this post be way too long long. They really do blend so many genres together to make an extremely unique genre of their own.
by Madeleine Kelson
Hey there friends and fans of Olivia Management! The world can be a pretty stressful place these days. With so many things to worry about, we all deserve a moment to just slow down and relax. With that in mind, I decided it was time to update my OM Chill Songs playlist from last summer. The new and improved playlist is longer and chiller than ever before. It is the perfect soundtrack to your walk around the neighborhood, the aimless drive you take to kill time, or even as a musical interlude for the time between dinner and your nightly Netflix binge. Whatever the occasion, turn on some of your favorite OM songs, and chill.
Madeleine Kelson · Playlist · 16 songs · 0 likes
By James Muller
When I first began interning at Olivia Management one of the things I was most excited about; and continue to be excited by, is digging into all of our artist’s catalogs and enjoying the beautiful art that they create. I was familiar with our artists before starting, but I hadn’t yet fully committed my ears to their songs. From Jill Andrews to Derek Webb, Ruthie Collins, Hush Kids , and Smooth Hound Smith there’s a lot of great stuff to take in. Boy, am I glad I took the deep dive. It’s always difficult to pick favorites, but I am going to highlight some of the songs from Smooth Hound Smith that really spoke to me in the past month of diving into these tunes.
I love all kinds of music, but the music that really grabs my attention and sticks with me is the kind of music that you can put on, and it immediately has an effect on your mood. Music that puts you in the space where the artist is coming from. For me, that’s what music is all about: connecting with something and letting it take you to another place.
It wasn’t terribly difficult to find some favorites as I started listening to Smooth Hound Smith. They bring a vibe and a feeling to their music that makes you want to dance, and intently listen to the lyrics at the same time. Which is pretty awesome. Their song “Get Low”, is one of those tunes that gets your feet stomping with it’s pulsating rhythm, laid back guitar grooves, and ethereal vocal harmonies. It’s a song that could just as easily be played at a party as it could on a long drive. As a lover of blues music, “Get Low” is one of those songs that instantly scratches my itch for current blues music that is fresh and fun, while still holding on that rootsy, vintage inspiration. If I was on Spotify going through the blues and roots playlist, this would be the song I would hope to hear.
While listening to records is something I can’t get enough of, there is a level of energy that live music brings that takes a song to another level.
Check out Smooth Hound Smith playing “Get Low” live on #JamInTheVan here.
My next favorite song by Smooth Hound Smith is “Three Shades of Lonely”. This is one of those songs that comes on, and you immediately perk your ears up a little bit. The song perfectly showcases what I love about the band— they undeniably catchy hooks that are melded together through beautiful harmonies by this duo. The chorus from this song gets stuck in my head in the best kind of way, the kind that you are happy to have stuck in your head. One of the other reasons that “Three Shades of Lonely” is a favorite of mine is because of the gritty and soulful guitar that sits back with the drums and then comes out to speak later in the song. As a guitar player myself, this tasteful and expressive guitar work is what I love to hear. Luther Dickinson from the North Mississippi Allstars and The Black Crowes plays slide guitar on this song, and If you're familiar with him then you know that he brings the soul to whatever group he plays with. Next time I’m in need of some music that brings the feels, this will undoubtedly be in the rotation.
Like I said before; It’s tough for me to pick favorites, especially when you're choosing from a lot of great music. I’m glad that I sat down and spun all three of Smooth Hound Smith’s records because I found some seriously groovy, soulful, and fun songs in there that I will be keeping in the mainstay of my listening routine. “Get Low” and “Three Shades of Lonely” take me to those places that I am looking to go when I listen to music, and I hope they can do the same for you!
Check out the duo live next Tuesday, June 30th on their Facebook page for a free livestream of all cover songs. Be sure to mark your calendars for the show! You won’t want to miss it.
by Chelsea Hallman
Ultimately, my favorite way to find new music is to hear it live. Going to a show with four artists, only knowing one of them, and coming out on the other side with a playlist full of new music is my ideal Friday night. Right now, since that option is not currently in the picture, we must go digging ourselves.
I find myself digging up the most music when going for drives alone. Spotify really helps me out with this one. I put on my Discover Weekly playlist and just cruise. I often find a single by a small artist that Spotify matches up with my taste. I then add that to a playlist and later will look into more of their music. More often than not, I end up with a new favorite! This is how you find stellar smaller artists like Derek Webb or Ruthie Collins. Another cool thing about my Discover Weekly is I will sometimes land on a single that came out years ago that I would have never listened to otherwise. Tell That Devil by Jill Andrews came out four years ago and every day still is rocks on. With songs like that I’ll listen to one old single and find a whole artist's discography. It’s one of the many tools we’re lucky enough to have these days.
Another way I find music is through my friends. I find they have pretty good tastes in music, too! I’ll follow my friends on Spotify and look at their playlists, or just ask them what they’ve been listening to. I can assume that at least one of your friends gets a little too excited when you like their music taste. We all have that friend (or friends) (or friend groups!) that prides themselves in their playlists, I know I do!
It can also be fun to find music from another generation than you. Ask your parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, coworkers! I know my Uncle Jim is a music fanatic. He will give me hours of playlists of underground oldies. It’s a totally unique and fun listen. It’s also something cool to show off to your friends when you find something great.
Social Media is a great place to find music too. Instagram and Facebook have live shows going on the daily. A new one for me is finding artists on Tiktok. All the dance videos can lead me to some good music that I probably wouldn’t have heard otherwise. Keep on dancing!
Also, I recently found the Music Map. You search one artist you love and it comes up with a whole map of artists around that it recommends you check out. You can get down a hole in this one and find all kinds of new artists. I know for me, I searched for one artist I liked, Billie Eilish, and Harry Styles, Lorde, Lana Del Ray, Ruel, Bea Miller, Lady Gaga, King Princess, and many more of my favorites showed up along with about 40 artists that I hadn’t heard of. I’m a little obsessed with this tool now. Check it out here!
Happy music hunting, and let us know of any solid finds in the music world below in the comments!
By Connor Kozlecar
If you’re anything like me, you listen to a song or album on repeat until you literally can’t stand to hear it again and are always craving something new to grace your ears. In the ever-changing vast world of consumable music, how do you sort through the MILLIONS of songs and albums to find something that appeals to your specific taste? As consumers, we are blessed with an overwhelming amount of music to choose from. Many of the major platforms used around the world are equipped with algorithms to help out with just that. I’m going to help walk you through a few of the platforms that I use and the processes that I have to find new music to listen to. Check it out!
Personally, my streaming service of choice is Spotify. One of the primary reasons that I love Spotify so much is the ease of being introduced to new music. First and foremost, they create a playlist every week literally called “New Music Friday.” This playlist introduces you to newly-released music from all different genres and allows you to explore that with the tap of a finger. Additionally, Spotify has a very effective algorithm that collects data from all of the tracks and albums that you listen to on a daily basis. It then uses that data in a few different ways to expose each listener to fresh music: every Monday, Spotify will take the data that it has collected from your listening tendencies, and it will create a playlist for you called “Discover Weekly.” Discover Weekly compiles a list of around 30 songs that are similar in style to what you have listened to in the last week and tries to nail down the next song that you could be looking for. Every Monday for me is a tradition. An opportunity to take advantage of this playlist and find new tracks and artists while having my morning coffee. On the same day, a similar algorithm will take that data and do a mass search through all of the artists that you have liked or saved in the past and compile a playlist of any new releases from artists that you enjoy or are similar.
Spotify’s search engine is also incredibly helpful when wanting to find new music. Similar to other platforms, you can browse through genres by scrolling through the browse option in the app. What’s great about manually searching instead, is the ability to search for things such as what kind of mood you’re in or a specific (maybe less familiar) genre and having a plethora of company created playlists to choose from. An example being, if you searched for “rainy day” (your mood) or “Americana” (a genre), hundreds of songs, hand-picked by Spotify will conveniently be organized into sub-playlists for you to choose from however you please!
When it comes to visual stimulation alongside music, Youtube is the place to be. With literally millions of videos on YouTube being music forward, the opportunities here are endless. Similar to Spotify, YouTube uses an algorithm to track your views and suggest a video for you to watch next that you most likely will enjoy. One of my favorite tactics on the site to find new music is to subscribe to channels that ask artists to come in and perform acoustic or alternate versions of their own songs, and or covers of artists they look up to. A few of these channels that are my favorite include: Jam in the Van, AudioTree, NPR Music, Colors, and Triple J (in no particular order.) Youtube is endless music fun, for any style.
Living in Nashville has gifted me the most accessibility to live music that I’ve ever had in my life. In my opinion, there is no better way to find new music than going to local events or just noticing the music that is always playing around us. These days, in nearly every restaurant or store, you’ll hear music playing in the background. I’ve found that taking a moment to stop and listen has introduced me to some of the best songs and genres using tools like Shazam. When I first moved to Nashville a few years ago, I found the first Americana artist that I truly enjoyed using Shazam on my phone after just hearing a short snippet in a restaurant I was eating in. With tools like Bandsintown we also have access to lists of new artists and concerts coming to our very own cities that otherwise may have slipped by without knowing. Take advantage of your city and enjoy the music that’s around you!
HOWEVER you do it, we all know the joy of finding our new favorite song, and I hope some of these suggestions and tips on how I typically do it help you find your new favorites!!
