DAVID OLNEY

Acoustic Excellence - David Olney consistently spins spectacular stories in song. David Olney is astounding...gave one of the most magnificent solo acoustic shows I have ever seen and that includes concerts by Bruce Springsteen, Guy Clark or anyone else you'd care to name. He can break your heart but he can also chill your spine...and when the night ended...we had long since crossed the border that separates the great from the merely very good, the masters from the worthy appentices. David Olney is as good as it gets. Period.

-- Dave Ferman FORT WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM

Olney's prodigious talent grows - It may be a cliche to compare a songwriter to a screenwriter or a playwright, but if anyone deserves such praise, it would be Olney. His songs are rich with complex characters, unpredictable plot twists, and grand tragedies; they dramatize the brutality of evil and the quiet dignity of goodness...but with Olney, once he's got a listener's attention, he'll never lose it. Indeed, Olney's work provides the kind of pleasures that make the search for new music worth the trouble.

-- Michael McCall NASHVILLE SCENE

Olney Rules - What in the world is a solo acoustic singer/songwriter from Nashville doing at Jazz Fest? If it's David Olney, just delivering one of the coolest changes of pace at the Fais Do-Do Stage.

Townes Van Zandt: For a Moody Folk Poet, an Unmournful Tribute
One of the most spellbinding performances of the night was the songwriter David Olney's version of "Dollar Bill Blues," a chilling miscreant's tale, and the fatalistic "For the Sake of the Song."

-- Neil Strauss THE NEW YORK TIMES

The man runs with a mighty serious crowd, and he's got the goods to back it up. Even stripped down to an acoustic guitar and his gruff, expressive voice, his tales of woe and wisdom have the power to bring an audience to its knees.

-- Jeremy Tepper TIME OUT NEW YORK

Like Randy Newman, Guy Clark and John Prine, Nashville singer/songwriter David Olney has a distinctly American voice, and that doesn't just mean his singing voice. There's a swagger, a generosity and a wiseguy wit in his writing that we associate with our national character, an appreciation for the underdog and the outlaw.

-- Jim Ridley NEW COUNTRY

Any time anyone asks me who my favorite music writers are, I say Mozart, Lightnin' Hopkins, Bob Dylan and Dave Olney. Dave Olney is one of the best songwriters I've ever heard-and that's true. I mean that from my heart.

-- Townes Van Zandt

Looking for someone who can tug at your heart as well as kick you in the ass? Well, David Olney is the man for you.

-- DIRTY LINEN

That's one thing about evil - it's entertaining.

-- David Olney