Olivia Harms was born Western Music royalty, but the rhinestone cowgirl has stepped out on her own to craft music that is equal parts Texas, Bakersfield, and Nashville country. Making her very own Country Western Honky Tonk sound.
Olivia, Daughter of Western Music Hall of Fame member Joni Harms, grew up on the 150-year-old Harms family ranch in Canby, OR.
Olivia's first appearance on stage when she was two days old. Joni had labor induced so she wouldn’t miss her show at the Portland Speedway with Clint Black, Lorrie Morgan, and Ricky Skaggs. Now Olivia is following in her mother's creative bootsteps and chasing the same dream.
Olivia’s first album came out in 2011 when she was 16. The debut album titled "Olivia" includes some of her early writing and was certainly a launchpad for the music to follow. Olivia's second album “Rhinestone Cowgirl” was released in 2021 and shows off her signature sound that folks have come to know her for. Produced by D. Scott Miller and recorded in Nashville, the 11-song collection calls out to the cowboys, name-drops George Strait, swings through Buckaroo territory and packs plenty of fiddle and steel guitar. “I was going for a very traditional country sound, with Bakersfield twang and some country-western swing to bring back honky-tonks.” Olivia explained.
Olivia knew early on that she wanted to chase a career in music. When she was 6 years old, Santa Claus delivered her first guitar and sparked her love of songwriting. She grew up performing on stages all over the world with her mother. Olivia remembers yodeling in Europe and singing “I Want to Be a Cowboy’s Sweetheart” in New Zealand.”
After high school Olivia went to Oregon State University while further pursuing her music career, and her second passion of agriculture. She graduated college with a degree in agriculture business management and cattle production, then she dove headfirst into the music business. Olivia still handles most of her own booking, PR, and social media accounts in addition to writing, recording and playing more than 200 shows a year. “I try to be a real one-woman show” she said.
When Olivia was writing for her second album. She wrote songs with noted country writers including Wood Newton (The Oak Ridge Boys “Bobbie Sue,” Kenny Rogers “20 Years Ago”) and Dennis Morgan (Barbara Mandrell “I Was Country When Country Wasn’t Cool,” Ronnie Milsap “Smoky Mountain Rain.”) From her autobiographical “Gypsy” to the lighthearted “Hey There Cowboy” and the deeply personal “Love Me To Pieces”, “Rhinestone Cowgirl” is Olivia Harms.
Olivia has continued to hit the ground running after her dreams. She has released multiple singles to Texas Red Dirt Radio. "Hey There Cowboy" debuted on the chart after only 3 weeks and peaked in the Texas Top 10. Her most recent single "This Ain't My First Rodeo" sat in the Texas Top 5 for over 5 weeks!
Olivia has found her niche genre, playing music for western lifestyle and honky-tonk lovers. She has been recognized for her hard work and perseverance to stay true to herself and play music that is authentic to her. In March of 2022 Olivia was honored to be in COWGIRL Magazines third class of "30 Under 30", a gala hosted at The Drover Hotel in the Fort Worth Stockyards highlighting 30 western women under 30 years old that are making a difference in the western industry. Olivia was honored again in June of 2022 to be announced as "Singer of The Year" at the First Annual Women of The West Gala at the Cowgirl Hall of Fame Museum in Fort Worth, TX.
Olivia is currently based out of Northern California with her new husband on their cattle ranch. She still frequents Texas and Nashville often and spends the majority of her time touring the western states and beyond with her band The Roadrunners.. Regardless of where she hangs her hat, she’s well in touch with her western roots.
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