It’s no secret that at The Shotgun Seat we love Olivia Lane. We caught up with Lane just before she stepped on stage to play Girls with Guitars 4 in Patchogue, NY.
The last time you played this venue we talked about how being a female in country music is so liberating. Have you learned anything new since October?
I feel being a female in country music is really going for an era of embracing country artists right now and there are so many amazing females out there on the rise and I am so honored to be one of them and a part of that community. I mean pinch me, I am here with Cam, Maddie and Tae, Brooke Eden, and Tara Thompson – it’s such a great group of girls and everyone is so kind.
Writing whenever you have an opportunity when you are back in Nashville, is the vibe different from your previous work?
I am coming out with a new EP this summer and I think it reflects more of the different sides of Olivia. I am really trying to dive in deeper to make a whole well rounded record and think of when I do get to make a record what is going to be the full character. A lot is very uptempo, positive girl to sing about my growing up through school and life and being a millennial. I’ve been going through a lot of breakups recently so my songs are reflective about recently but it is so real.
It still has the positive Olivia Lane spin because that is how I try to look at life, like the glass half full, but you know we all go through crazy things and there has been a lot of, they all have that Olivia Lane humor to them so I am excited about them.
Favorite part of playing all girls shows?
We are in a beautiful, amazing theatre when you get to sit intimately in this round setting with the girls, you really get to communicate with the other girls and the audience. It is sort of a volley of it and you get to support one another and make comments back and forth about each other’s songs.
What was it like performing for Hallmark Channel?
That whole weekend was such a whirlwind, my first red carpet at the ACCA’s, my first national TV spot on the Hallmark channel. It was crazy because you are not really in front of an audience like a real show, you go through media training, I was so nervous and they were so nice there, so warm and so lovely.
Empowering young women has become a theme recently in country music. As a role model for young girls what do you hope to teach them?
Especially as a young female, you just need to own who you are and figure out what you want to be and don’t let anybody tell you it’s wrong. I feel we are in a very interesting time where people are owning what they are and people are supportive of that. If you want to be an artist it’s even more so, so be present to win so if you want to be in country, move to Nashville or wherever your path leads you but for me personally just being who you are and who you want to be and being unapologetic about it. I have had so many people in the industry be like ‘oh she is over the top,’ ‘oh she’s too much, she’s this she’s that’ but that’s okay because this is who I am and maybe you won’t get it now, maybe you won’t ever get it, but that’s okay because artists are subjective but I am happy at the end of the day with who I am and what music I am putting forward.
I know that I have kind of a soap box that I get to stand on and project my message when you are an artist or an inspiration and I do not take that lightly because I am blessed to get to sing for a living and write amazing songs, like this life is absolutely crazy and I hope young girls can look up to me and I give them messages that help them grow up and figure out life and get them through hard times and great times and make them smile.
We look forward to hearing new music from Olivia Lane this summer!