Join Calgary-based blues/Americana/rock artist Ollee Owens as she takes you on an emotionally charged journey into the heart of a caregiver in her version of Bob Dylan’s “Lord, Protect My Child.” Those holding responsibility for a vulnerable dependent know the yearning to see them safe from harm. As a mother of three daughters, one of whom has special needs, thoughts of protection and security strike deep for Ollee.
The dynamic arrangement of “Lord, Protect My Child” leads with familiar tones – laying a somber foundation for an earnest delivery of angst genuinely sensed. As worry turns to hope, organ and choir unite to form a new footing to support the soaring voicing of the guitar and saxophone spurring onward the hallowed invocation. Recorded to mirror a live performance, closing one’s eyes while listening will transport you to a place away from your concern…to experience renewed faith in greater forces to undertake for those thinly held in one's care.
With a lyrical mastery that speaks on all of life’s moments paired with a dynamic voice that reveals a well-travelled soul and the burning embers of passion within, Calgary-based Blues Americana Rock artist Ollee Owens is a musical force of nature.
Owens’ most recent album, Cannot Be Unheard, (2022) is an exploration of life birthed from her own relatable experiences, both good and bad, and the lessons learned along the way. “I wanted this project to do much more than entertain,” says Owens. “It’s intended to give a voice to a wide breadth of experiences and feelings, touching those looking for a connection."
Since 2016, Ollee has played stages across Alberta from the Badlands Amphitheatre’s Roots Blues and BBQ festival (sharing the stage with Matt Anderson, The Hello Darlins, and Dawn Tyler Watson) and the Stettler Summer concert series, to Downtown Calgary’s Stephen Avenue live, the King Eddy, Festival Hall, Ironwood, and the Blues Can. She has played countless community and private events and took part in the YYC Airport Music Program between 2018-2020. Her breakout singles “Edge of Goodbye” (2022) and “Raging Fire” (2022) firmly set her intentions as a talented artist who deals in authenticity, openness, and honesty paving the way for a lasting musical connection.
Nominated for the 2023 YYC Music Awards Solo Artist of the Year, Ollee is currently recording her next project with new music due to be released in Spring 2024.
Born and raised in New Bothwell, MB, music was always around Owens growing up. Artists such as Elvis, Odetta, The Band, Mavis Staples, Etta James Bonnie Raitt and Bob Dylan informed and shaped her as she developed her sound in the early years. And even when Owens took a 15-year respite to raise her own family, she never fully put a cap on her passion for music, volunteering as a music therapist of over a decade, occasionally performing, and always continuing to write songs. “Music is the language of the ebb and flow of the human existence” she says, “and my goal is to continue to create songs that become part of the soundtrack of people's lives."
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