Emerging country artist Olivia Lane is no stranger to a good rodeo. She grew up going to the Houston rodeo, which also introduced her to a number of her favorite country artists, including Reba McEntire, George Strait, and Alan Jackson.
Lane is a stranger, however, to the Santa Maria Elks Rodeo, where she will perform on June 3 as part of the festivities that day.
“I’m really excited, the energy is always so exciting and fun at the rodeo,” she told the Sun. “The rodeo has always been fun for me because there is so much skill and talent. I would also go early and see all the events, like the cattle roping, with these adorable little kids roping cattle.”
Lane brings her own energy to the stage and it’s part of what has made the 24-year-old singer/songwriter famous. In November, Rolling Stone magazine even named her one of 10 new country artists to watch.
Lane’s latest single illustrates her attitude toward life. Make My Own Sunshine is a song about a stressful day that just can’t sink its claws too deep into her happy, upbeat mood and attitude.
“I do try to live my life with the glass half full,” she said. “I do write songs about heartbreak and negative emotions, but at the end of it I really do try and bring it to a positive light. That’s just how I’ve lived my life, I was very blessed with great parents and group of friends.”
A lifetime of performing is already under Lane’s belt, practically. She told the Sun that her mother was instrumental in her musical and onstage development, taking her to talent shows, recording sessions, and music lessons throughout her childhood.
After graduating from college in Los Angeles, Lane headed out for Nashville, Tenn., where she currently lives, performs, and attends concerts nonstop. She also tours the better part of the year, she said, sharing her songs with people across the country.
“I think a good country song has good heart and a simple truth that you’re living in your life,” she said. “And for me, my music is just a reflection of how I am living my life right now.”
Lane has a new EP coming out with “Make My Own Sunshine” on it as well, which goes up for sale on her website in early July.
In the meantime, she’s hitting the road. Lane will perform back and forth between the West and East coasts, she said, including several concerts in California and Oregon, before she returns to Tennessee for the Country Music Association Music Festival.
Her West Coast tour begins in Santa Maria at the Santa Maria Elks Rodeo, which is sure to be full of attendees ready to listen to some live country music, she said.
“I think it’s just the lifestyle,” she said. “Country music is really about the culture that so many people live; that lifestyle of riding a horse, learning how to buck, or riding a bull.
“These people live and breathe that country lifestyle,” she added. “A country artist belongs at a rodeo, you know.”
Arts Editor Joe Payne lives a more domestic lifestyle. Contact him at jpayne@santamariasun.com.
NASHVILLE, BABY: Watch the video for Olivia Lane’s newest single, “Make My Own Sunshine.”
VIA OLIVIALANEVEVO/YOUTUBE.COM
This article appears in Jun 2-9, 2016.
