The Concept of Love: Seeing Love Through Our Artists' Eyes

by Jake Aurigema

Love is a complicated topic, etched into the heart of music and storytelling. In honor of the month of love coming to an end, we wanted to share with you some love songs our artists have written throughout their careers. From unexpected love to unaccepted love to apocalyptic love, our artists have been through it all.

In June of 2022, Mary Gauthier released “Thank God For You” on her album Dark Enough to See the Stars. This deeply vulnerable lyrical piece provides a flashback into Mary’s time in New Orleans and healing from her past. In a YouTube video titled “Behind the Music: ‘Thank God For You’”, Mary describes this track as “another love song, unapologetically expressing deep romantic love.” She talks about the joy of finally finding a love that works. Mary has always been an incredible writer, and this is just one beautiful example of her talent and passion for storytelling! 

“Thank God For You” by Mary Gauthier

Aaron Lee Tasjan released Stellar Evolution in April of 2024, which featured the song “Dylan Shades”, a poignant exploration of the societal shames of queer love and accepting that you might have to let them go. His lyrics cut like a knife when he writes, “You’ve been hurt too, and so, feel free to let me know if you need to let me go.” Aaron Lee explores the concept of love many times throughout his discography, so this song is definitely in good company. 

“Dylan Shades” by Aaron Lee Tasjan

In that same vein of society taking its toll on romantic love, Josh Radnor wrote a beautiful piece called “Apocalyptic Love Song” on his project, One More Then I’ll Let You Go, in 2021. The lyric “If the world is ending, I’d prefer to be with you” ties the entire piece together, reflecting on the desire for togetherness regardless of the circumstances. The concept of unconditional romantic love invites raw passion and real emotion to Josh’s art. 

Love isn’t only between romantic partners, and Ruthie Collins’ latest release, “Barefoot No Fence,s” encapsulates this perfectly. Written for her daughter, this song is all about a mothers love and how it transcends anything else she’s known. Collins sings “my love for you is endless, I want you to grow up barefoot, no fences,” painting a beautiful picture of the life she dreams of for her child.

Derek Webb likes to say that there’s one love song that makes its way onto every one of his albums and that such love song on his album The Jesus Hypothesis is based on his parents’ story; the all too common experience of losing a loved one to memory loss as they age. In the song “Car Crash,” Webb sings “I would give up the years if it meant half the pain, I don’t wanna live so long that I don’t know your name,” a heartbreaking declaration of love.

Street Corner Symphony’s song “Little Old Me” highlights how finding the right partner can bring you back to life again. The lyric “now I’m satisfied, I’ve got your company, you’re the one for little old me” shines a light on the kind of comfort you can find through love.

There’s no time to feel more grateful for love than around the holidays and Jeremy Lister paints such a genuine picture of this in “Baby, You’re the Best Gift of All” off of his Happy Holidays, Everyone album. Lister sings “I’ve got all I’ll ever need standing here in front of me,” beautifully capturing the true spirit of not only the holidays, but everyday.

These examples are only a small glimpse of how well our artists portray love through songwriting— in all its complexity, confusion, and courage. Take a listen to these pieces this February to expand your idea of what love can really mean.

The Power of Music: Examining Our Country Through Song with the Artists at Olivia Management

By: Jo MacKenzie

Folk and Americana music has a long tradition of using songs as a form of protest, from Bob Dylan’s “The Times They Are A-Changin’” to Neil Young’s “Ohio.” With the 4th of July being this past weekend, we’d like to take a minute to spotlight some of our artists’ current and past musical contributions to the conversations about the state of our nation. 

Off of Aaron Lee Tasjan’s most recent record Stellar Evolution, Tasjan delivers the protest song “I Love America Better Than You.” In an interview with NPR, he describes this song as his examination of his “country’s complexities, contradictions, and hard truths in a way that’s conversational” (Timmons). The matter-of-fact, accessible lyricism strikes a careful balance between the benign and malignant, mentioning America’s hotdogs and soda pop but also its dirty water, wealth disparity, and insurrectionists. Listen here.

In the title track of Mary Gauthier’s 2005 release Mercy Now, Gauthier writes about the importance of forgiveness in all aspects of life: forgiving oneself, one’s church, and one’s country. In the album’s title track, she sings “My church and my country could use a little mercy now / as they sink into a poisoned pit, it’s going to take forever to climb out.” Although the lyrics cast a tone of despair, they come from a place of love and hope. Gauthier adds later in the song that, “Only the hand of grace can end the race towards another mushroom cloud…I love life and life itself could use some mercy now.” In times of hardship, love, community, and forgiveness can make all the difference. Listen here.

Inspired by the folk legends of the past, Josh Radnor took up his pen to write “Don’t Get Sick This Is America”—the first song off of his most recent record Eulogy, Vol II. In a video on Radnor’s YouTube channel that breaks down the song, he calls it “an old-fashioned Woody Guthrie-esque protest song on the guitar” (Radnor). Radnor takes a satirical approach to this song as a way to highlight the issues he sees: “Quit your whining this is America / You can get by on the minimum wage / Just make sure it’s essential / Do you really need three meals a day?” Listen here.

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Music has the incredible power to take complex topics and examine them in infinite ways. Folk and Americana music can shed light on issues as complicated as our country’s history and current state, and we are so proud of our artists for continuing the conversations. We hope you had a safe and fun 4th of July with your family and friends! 

Newsletter Necessity: Sign Up Now and Never Miss an Update

By: Jo MacKenzie

In this digital day and age, it’s difficult to keep up with everything—from work emails to funny TikToks to 10% Uber Eats coupons. Inevitably, some things fall through the cracks. As such, there are nights when I wake up in a cold sweat after having a nightmare where my favorite artist plays in my city without my knowledge. However, I am immediately comforted when I remember that I’m on my favorite artist’s email list and therefore will never miss a show in my city due to the advanced targeting systems. Without this reassurance, I don’t know if I’d ever get a full night’s sleep! 

We here at Olivia Management, a Nashville-based folk and Americana artist management company, are all in favor of a good night’s rest and a great night of live music with one of our artists. To ensure this, you can sign up for our artists Aaron Lee Tasjan, Alex Blue, Derek Webb, Josh Radnor, and Mary Gauthier’s email lists to receive newsletters that update you on all the important happenings! 

Not only will these newsletters keep you informed of tour dates, they also give you a front-row seat to hear about new music, special exclusives, and sneak peeks into our artists lives. So what are you waiting for? Sign up for the newsletter of your favorite artist(s) at the link below to stay up to date on everything!

To give you a little taste of what we’re talking about, here are some snippets from our artists latest newsletters!

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From Alex’s May Newsletter - What I’m Loving Lately…

• No joke, streaming on Twitch. Current obsession.

• Painting my nails different colors on each finger.

• Dandelions.

• Singing my song “Neil Young Song” on the guitar, just me in my room. It’s been making me very emotional in a good way.

• Writing pop music…. (I share one unreleased pop song I write for Meta a month for my Lavender Patrons)

From Aaron Lee Tasjan’s May Newsletter - Record of the Month

Released May 22nd, the latest single from the forthcoming James McMurtry album is titled, "Sailing Away." The song is that perfect McMurtry emotional punch in the face that stings as it grabs you by the shirt and reveals eternal truths, one after the next. To say I am eagerly anticipating his next album would be an understatement. James is one of America's finest songwriters and based on the quality of "Sailing Away," I'd say we're all in for yet another special record from James. Adding to the excitement around this one for me, is James's collaboration here with one of my favorite producers, the great Don Dixon. Check out this gem of a tune and get ready for the full shebang coming our way on June 20th via our dear friends at New West Records.

From Derek’s Newsletter - Announcing Survival Songs

“i’ve always considered it my job description to ‘look at the world and describe it’, which has taken my songs and albums to some very unexpected places over the years. as an artist, citizen, and dad of teens, let me tell you what i see when i look at the world today: queer people, especially queer kids, are in imminent danger and desperately need a soundtrack to comfort, encourage, and empower them.

over the past month, i’ve actually written and recorded an entire album that seeks to do just that.”

From Josh’s Latest Museletter - On “How We Made Your Mother”

“Three years ago I met my wife, Jordana. She had never seen HIMYM, which was a great relief. It’s hard to make a true first impression when people have already spent hours with you, even in a fictional context. She and I have talked a lot over the years about some of the strange challenges of being associated so deeply with a character, both professionally and personally. And given that she’s a psychologist and an all-around wise being, her insights into this have been immense and immeasurably helpful.

At some point she told me she’d like to watch the show, to fill in the blanks on this major chapter in her husband’s life that she missed. It felt like enough time had passed and that I might be able to watch it along with her, older and wiser and (hopefully) more forgiving of my younger self and how hard I was on the guy who played Ted. I no longer wished to put police tape around this huge swath of my life.”

From Mary’s June Newsletter - On Writing a New Book

“My week has gone like this: I wake up early, and spend six to eight hours writing, get about 2000 words, doing my best to shape them into something that makes sense. At the end of the day, I send my work to my friend Beth who is my editor in first reader. We talk the next morning, and she inevitably proceeds to tell me to remove 1500 of the 2000 words because they’re not working.

So, I do.

Then, I get back to work.

Wash, rinse, repeat, and just like that, a week of writing is behind me.

There’s still time to walk the town in late afternoons, go to the gym, share great meals with friends. But the weeks down here go quickly.

I wake up grateful to watch the sun rise on the water. I never want to leave. But leave I must!”