Biography
The true story of a modern-day bard...
Olivia Graham is a folk musician, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose work creatively reimagines the ancient Celtic Bardic tradition for modern audiences.
Olivia's unique performance style was crafted over many years - in an utterly surprising way. She recorded her first EP, On The Wings Of A Dream (2013), in her teens. Merely wanting to hear how her songs might sound, she self-funded a studio day, which yielded five demos that she decided were decent enough to share! Olivia spent hours burning each CD herself to sell at local gigs.
From 2016-2019, she attended the world-renowned Guildford School of Acting, where she trained intensively on the BA Hons Actor-Musician degree course. Here she honed her skills for musicianship-infused storytelling. While there, her song Morgan Le Fay was runner-up in the Sir Richard Stilgoe Songwriting Competition, with the contest's namesake dubbing her 'a poet'.
Relocating back to her native York in 2020, she navigated the post-pandemic period by working for a few years in the city's heritage sector, where she was able to fully indulge her love for history and tradition.
During this time, she established a crude home-studio in her back room where she began working long into the night on recordings of her original songs.
Taking root...
In 2023, Olivia emerged more formally onto the British folk scene with a performance on the iconic Danny Kyle Open Stage at Celtic Connections. Her musicianship, skill as a storyteller and appreciation of history was beginning to develop into what would become her signature 'bardic' persona.
In 2024, she began to make music her full-time occupation. Her Arthurian-themed debut headliner, An Evening In Avalon, sold out York's leading Fringe venue Theatre@41. That same year, she was also invited to play live-in-session on BBC Introducing.
Olivia began regularly touring churches, museums and historic venues in 2025 - a year that also saw the release of her debut album Faerie Songbook. The album was warmly reviewed by independent media and even caught the attention of Irish Music Magazine who featured an interview with Olivia in their November issue that year.
The Adventure Continues...
Olivia's career continues to develop as she endeavours to tour to new audiences. She regularly releases new music, with a recent highlight being her 2026 EP A Time Called Before. At Christmas she annually tours her widely popular Celtic Carols By Candlelight - an alternative carol concert that delves into the history of Celtic Christianity in the North. In addition to her work as a performer, Olivia also composes and works as a Musical Director for theatre projects, with recent highlights including Tír na nÓg (Moonbeam Productions), The Stranger (Bare Witness Theatre Co., Aus), Figures In A Landscape (York Georgian Festival) and the upcoming Remember, Remember (York Ghost Week). She often contributes musically to heritage and educational projects and initiatives.