Bio
Behind the fairytale...
A modern-day bard
Olivia is a professional singer-songwriter and musician hailing from the historic city of York, England. Evoking the ancient art of the Celtic bard, she seeks to breathe new life into the tales and traditions of the British Isles.
Her soft, ethereal vocals and plethora of musical instruments - Celtic harp (cláirseach), fiddle, piano, tin whistles, harmonium, guitar and bodhrán - create a dreamlike landscape that transports the listener to another time and place. In her live shows she has been known to sing in Irish, Gaelic, Welsh, Manx, Latin and Old English!
Since the release of her debut EP in 2013, Olivia's music has received airplay on radio stations across the UK, US and Europe. She has been featured live-in-session on BBC Introducing. Her first full album, Faerie Songbook, received glowing reviews from independent music critics and caught the attention of Irish Music Magazine, who featured it in their November 2025 issue. She has appeared on festival stages across the UK, notably at Galtres Parklands, Edinburgh Fringe and DKOS at Celtic Connections.
In 2024 she developed An Evening In Avalon - a unique solo theatre show that blended her unique musicianship with theatrical storytelling to illuminate tales from Arthurian legend. The show premiered with a sell-out performance at York's leading fringe venue Theatre@41.
Her love of history led her to create Celtic Carols By Candlelight - an alternative carol concert exploring the Christmas and Advent season through the eyes of the early Celtic Church. The show premiered at York's Holy Trinity Goodramgate in 2024, before heading out on a wider tour of historic churches in 2025.
Olivia's music has storytelling at it's very heart - something that stems from her background in professional theatre. She has a BA Hons from the Guildford School of Acting, where she trained for three years on the Actor-Musician programme. While there, her song Morgan Le Fay placed runner-up in the Sir Richard Stilgoe Songwriting Competition, with Sir Richard himself dubbing her 'a poet'.
In addition to her work as a performer, Olivia occasionally writes and musically directs for theatre and live events. She is especially proud to have been part of the creative team for Irish children's show Tír na nÒg (Moonbeam Productions), composing and performing the musical score. More recently she acted as Musical Director for Figures In A Landscape (CinemArts Ltd.), an immersive historical concert telling the story of the 18th century.
She has also had the pleasure of supporting and contributing musically to initiatives within the Heritage industry, with recent collaborations including Out Of The Box Learning, The Churches Conservation Trust and York Georgian Festival.
Alongside her creative work, Olivia also leads regular workshops in singing and Celtic music, proudly working alongside the Richard Shepherd Music Foundation and other initiatives.
Olivia regularly releases new music and performs live. To be the first to hear about new releases and upcoming gigs, please sign up to the mailing list via the bottom of the page.