Olivia Wolf’s Cosmic Country | Acoustic Guitar Sessions

Olivia Wolf’s bluegrass upbringing fueled her passion for music, but it was mainstream country radio that really inspired her to craft her own sound. “I heard Tricia Yearwood and Miranda Lambert and Randy Travis, and it was like a drug—all I could think was, ‘How do I hear more of this?’”

It turns out the best way to hear more of the music she loved was to create it herself, and Wolf’s San Francisco-to-Nashville, existential-folk-rock-country sound is spotlighted in this Acoustic Guitar Session. Accompanied by guitarist Sam Berce, she performs three tunes from her new album, Silver Rounds: “Cosmic Appalachian Radio,” “The Veil,” and “Good Smoke Too.” These stripped-back acoustic versions highlight Wolf’s penetrating songwriting, but listen to the album to really absorb that boisterous, country radio sound she loves so much.

Here, Wolf plays her 2021 Gibson Southern Jumbo 1936 Reissue. “I love vintage guitars,” she says, “but I’m so afraid of something happening to them, so I got this guitar that sounds like its from 1936, but isn’t the most precious thing. And it has a deep sound that is complementary to my vocals.”

The songs on Silver Rounds came from a place of hardship. The sudden death of her fiance left Wolf alone, dealing with loss the only the way she knew how, with her guitar. “Songwriting helps you process emotion,” Wolf says. “It can be an escape, you have these thoughts stuck in your head, and letting them out can be transformative. If you can speak truth out loud, you get freedom. And on the other side of things, I find the guitar is able to emote something that can’t be put into words, something you feel.”

Oliviawolf.com

Joey LustermanOpinionated creative slash beginning guitarist. Joey has worked in every department at Acoustic Guitar in the past 10+ years: front desk, ad sales, editorial, sound guy, camera man, booth babe, email coder, podcast editor, photographer, book designer…