An acclaimed American folk singer-songwriter, David Olney has died on stage during a performance at Florida music festival.
Olney was performing on the stage when he stopped mid-song, said “sorry” to his audience before giving up the ghost. The singer suffered an apparent heart attack during his performance on stage, he was aged 71.
Scott Miller, who was on stage with Olney, said he had attempted to revive the singer.
“David paused, said, ‘I’m sorry’ and put his chin to his chest,” he wrote. “It was as easy and gentle as he was. We got him down and tried our best to revive him until the EMTs [emergency medical technicians] arrived. The world lost a good one last night but we still have his work. And it still inspires.
Amy Rigby, who had also been on stage with Olney, wrote:
“He was very still, sitting upright with his guitar on, wearing the coolest hat and a beautiful rust suede jacket. In the beginning, it looked like he would only take a short break. We lost an important person last night.”
Olney was born in Rhode Island in 1948. He moved to Nashville in 1973 and formed a band called the X-Rays, who recorded two albums in the 1980s. A pioneer of folk music, Olney has recorded more than 20 solo albums, including This Side Or The Other, which was released in August 2018.
His songs were covered by and co-written with Emmylou Harris, Steve Earle, Linda Ronstadt, Steve Young, Del McCoury, and Laurie Lewis, among others.
Olney is survived by his wife Regine, son Redding and daughter Lillian.
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