Flint native Madison Olivia has built a prominent national following through her talents as a country music singer. But she might be more accurately described as versatile. She has once opened for rapper Nelly, after all.
Members of her band are well-versed in many genres of music, and her own love for different styles started in her own household.
“Country is obviously the main genre, but we also love to rock it out,” Olivia said. “That goes back to having parents who loved country music, but also loved Motown and soul. And my guys that play with me in my band, they’re all like punk rockers. Even my guitarist, Ben, he’s in a metal band too. So it’s funny, you’ll see pictures of him online when he’s in makeup and doing all of this crazy metal stuff, and then he comes and plays country music with us. So I have some really talented musicians behind me who can play a lot of different genres. So our shows are really fun and I think audiences can see that we’re enjoying ourselves up there.”
Family was also at the root of where Olivia first dreamed of being a performer. Her grandmother, Jolene, sang and introduced her to singing when she was young. Jolene was also connected to legendary country singer and songwriter George Jones and got to perform with him a few times.
“I remember she opened up for him when I was like 10 at Soaring Eagle Casino, and we got to go to it as a family and I just thought it was the coolest thing ever seeing my gran up there on stage,” Olivia said. “I got to go backstage and meet George. So I definitely credit my musical upbringing to my gran-gran. She showed me that you could do it, and do it for a living if you wanted to, and anything was possible if you just put your mind to it.”
Olivia grew up in Flint and attended St. John Vianney Catholic School before graduating from Davison High School. She also attended Mott Community College and played on the women’s basketball team for a season before moving on to Michigan State where she studied political science and intended to go to law school. Although she enjoyed her college experience, she also felt that she needed to pursue her passion in music to see where it took her, which is why after graduating from MSU, she “high-tailed it for Nashville.”
“I loved my education at State, it was amazing,” she said. “But there is something to be said about having a passion and the urge to say, ‘Okay, if I don’t do this, I’m gonna be so distraught, and I will never forgive myself if I don’t see what if?’ I could’ve stayed on the law course and taken the LSAT and become an attorney and done all of that, but It wouldn’t have been what I was supposed to be doing, you know? I feel very confident that God has put me in the right place, and God has given me a gift to be able to pursue music and do it to the level that we’re at right now. And I’m very grateful that I have an amazing family and amazing people behind me from Flint that are supporting me, that believe in me and my band.”
Those Flint area supporters have a chance to see Madison Olivia and her band live at the Genesee County Fair this week. She is performing with Braxton Keith at 7 p.m. on Thursday, August 27. Tickets are available online.
Although Olivia doesn’t live in Flint anymore, she returns to the area often and has performed at several local venues, including the Fenton Hotel, Cork on Saginaw, Queens’ Provisions, Tenacity Brewing, and Sherman’s Lounge, among others. She’s also performed at the Capitol Theatre as part of the Flint Institute of Music’s ‘Flint Under the Stars’ series that features local musicians on the iconic facility’s stage.
“There’s no place like home, I truly believe that,” Olivia said. “I love coming back and seeing everyone, and it’s funny too now that we’ve made the move to Nashville and we’re getting more, I like to say reps under our belt because we’re doing so many shows and going to different places every weekend, I feel like the feedback we’ve gotten so far (when they come back to Flint) is like, ‘You guys are getting a lot better.’ I don’t know if maybe we’re showing out a little bit more because we just love coming back home, and it’s in front of family, and we get to do it up for our hometown crowd, but there is something really special every time we come back and play in Flint. When we did the Capitol Theatre show, that was amazing. We love working with FIM. That’s where I started taking vocal lessons as a young girl. So it’s really special when we’re able to coordinate with the community and come back home.”
Olivia also credits another Flint musician, Kyle Canjar, with helping connect her to some of the downtown music scene and spaces. At one point in her career, she had spent time back in Flint when her grandma got sick and she’d come back to help care for her. Her stepdad introduced her to Canjar.
“I was missing Nashville so much and we didn’t really know the scene around here,” Olivia said. “Kyle was like, ‘Well, we got a scene here, come on!’ And then I started playing with him at Cork, and that’s what really started this whole thing of me finding my band and getting my band back together and moving them down to Nashville. Kyle was very gracious to me, and I love him so much.”
She also loves some of Flint’s older small venues.
“We love playing at Sherman’s Lounge too,” Olivia said. “Sherman’s always has amazing bands that go through there, and that’s always been a special place. We did our first big night before Thanksgiving show at Sherman’s. We love the smaller acoustic vibes that are at places like Cork, and then we also love the full band, grungy, rock late nights that places like Sherman’s Lounge has.”
Outside of Flint, Olivia and her band have already had significant milestones, including performing at an outdoor show at the Grand Ole Opry and opening for Kassi Ashton, an up-and-coming country star who has built a large following.
“She is such an idol for me, and to be able to meet her and have the opportunity to just talk with her was amazing,” Olivia said.
Olivia and her band are preparing for what she calls a “big year” for them coming up in 2027. That includes a busy schedule of weekend shows combined with significant time in the studio and writing. Olivia’s background and passion in music started as a singer, but she also has enjoyed evolving as a songwriter. Being in Nashville, which has become a major hub for the music industry, has helped unlock more of her creativity and storytelling.
“Songwriting wasn’t really my main focus, it was the performing aspect of it and loving being able to sing and convey a song that I believe in and connect an audience with it,” she said. “Then I moved to Nashville, and I see all these songwriters, and I’m like, ‘Oh, I didn’t even know this was something that you could do.’ Now that I’ve seen how they work, I’m able to take what I’m writing in a diary or take melodies that pop into my head or anything like that and we can make a song out of it. It’s my favorite thing in the world to do now. I couldn’t imagine being an artist and not being able to write a song. My time in Nashville has really made me a better artist, a better human being. It’s been special to kind of grow into my own as a woman and also figure out my sound and figure out what we want to do and get to meet other songwriters that are 10 times better than I am. They make me want to be a better writer, and it’s so cool to be around.”
Olivia expects new music to begin being released around January, and then continue throughout next year. Her work can be found through her website, social media pages (Facebook and Instagram), and streaming services (Spotify and Apple Music).
“I’m excited that I’m in the studio and surrounded by such talented musicians, not only the guys that go on stage with me, but the session players that I get to work with in Nashville,” she said. “It’s really special. We’re having a great time and I’m really excited for everyone to see this next chapter.”
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