Biography
Leading the Nashville-based outfit the Black Belles, which carried Jack White's endorsement, Olivia Jean developed a devoted niche audience. Once the band dissolved, she pursued garage and surf textures more intently across releases on White's Third Man Records imprint, increasingly taking on most instrumental duties herself for albums such as 2019's Night Owl and 2023's Raving Ghost, works that fused stylish retro leanings with pop traditionalism and punk acuity.
Raised in the Detroit metro region, Olivia Jean started on guitar in childhood. She soon added further instruments, all aimed at capturing her own compositions. Her initial major opportunity arrived when Jack White, after encountering her demos, asked her to track material at his Third Man studios in Nashville, Tennessee. Those sessions led White to assemble the musicians who became the Black Belles. The group issued its debut single, "What Can I Do?," in 2010, followed by the White-produced full-length The Black Belles in 2011. That same year, Elvira featured the single on Elvira's Movie Macabre, lifting the band's visibility, while the members also cut "Charlene (I'm Right Behind You)" alongside Stephen Colbert.
After the Black Belles parted ways, Olivia Jean stayed linked to Third Man Records, contributing to assorted White-associated endeavors that included his solo tour and a Karen Elson album. She stepped out on her own in 2014 with the White-produced Bathtub Love Killings. Five years later came Night Owl, which she helmed as producer. Following the 2021 joint EP Palladium recorded with April March, Olivia Jean wed White in 2022 during an onstage ceremony at Detroit's Masonic Temple on his tour supporting Fear of the Dawn. She resurfaced in 2023 with Raving Ghost, her third album, again self-produced and featuring her on both guitar and bass, mirroring the approach of Night Owl.
Raised in the Detroit metro region, Olivia Jean started on guitar in childhood. She soon added further instruments, all aimed at capturing her own compositions. Her initial major opportunity arrived when Jack White, after encountering her demos, asked her to track material at his Third Man studios in Nashville, Tennessee. Those sessions led White to assemble the musicians who became the Black Belles. The group issued its debut single, "What Can I Do?," in 2010, followed by the White-produced full-length The Black Belles in 2011. That same year, Elvira featured the single on Elvira's Movie Macabre, lifting the band's visibility, while the members also cut "Charlene (I'm Right Behind You)" alongside Stephen Colbert.
After the Black Belles parted ways, Olivia Jean stayed linked to Third Man Records, contributing to assorted White-associated endeavors that included his solo tour and a Karen Elson album. She stepped out on her own in 2014 with the White-produced Bathtub Love Killings. Five years later came Night Owl, which she helmed as producer. Following the 2021 joint EP Palladium recorded with April March, Olivia Jean wed White in 2022 during an onstage ceremony at Detroit's Masonic Temple on his tour supporting Fear of the Dawn. She resurfaced in 2023 with Raving Ghost, her third album, again self-produced and featuring her on both guitar and bass, mirroring the approach of Night Owl.