Singer David Olney Dies On Stage During Performance

BYCole Blake6.0K Views
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Rest in peace.

Singer-songwriter David Olney died Saturday night at age 71 during a performance at 30A Songwriters Festival in Florida, according to Variety.

Olney became still during his performance, which was assumed to be him taking a moment to rest, but then, those nearby realized what was happening and lowered him to the stage.

Amy Rigby, who was sitting next to him, described his last moments in a Facebook post: “Olney was in the middle of his third song when he stopped, apologized, and shut his eyes,” Rigby wrote. “He was very still, sitting upright with his guitar on, wearing the coolest hat and a beautiful rust suede jacket we laughed about because it was raining like hell outside the boathouse where we were playing — I just want the picture to be as graceful and dignified as it was, because it at first looked like he was just taking a moment.”

“Scott Miller had the presence of mind to say we needed to revive him. Doctors in the audience and 30A folks were all working so hard to get him to come to … We all lost someone important last night," she added.

Olney was born in 1948 and recorded 20 albums throughout his career. The following video was uploaded earlier on the day of his death.


About The Author
Cole Blake is currently an Editor at HotNewHipHop based out of Brooklyn, New York. He began working at the site as an intern back in 2018 while studying journalism at St. John’s University. In the time since, he’s graduated with a bachelor's degree and written extensively about a wide range of topics including pop culture, film & television, politics, video games, sports, and much more. He’s also covered music festivals such as Gov. Ball and Rolling Loud. You can find him publishing work for HNHH from Monday to Wednesday or on weekends. On the sports front, Cole’s a passionate NBA and NFL fan with his favorite teams being the Indianapolis Colts and Los Angeles Lakers. He also roots for the Yankees whenever he finds himself at Yankee Stadium or the Red Storm when in the company of other SJU alumni. His favorite hip-hop artists are billy woods, Earl Sweatshirt, Cam’ron, MIKE, and Mach-Hommy.
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