Mark Olson

One of the two main singer/songwriters in the lauded Minnesota-based alt-country band the Jayhawks, Mark Olson departed the group in 1995 to pursue a musical (and romantic) collaboration with Victoria Williams. Founding the Original Harmony Ridge Creekdippers with Williams, Olson worked in a more folk-oriented vein as his former bandmate, Gary Louris, moved the Jayhawks in a power-pop direction. After splitting with Williams, Olson issued his first solo album, THE SALVATION BLUES, in 2007, and subsequently reunited with Louris (though not under the Jayhawks name) on READY FOR THE FLOOD.