Jim Olive

Jim Olive is a richly talented, professional balladeer from Lexington, Kentucky. Whether on bluegrass banjo or acoustic guitar, his skillful picking accentuates his warm, confident baritone voice in delivering hearty renditions of some of America's best-loved ballads and bluegrass breakdowns. Jim's performances bring out the passion and ethics of Kentucky's best traditions and values from rural agrarian and coal-camp life.

Jim has performed at fairs and festivals throughout Kentucky since 1977. He won first prize in 1980 on bluegrass banjo at the Kentucky State Fiddlers Contest, and in 1993 toured Japan as a soloist on a billing with the Berea College Dancers and Homer Ledford, in The Best Of The Bluegrass, a cultural exchange sponsored by the Japan/America Society of Kentucky.