Article Contributed by Propeller Publicity
Published on 2026-10-23
For Ollee Owens, music has always been more than entertainment. It's been a lifeline. A language. A direction to follow whenever the path forward isn't clear. With her third album, From Now On, out February 26, 2027, she digs into that history to make her boldest record yet, bringing together her lifelong connection to the blues with the wider sounds of American roots music. Today, the first single, the soulful “Common Ground,” is available on all streaming services. At a moment when ideological, political, racial and religious divisions are tearing through families, communities and nations, “Common Ground” speaks directly into the distance between us. Written by Owens with Phil Hughley (CeCe Winans, TajMo and The War and Treaty) and Kornelius Colyn in reflection of current times, the song asks that we face the fear, greed and exclusion we have allowed to take root and accept that none of us stands entirely outside the problem.
Stream/order “Common Ground” here | Watch the lyric video here
From Now On was recorded in Nashville with Juno- and Grammy-winning producer Colin Linden, a collaborator of Bob Dylan, Emmylou Harris, The Band, and many others. Linden has spent decades shaping the intersection of country, folk, blues, and rock & roll, which made him the perfect partner for Owens, who traveled to Nashville to make the album. Working with a live band that included Linden (guitar), bassist Johnny Dymond, drummer George Receli, and keyboardist Mike Hicks, she tracked the album's 10 songs during a four-day stretch of live-in-the-studio recordings, emphasizing instinct and musical chemistry over polished perfection. This did more than shape its sound; it embodied the album's central message, too. These are songs about connection, collaboration, and the importance of remaining honest as we move forward, even if we don't always know where we're going. “Common Ground” is both a warning and invitation: the distance has become too wide, life is too short, and it is time to find a better way.
The album doesn't just expand Owens' sound; it brings her closer to home. Raised in a small farming community on the Canadian prairie, she grew up in a house filled with music. Her mother loved Elvis and the Beatles. Her father listened to outlaw country and gospel. Meanwhile, Owens and her brother discovered the Delta blues on their own, digging through old cassette tapes to find music that spoke to them personally. Even as she launched her career with releases like 2022's Cannot Be Unheard and 2024's Nowhere to Hide (which won the 2025 Canadian Blues Music Award for Emerging Blues Artist of the Year), those early discoveries stayed with her. So did the music that helped her move through difficult seasons.
From Now On makes room for all of it. The first track—a reimagined take on Rev. Dan Smith's “Just Keep Going On”—features gospel harmonies from The McCrary Sisters. Originals like “From Now On” (her duet with Grammy-honored songwriter Tommy Sims) and “I See You Coming” (featuring Buddy Miller on baritone guitar) shine a light on the miles she's traveled since then, showcasing a larger-than-life vocalist whose songwriting is every bit as powerful as her singing. A cover of Julie Miller's “Broken Things” pays tribute to an artist whose work has inspired Ollee for years.
While there's no disguising her history with the blues, From Now On paints a more inclusive picture.
“The blues has always been at the heart of my music, but it isn't the only sound that shaped me," says Owens. "I grew up surrounded by music that moved across genre lines, and with this album, I wanted to give all of those influences room to breathe. Colin understood where those threads connected. He helped me bring them together in a way that remains deeply rooted in the blues while revealing more of who I am as an artist."
"We all want to know what’s around the bend, but life doesn’t usually give us that kind of certainty," she adds. "That's really the heart of this album for me. From Now On doesn't mean everything suddenly gets easier. It means we stop waiting for easy before we start living again. We let ourselves be loved, we make room to grow, and we keep taking the next step—together."
Those themes resurface throughout the record. A cover of Tom Waits' “Come On Up To The House” is treated like a benediction: an invitation to rest, set down the weight of self-pity, and welcome communal support. “Lines of Your Love”—with its percussive pulse and searing electric guitar—examines the balance between self-love and one's love for others. “Boyish Man” holds space for women who find themselves waiting for partners to grow up, “Up and Away” traces a path from trauma to healing, and “No Place” celebrates the sort of battle-tested love that grows stronger with each passing year.
For Owens, the songs double as a love letter to the music that has always sustained her: the country and gospel sounds of her childhood, the blues records she discovered on her own, the Americana impulses she developed, and the songwriting of a craftswoman who continues to look honestly at her own life. She discovered music as a child, built a life around it, and now uses it to help other people recognize themselves and find their own way.
Resilience. Recovery. Community. Momentum. These are the building blocks of From Now On, an album that acknowledges hardship without ever surrendering to it. From Now On is Ollee Owens' invitation to listen, reflect, heal, discover shared humanity, and keep going forward, no matter what comes next.
From Now On Track Listing
