Ollee Owens Shares Blues Single 'Common Ground' From Forthcoming Album

Ollee Owens has released 'Common Ground,' the first single from her forthcoming album From Now On, out February 26, 2027. The song is now available on all streaming services.

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. 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.

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 a 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.

'Common Ground' is described as both a warning and invitation: the distance has become too wide, life is too short, and it is time to find a better way.

Raised in a small farming community on the Canadian prairie, Owens 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. Owens previously released 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.

The first track on From Now On is a reimagined take on Rev. Dan Smith's 'Just Keep Going On,' featuring 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) showcase the distance she's traveled, while a cover of Julie Miller's 'Broken Things' pays tribute to an artist whose work has inspired Owens for years.

'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.'

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.

Track Listing

1. Just Keep Going On

2. Up And Away

3. Common Ground

4. I See You Coming

5. Broken Things

6. No Place

7. From Now On

8. Lines Of Your Love

9. Boyish Man

10. Come On Up To The House