Olivia Farabaugh
Pennsylvania native Olivia Farabaugh shares her powerful story and discusses upcoming album
-
Aniya Faulcon
Olivia Farabaugh
Airdate: October 14, 2022
Listen to Smart Talk every weekday at 12 p.m. and 8 p.m. on WITF 89.5 & 93.3. You can also stream WITF radio live on our website or ask your smart speaker to “Play WITF Radio.”
Pennsylvania native singer-songwriter, Olivia Farabaugh, is not a stranger to the limelight, as she was a contestant on Season ten of NBC’s “The Voice,” opened for major musical artists like Rodney Atkin and Chris Janson, was nominated for several awards, won several competitions, and was named 2019 and 2020’s Best Solo Artist by the Central Pennsylvania Music Hall of Fame.
But through her journey of success, she faced health and identity challenges that she fought through to continue producing music that was true to her.
Farabaugh was drawn to move from Pennsylvania to Nashville, Tennessee with her husband, Caden Farabaugh and her dog, Tank. However, her experience with Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome, an illness characterized by exposure to biotoxins, delayed their moving process.
” I ended up getting my tonsils out, sinus surgery, like I just had all these things, a wide range of symptoms,” Farabaugh said. “We ended up finding an environmental specialist to come out and test our home and it was actually not livable with the conditions that were in there.”
When Farabaugh’s health permitted, she and her family moved to Nashville and she was met with influences that were pulling her music in different directions and encouraged her to do things that would sell more records.
“I just wasn’t enjoying the music anymore, I wasn’t liking it,” Farabaugh said. “I would come home and I would just have this pit in my stomach…”
She wrote her single that releases today, “Righteous Dollar Bill” about this difficult circumstance and her upcoming album, “Transparent” about other personal experiences that led her to stay true to who she is.
“I came home one night and I realized, through writing this song (“Righteous Dollar Bill”), I have to follow, where God is leading us,” Farabaugh said. “He didn’t lead us down to Nashville for me to try to be somebody that I’m not and I was never meant to be.”
She said, she’s never stopped singing through challenges because music continues to be on her heart and opportunities keep coming.
“Anything that you love is going to be challenging and it’s going to be stressful, but that’s what makes it worth it,” Farabaugh said. “As long as you’re making a difference, that’s what it’s about.”
For more information about her upcoming album visit oliviafarabaugh.com.
Here are some ways to catch a live performance by Farabaugh this weekend:
Saturday, October 15—Live Music & “Goat Cornhole Tournament” at Destiny Dairy Bar at Stover Farms – featuring BBQ, locally-produced ice cream, flavored milks, a petting area with farm animals and more. The event starts at noon at 60 Horners Road in Carlisle.
Sunday, October 16— “First Annual CIRS Fest” at Grandview Vineyards – Enjoy music, a winery, and food from a variety of food trucks to benefit those who have been effected by CIRS. The event will feature a raffle, kids’ corner and performances by Olivia Farabaugh, Cody Tyler, Jess Zimmerman & Stefan Mark Acoustic, and Addi Grace. Doors open at 12:15 p.m. Tickets are available at the event’s entrance, 1489 Grandview Road in Mt. Joy.
