Olivia Harms’s music carries the mark of someone who knows the work behind the Western way of life. Born into Western music royalty and raised on her family’s Oregon ranch, Harms was immersed in both ranching and music from the very start. Her mother, Western Music Hall of Fame inductee Joni Harms, brought Olivia onstage when she was just two days old, making her first appearance while her mom performed at the Portland Speedway. Growing up on the 150-year-old Harms family ranch in Canby, Oregon, she learned the rhythms of ranch life and music alongside one another. When Santa Claus delivered her first guitar at age six, it ignited a passion for songwriting that would follow her everywhere she went.
As a teenager, Harms began shaping her own sound—equal parts Texas, Bakersfield, and Nashville country—as she honed her guitar, toured with her mother, and soaked in every honky-tonk and rodeo arena she could find. After high school, she continued that journey at Oregon State University, earning a degree in agricultural business management and cattle production. That education reflects not just her roots, but her long view of what it takes to make a life in both music and ranching.
“I think the business part has helped my music a lot,” she says. “I’m running a small business. It’s different than agriculture, but it’s kind of the same deal.”
Today, Harms and her husband are running a small cow-calf operation in Northern California. When she’s home, Harms steps easily back into ranch life—helping at brandings, pitching in where needed, and reconnecting with the lifestyle that grounds her.
“You always feel better when you get some dirt under your nails,” she says. “Being away from the technology and all that—it helps you get back to your roots.”
Music continued to be a companion to ranch life as she developed her voice and stage presence on the road. She has found her way into many rodeo arenas, not as a contestant, but as a performer instead.
“I found out that the singers get a check every time,” she jokes.
Harms doesn’t chase trends; she has carved out her own unique sound rooted deeply in the people she knows and the places she comes from—cowboys, ranch families, and women who live with grit and purpose.
Those values are why the Art of the Cowgirl has always felt like home.
“I’ve been a part of Art of the Cowgirl since the very beginning,” Harms says. “Supporting cowgirls and being part of that community is one of my greatest passions.”
For years, she and her mother hosted songwriting and creative writing clinics at the event, helping women find words for their own stories. This year, Harms returns in a new role—as a headlining musical act for the Wrangler All-Women’s Ranch Rodeo Finals After Party.
“I’m tickled,” she says. “It’s kind of a dream come true.”
Her excitement for the event isn’t just about the stage—it’s about the community surrounding it.
“I love supporting women,” she says, “but I even more love supporting cowgirls, because we are a rare breed—and the world needs more cowgirls.”
When she’s not on the road, Harms treasures the quieter pace of home. She loves being on the ranch, cooking dinner, and spending time with her husband and their three cow dogs—Luna, Elmer, and Sam.
“I think it’s a healthy mix,” she says. “I really love my job. I am so fulfilled by what I get to do, and it’s what I’ve worked really hard to do. I’m really blessed that I get to stay so busy and spend so much time playing music and hanging out with the people I enjoy—rodeo folks, cowboys. That’s my crowd.”
She laughs as she reflects on how she balances her love of travel with her love of home.
“I really do love being a wife and love being home and on the ranch,” Harms continues. “When I’m home, I’m kind of a hermit. I’m on the ranch, cooking dinners, doing my little wife-life stuff. And then after a week or so, I’m chomping at the bit to get back out there and play music.”
As she steps onto the Art of the Cowgirl stage in Wickenburg, guitar in hand, Harms does so not as someone borrowing Western culture—but as someone living it. That lived experience continues to shape everything she does. Whether she’s on the road playing shows or home on the ranch with her husband, Harms remains deeply connected to the work and the community that raised her—bringing that authenticity with her onto every stage she steps onto.
