Meet Olivia Phillips, our new Artist Outreach Coordinator!

In October, we announced the creation of the Carolina Music Makers Fund, an aid fund for musicians affected by Hurricane Helene in the Carolinas and beyond. While the storm’s devastation has since moved out of the headlines, it continues to shape daily life for mountain communities and the artists who keep their traditions alive.

Music Maker will begin distributing grants to affected musicians in 2025. We are pleased to share this update on our progress.

Meet Olivia Phillips, Music Maker’s new Artist Outreach Coordinator! In this position, Olivia will help identify Western North Carolina musicians who have been impacted by Hurricane Helene and allocate relief grants from the Carolina Music Makers Fund to those experiencing income loss or needs related to storm recovery. Early stages of the project involve communicating with other organizations offering relief in the area to learn about available aid and identify needs not currently being met, contacting local musicians and arts leaders to gather the names of those impacted in some way by the hurricane, and compiling a list of names and contact information for those who may be a good fit for a grant from Music Maker. We hope to offer one-time performance grants to more than 100 musicians.

A folklorist, traditional singer, and proud native of Watauga County, NC, Olivia is especially passionate about serving Western North Carolina musicians experiencing unusual needs at this unprecedented time. Previously, she has served as a fieldworker at Traditional Arts Indiana, a Folklife Intern at the North Carolina Arts Council, and a Southern Studies Doctoral Research Fellow in residence at UNC-Chapel Hill’s Wilson Library. Her educational background is in vocal music education, ethnomusicology, and folklore. She is now a doctoral candidate at Indiana University, where her dissertation research examines the role of Beech Mountain singing traditions in shaping residents’ past and present ideas about local identity and heritage. When she isn’t working, you can find Olivia enjoying a hike, spending time with her dog, Clover, and annoying the neighbors by singing entirely too much.

Olivia’s position at Music Maker is made possible by a generous grant from the North Carolina Arts Council.