The OK Factor is booking for the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 seasons!
Covid has caused undeniable loss for our music community at large, as it has for all communities in one way or another. We long to partner with presenters to rebuild and rekindle the connection we and our audiences so desperately long for, as safely and respectfully as possible.
Discover more about our show offerings, open dates, and contact information, below.
Love and music to each one of you!
Olivia and Karla (O&K)
SHOW OFFERINGS:
AN EVENING WITH THE OK FACTOR
Olivia and Karla win audiences over with their authenticity, approachability, and skill during their intimate performance, An Evening With The OK Factor. This program features a curated mix of The OK Factor’s original, folk-inspired compositions, as well as familiar tunes such as 'Shenandoah,' 'Here Comes the Sun', and ‘Ashokan Farewell’. The almost telepathic way the duo responds to one another is palpable to the audiences they capture, as are their spontaneity and joy. Throughout An Evening With The OK Factor, Olivia and Karla invite the audience to experience the music’s vulnerability and hear their own stories reflected in it.
have yourself an ok christmas
Using the same conversational tone of their non-holiday shows, coupled with their genuine love of the season, Olivia and Karla immerse the audience in the holiday spirit with traditional carols, seasonal songs, and original arrangements of holiday favorites. Listeners will experience the warmth and joy of the holidays through inspiring arrangements that are both comfortingly familiar and uniquely fresh.
TRADITIONS
BOOKING 2024
Minneapolis, MN-based string duo The OK Factor, and award-winning Swedish quintet Jaerv, are excited to share their first joint US Tour, presenting their program, Traditions.
On the heels of their joint Swedish tour in the summer of 2021 (funded in part by the American Scandinavian Foundation’s Artist Fellowship and the Swedish Arts Council), the bands are excited to share the music and camaraderie that grew from this transatlantic cultural exchange.
In 2017, the bands’ musical worlds collided after The OK Factor opened for Jaerv at the Cedar Cultural Center in Minneapolis. There was an immediate connection between them, grounded in a mutual love and respect for one anothers’ talent, rhythmic intricacies, inspiring melodic ornamentation, fascinating instrumentation, and - yes, musical traditions.
After shared performances and the study of traditional Swedish and American music throughout their tour of Sweden, a natural and organic partnership has developed between The OK Factor and Jaerv that is felt, seen, and heard by their audiences.
Throughout Traditions, the bands hone the art of collaboration through unique instrumentation and sensitive musical interplay, creating a palpable joy that their audiences will carry home. Through a respect for musical tradition paired with the desire to expand its boundaries, the bands encourage their audiences to follow it not just back in time, but into the future.
Joel Hagen - flute, whistles, soprano saxophone, vocals
Markus Gustavsson - fiddle, lead vocals
Tobias Hedlund - percussion, vocals, pump organ
Harald Nilsson - guitars, vocals
Anders Bergsten - double bass, nyckelharpa, vocals
Olivia Diercks - cello
Karla Colahan - violin
MEDIA
Highlights:
49:00 “Ja Ser Dig” | 55:44 “Happy Go Lucky” | 1:01:21 “Dalasvit”
RESIDENCY & EDUCATIONal PROGRAMMING
A cornerstone of The OK Factor’s offerings is their residency work. The duo is passionate about creating a lasting impact on the communities they visit - an experience that will inspire and encourage people to explore music more deeply, and cultivate a curiosity about its role in their lives. Olivia and Karla do not believe there is a one-size-fits-all approach to creating a residency. It is both possible and exciting to craft something that uniquely fits your community members and their interests.
The duo shares their joy and love for music in many ways, including informal performances, Q&A sessions, and community jams all in single or multi-day residencies. Olivia and Karla thrive on spending time in virtually any community setting. From senior living facilities and discussion groups, to libraries and local staples, to VA hospitals and hospice care, they welcome all opportunities to meet your community members where they are.
Olivia and Karla have also put together residency offerings specifically designed for a virtual platform, to accommodate communities with vulnerable populations, and to remain sensitive to the ever-changing nature of the pandemic.
In addition to their community offerings, The OK Factor is particularly dedicated to encouraging students to be adventurous with music through their education initiative, ATLAS: Your Road Map to No Map At All. This CORE-guided curriculum is a culmination of years of workshopping, featuring clinics with student study guides and teacher resources created by Olivia and Karla and vetted by seasoned educators from diverse backgrounds. Two specific ATLAS offerings include a folk music and theory-based clinic, and an improvisation clinic.