Offa Rex

Offa Rex was the ancient Christian King of Mercia in Anglo Saxon England between 757 and 796, while the band that adopted his name are from a very different vintage: an unlikely collaboration between Olivia Chaney, one of Britain's most highly rated young folk singers - and American indie band The Decemberists from Portland, Oregon, resurrecting the style of classic folk rock bands like Fairport Convention, Steeleye Span and the Albion Band. Born in Italy but raised in Oxford, England Olivia Chaney emerged from a thorough education in classical music (she studied at Chetham's School of Music in Manchester and the Royal Academy of Music in London) to embrace the folk song tradition and forge a promising career as a singer-songwriter. The Decemberists came from a very different environment in the west of America, establishing a devoted following in the indie rock field, but they found common unity in folk rock and flourished as a result. The unexpected partnership was born in 2017 after The Decemberists' main man Colin Meloy heard Chaney's 2015 debut solo album 'The Longest River' and invited her to support them on an American tour. It worked so well he asked if she needed a backing band. The result was the acclaimed 2017 album 'The Queen of Hearts' - a homage to a golden era of British folk rock of the 1960s and '70s encompassing classic traditional material such as 'Blackleg Miner', 'Flash Company', 'Willie O'Winsbury', 'Bonnie May', the title song strongly associated with Martin Carthy and Joan Baez, the morris dance tune 'Constant Billy' and Ewan MacColl's most famous song 'First Time Ever I Saw Your Face'. The album was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Folk Album and, while their individual commitments limited their touring opportunities, it helped to raise Chaney's profile in America and The Decemberists in the UK.

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