February 6, 2003
by Amy Kroin
You might call Alix Olson the Kobe Bryant of the spoken-word realm. Olson got her start as a member of the 1998 Nuyorican National Championship Slam Team and went on to trounce her fellow spoken-word artists at the 1999 OutWrite National Slam. Ever since, Olson has performed sold-out shows around the globe, winning kudos from the likes of People's History of the United States scribe Howard Zinn, who called Olson an "ingenious poet, a brilliant performer, a funny person and a serious thinker."
Olson recently released the disc Built Like That, the first spoken-word album to reach the coveted number-one spot on the Outvoice charts. Local wordsmiths will get a chance to see what all the fuss is about when Olson does her thing at the Iron Horse this Friday. Boston-based folkie Pamela Means will open.
Amy Kroin can be reached at akroin@valleyadvocate.com.
Feb. 7, $10/advance, $13/door, 9:30 p.m., Iron Horse Music Hall, 20 Center St., Northampton, 586-8686 or (800) THE-TICK.