Angel Olsen has shared the video for the title track from her forthcoming album Big Time, coming June 3 on Jagjaguwar. The LP is Olsen’s first since 2020’s Whole New Mess, which reimagined tracks from her 2019’s acclaimed All Mirrors.
“Big Time” finds Olsen committing to the full-on country sound that has long lingered at the edges of her songs, with organ, pedal steel, honky-tonk piano and snare rim clicks ambling alongside her typically pretty vocals. The track places Olsen’s affectionate narrator in an idyllic, pastoral setting, a rural oasis where there’s not much to do but love: “We’re always busy, baby, not this time / Lay in the tall grass talkin’ with your eyes.” Only in the outro, as Olsen repeats, “I’m loving you big time,” does she let you feel the ache of a heart so full.
Olsen also stars in the cinematic “Big Time” visual, directed by Kimberly Stuckwisch and choreographed by Monika Felice Smith, and featuring a Rodrigo Amarante cameo.
Stuckwisch says of the video in a director’s statement:
For “Big Time,” we set out to celebrate how humans identify and to subvert the old-fashioned gender binary and societal/internalized gender roles of the past through choreography, color, and wardrobe. To exist outside strict definitions is powerful and often not given a place in cinema. This was our chance to hold a positive reflection in the space and to shout to the world that you are more than who you are told to be.
“Big Time” is what happens when we do not express our true identity but find freedom when we step out of the shadows into our most authentic selves. In the first rotation, the lighting is drab, the clothes are monochromatic, the dance is monotonous … gender-conforming roles present. However, with each rotation, something magical happens, both our cast and Angel begin to come alive, to feel free. We see the clothes brighten, the dance heightens, and the bar that was once devoid of emotion can barely contain the joy bursting out of each individual.
I am proud to say that over 80% of our cast and 50% of our crew identified as nonbinary and non-gender conforming.
Olsen embarks on the Wild Hearts Tour alongside Sharon Van Etten, Julien Baker and Spencer. in late July, then tours the E.U. in the fall.
Watch Olsen’s “Big Time” video and revisit “All the Good Times” below, and find her tour dates further down.
Angel Olsen Tour Dates
July
21 – Vienna, VA @ Wolf Trap Center For the Performing Arts *
22 – Asheville, NC @ Rabbit Rabbit *
23 – Nashville, TN @ Ryman Auditorium
25 – Austin, TX @ Moody Amphitheater *
29 – Los Angeles, CA @ Greek Theatre *
30 – Berkeley, CA @ Greek Theatre *
August
02 – Troutdale, OR @ McMenamins Edgefield Amphitheater *
03 – Redmond, WA @ Marymoor Amphitheater *
05 – Boise, ID @ Idaho Botanical Garden *
06 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Twilight Concert Series *
07 – Denver, CO @ Sculpture Park *
09 – Minneapolis, MN @ Surly Brewing Festival Field *
10 – Chicago, IL @ The Salt Shed *
11 – Kalamazoo, MI @ Bell’s Eccentric Cafe *
12-13 – Toronto, ON @ Massey Hall * ^
15 – Shelburne, VT @ The Green at Shelburne Museum *
16 – LaFayette, NY @ Beak & Skiff Apple Orchards *
18 – Boston, MA @ Leader Bank Pavilion *
19 – Philadelphia, PA @ Skyline Stage at The Mann *
20-21 – New York, NY @ Central Park Summerstage *
September
04 – Nelsonville, OH @ Nelsonville Music Festival
10 – Abiquiu, NM @ Ladder To The Moon Festival
26 – Lisbon, PT @ Capitólio
27 – Lisbon, PT @Capitólio
29 – Madrid, ES @ La Riviera
30 – Barcelona, ES @ Sala Apolo
October
01 – Lyon, FR @ L’ Epicerie Moderne
02 – Zurich, CH @ Kaufleuten
04 – Munich, DE @ Freiheitshalle
05 – Vienna, AT @ WUK
06 – Warsaw, PL @ Palladium
07 – Berlin, DE @ Huxleys
09 – Stockholm, SE @ Berns
10 – Oslo, NO @ Rockefeller
11 – Copenhagen, DK @ VEGA
13 – Cologne, DE @ Gloria
14 – Paris, FR @ Bataclan
15 – Leuven, BE @ Het Depot
16 – Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso
18 – London, UK @ O2 Academy Brixton
19 – Bath, UK @ The Forum
20 – Edinburgh, UK @ Usher Hall
21 – Manchester , UK @ Albert Hall
24 – Dublin, IE @ Vicar Street
(* = The Wild Hearts Tour co-headline with Sharon Van Etten, Julien Baker, with special guest Spencer.)
(^= no Spencer.)