Musician David Olney, 71, Dies During Fla. Concert

Folk singer-songwriter David Olney died of an apparent heart attack Saturday during a performance at a music festival in Florida.

Scott Miller, another musician who was onstage with Olney at the 30A Songwriters Festival in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida, posted on Facebook that Olney was playing a song when he went silent.

"David was playing a song when he paused, said 'I'm sorry' and put his chin to his chest. He never dropped his guitar or fell off his stool. It was as easy and gentle as he was," Miller wrote. "We got him down and tried our best to revive him until the EMTs arrived."

A statement on Olney's website confirmed his death. He was 71.

Olney's music career began in the early 1970s and he went on to release more than 20 solo albums. A native of Lincoln, Rhode Island, he moved to Nashville in 1973 and lived there for the remainder of his life.

Olney's songs were covered by other musicians such as Emmylou Harris, Del McCoury, Linda Ronstadt, Steve Young, and others.

Olney's death Saturday night occurred hours after he recorded a brief performance with local radio station WUWF for its "Acoustic Interlude" segment. Video of that show was posted to YouTube.

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