The Blues Overdrive

From Nykøbing Falster to Eighteen Countries

The Blues Overdrive was founded in June 2000 in Nykøbing Falster by singer, guitarist and songwriter Martin Olsen, who has led the band and written most of its material ever since. Two and a half decades on they have toured eighteen countries and collected a pair of European Blues Awards.

Olsen's writing pulls Chicago blues together with swampy Delta grooves, and the band plays it with the kind of swing that only comes from long service on the road.

The records

The 2012 debut The Blues Overdrive was named Debut Album of the Year by the German publication Wasser Prawda and carried an unreleased J.J. Cale composition, "Got Myself a Woman", for which the band secured the rights. Clinch! followed in 2015 with guest appearances from Duke Robillard and Joel Paterson, and Overdrive Live! in 2017, recorded at Smukfest.

Both Clinch! and Overdrive Live! took Album of the Year at the European Blues Awards. The live album Live Slices, recorded for the Danish television channel DK4 in Aarhus in February 2024 with a guest turn from Ole Frimer, came out on vinyl in 2025 and on digital platforms in 2026. Earlier EPs include Funky Blues Alive (2003) and EP09 (2009), and in 2025 the band backed Ian Siegal on a tribute album to Sven Zetterberg.