Mark Olson

Spokeswoman of the Bright Sun (Southbound)

Moab, Utah, late August, 1995: it’s Sunday night open mic at The Third Eye, Moab’s new-age healing centre/cafe. Inside, a few people lounge around on beaten up chairs, while the smell of incense – and, wafting from outside, weed – hangs in the air. The lights are dimmed. After a passionate cover of Redemption Song kicks the night off, Mark Olson and his wife Ingunn Ringvold amble up to the stage. They sit down. Olson tunes his beaten-up guitar. ‘‘Hey, Ing,’’ he says, turning to Ringvold. ‘‘What shall we, uh, play?’’ Ringvold stares at the ceiling. ‘‘I don’t know, man’’ she says. ‘‘Why don’t we, like, make up something about love and spirituality and, uh, tea dates?’’ Olson smiles. ‘‘Sounds great,’’ he says. And an album was born. Jack Barlow