This Oklahoma Native American singer ready to battle on ‘ The Voice’ Season 25
Growing up attending powwows across Oklahoma, AJ Harvey wasn't especially drawn to the dancing as a child.
“I wanted to be around that drum. It's such an integral part of who we are as Native people. ... I used to compare it to seeing a band when I was younger: I didn't want to be in the crowd. I wanted to be on stage,” Harvey said.
“There was something deeper about being on stage and playing the music — not for the attention, but just to be a part of the music. ... I've been like that since I can remember, so it definitely contributes to my musical contemporary side. They go hand in hand.”
Whether he's playing his regular Thursday night residency at the Norman dive bar The Deli or covering a classic Bob Dylan ballad on the hit NBC series “The Voice,” Harvey, 25, takes what he's learned gathering around the drum with him as a singer and musician.
With the blind auditions winding down and spots on the four coaches' teams getting scarce, Harvey played acoustic guitar and showed off his smooth baritone with a serene rendition of Dylan's “Girl from the North Country” on the March 11 episode of “The Voice.” He got two of the Season 25 coaches — Chance the Rapper and country duo and coaching newcomers Dan + Shay — to turn their chairs, opting to join Team Dan + Shay for the competition.
“It's not just me on stage: That's something I thought about a lot during the blind audition was there's people that I wish could see this. And that
comes from being around our arena, our circle. ... When we’re out there dancing, you’re not dancing for yourself; you’re dancing for people who aren’t there, and they’re on stage with me,” Harvey told The Oklahoman.
“I was thinking of my late Uncle Vernon Domebo, a Kiowa relative of mine, who’s a big fan of Bob Dylan. ... So, that song had such an emotional connection for me.
“And to see it rewarded the way it has been — the way it’s been received on social media, on the internet and in just face-to-face interaction — it’s been a real blessing.”
Who is ‘ The Voice’ contestant AJ Harvey?
Harvey’s “The Voice” introduction spotlighted his multi-tribal background. He hails from the Ponca Tribe of Oklahoma, the Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma and the Northern Hidatsa people. About a month ago, he started a job as a guest services associate at OKC’s First Americans Museum,
Although he is not Osage by blood, Harvey said he has been adopted by family into that tribe, which made it all the more meaningful when he landed a small part in Martin Scorsese’s Oscarnominated Oklahoma-made movie “Killers of the Flower Moon”
Filmed in and around Osage County in 2021, Scorsese’s historical drama is about the 1920s “Reign of Terror,” a series of brutal murders of Osage Nation citizens by white people scheming to steal their oil wealth. Harvey played Charlie Whitehorn, an early victim of the Reign of Terror, in the movie.
“Even before filming started, everybody knew that that was going to be pretty monumental and historic, and so we all wanted to be a part of it, myself included,” he said.
Originally from Wichita, Kansas, Harvey said he moved to Norman in 2021, using his COVID-19 stimulus money, so he could be part of the central Oklahoma music scene.
Honing his stage chops by singing for almost two years with a Wichita cover band, he said he was ready to move on to more creative opportunities.
He got a day job at Target and started seeking out open mics and jams at OKC spots like Mojo’s and Katt’s Cove. Harvey crossed paths with local musician Alex Reardon, who invited him to play with his band Biscuits and Groovy. The group snagged a weekly residency gig at The Deli, a Norman live music staple.
How to watch ‘ The Voice’
“The Voice” airs at 7 p.m. Mondays and 8 p.m. Tuesdays on NBC. Episodes stream the next day on Peacock on-demand.
The streaming service offers full episodes from the show’s previous 24 seasons, too.
“It’s not just me on stage: That’s something I thought about a lot during the blind audition was there’s people that I wish could see this.” AJ Harvey Norman singer