While some musicians are scheming to go viral, the indie-folk band Oliver Hazard has been killing it the old-fashioned way: squeezing into a van, traversing a tangle of Interstates, and winning over fans one city at a time. “Early on, we noticed we had at least one fan in all these different cities,” says cofounder-frontman-guitarist Mike Belazis. So they created a Living Room Tour, where one fan would host the band and invite over some friends. They played 60 shows across the U.S. in 2019 alone. “There could be 20 people, but we still played like it’s 1,000 people,” he continues. “And we’d turn one fan into 35 fans. That was the catalyst for building our fanbase.” Such is the ethic that’s made Oliver Hazard a case study in smarts, hustle, and unrelenting charm.Distilling the complexities of life, while honoring influences such as Paul Simon and Bob Dylan, Fleet Foxes and Grizzly Bear, has become Oliver Hazard’s specialty. “I always think back to something Devin once said,” Mike recalls of his tacit, contemplative bandmate. “People ask us about the deep meaning in our songs. He was like, ‘We’re writing about very simple concepts.’ That hits the nail on the head: We want our music to be this looking glass into our small town.”The band is based in the unpretentious, picturesque hamlet of Waterville, Ohio, a suburb of Toledo (pop: 6,000 give or take), close to where both Mike and Devin were raised. It’s the kind of town where visitors, Mike observes, “are always struck by the fact that you can get a $1.50 Budweiser at the local bar.” (The band’s moniker proudly points to their roots, referencing Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, the War of 1812 hero, whose name appears everywhere.) Each year, the city shuts down a street for Oliver Hazard Day, the festival the band headlines alongside local and emerging artists, which has become a tourist attraction. “The mayor introduces us, and he kind of looks like a cartoon character,” Mike says. “Everything about it feels like this unbelievable magic.”