Picture this—it’s August 26 and you’re on Ravinia’s Lawn enjoying your picnic spread before Lake Street Dive takes the stage when, suddenly, a sweet melody sung by a lovely, yet unfamiliar voice leaps out of the park’s speakers and stops you mid-bite. “Who’s that?” you wonder. It’s Allison Russell. And if you don’t already know this formidable Canadian singer, songwriter, banjoist, and clarinetist from her work with the roots band Po’ Girl, the folk-rock-gospel duo Birds of Chicago, or supergroup Our Native Daughters, meet your new favorite artist.
After two decades’ tenure between the aforementioned bands, Russell recently stepped out as a solo artist with her emotionally charged and critically acclaimed debut album Outside Child. The multi-instrumentalist and her co-writer/husband JT Nero mined her complicated past to fashion an autobiographical song cycle that’s not just an expressive way to process her pain, but an electrifying vehicle to share transformative stories of inner liberation and redemption.
The album’s thematic inspiration may be heavy, but its joyful melodic journeys are anything but. Recorded over four whirlwind days at Nashville’s Sound Emporium, Russell and company’s musical alchemy imbues the long-player with a captivating, cohesive sound accented with tasteful stylistic flourishes—a bit of jazz vocals here, an Americana vibe there, a fun Memphis-style groove detour, then some clawhammer banjo folk.
Of course, Russell’s honest, unflinching work speaks bravely and beautifully for itself, so take a listen to her complete new album or any number of notable tracks from her previous musical projects. It may be a “spoiler alert“ if you’re into having that sort of pleasant surprise while awaiting a top-of-the-bill band like Lake Street Dive, but the longer Russell’s music is in your life, the better.