This past weekend, Russell was part of Nashville’s dedication of Rep. John Lewis Way. She sang “Lift Ev’ry Voice And Sing” to kickoff the celebratory march and then during the program at the Ryman Auditorium, was joined by Daisha McBride and The McCrary Sisters for an inspired rendition of Common & John Legend’s “Glory” with musical direction from T Bone Burnett. Other speakers/performers at that event included civil rights activists and freedom riders, Vice President Al Gore, Grammy winners Darius Rucker and Rodney Crowell, professor Dr. Michael Eric Dyson, and historian Jon Meachem.
Allison also hits new peaks this week with #2 on the Americana Albums chart and #6 on the Americana Singles chart.
Following Newport Folk, Allison Russell will kick off her own tour on July 29th at the Narrow’s Center for the Arts in Fall River, MA. Throughout the summer and fall she will also open dates for Nathaniel Rateliff & Marcus King Band, Margo Price and Jason Isbell as well as a full run of dates with Lake Street Dive. On September 25th Russell will appear on the legendary Farm Aid joining the line-up including Neil Young, Willie Nelson & John Mellencamp.
In the critically acclaimed Outside Child (produced by Dan Knobler), the poet, singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, activist and co-founder of Our Native Daughters and Birds of Chicago, unpacks her youth in searing detail throughout the album.Throughout the album, she sings about deliverance and redemption, about the places and people and realizations that helped her survive and claim her freedom. It’s an album of strength and affirmation, not victimization,” said The New York Times in their profile on Russell. Following the release of Outside Child, she performed on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, made her Opry debut and appeared at the Country Music Hall of Fame. Allison Russell has been nominated for 2 Americana Awards this year and put on the Polaris Prize long list. Earlier this week Allison Russell appeared on NPR’s World Cafe, and she will be next week’s featured guest on Acoustic Café, an internationally syndicated radio show airing on over 110 stations. She’ll be discussing the powerful stories behind the songs on Outside Child and sharing live performances as well.
PRAISE FOR ALLISON RUSSEL’S
OUTSIDE CHILD
“The singer and songwriter’s debut solo album, ‘Outside Child,’ tells a harrowing story with a survivor’s joy. Throughout the album, she sings about deliverance and redemption, about the places and people and realizations that helped her survive and claim her freedom. It’s an album of strength and affirmation, not victimization.” - New York Times
"Musical memoirs don’t come any braver, or any better than this album-of-the-year contender...Can an album be a trip through hell and also something you put on again and again for pleasure? ‘Outside Child’ walks that line, with its harrowing truths and ultimately joyful noise.” -Variety
"Singing a blend of elegant torch songs, ancestral ballads (in French and English), gentle country shuffles, and Al-Green inspired R&B, Russell embarks on a fresh musical beginning by dealing directly with her traumatic upbringing...Despite its heavy inspirations, ‘Outside Child’ is anything but despairing or academic." - Rolling Stone
"One of the most exciting voices in roots music. Russell explores her troubled upbringing, and how her creative life helped her overcome pain and abuse." - San Francisco Chronicle
"With her gorgeously soulful and often sad voice, this singer-songwriter by way of Montreal and Nashville confronts the trauma of her abusive upbringing. Whether sung in French, with a light twang or as southern soul, the songs are deeply emotional and righteously liberating. Maybe the best album of 2021 so far." - Minneapolis Star Tribune
“Allison Russell’s first solo album, soars on wings of resilience and redemption, but not before walking through the valley of the shadows of pain and abuse and desolate loneliness. The 11-song cycle circles outward in ever expanding arcs.” - No Depression
“A stunning exploration of trauma she endured in her youth, examined with new insight and wisdom that only time and distance can bring” - Nashville Scene
"The lyrics to ‘Nightflyer’ are mostly a list, a poetic and far-reaching one: ‘I’m the moon’s dark side, I’m the solar flare/the child of the earth, the child of the air/I am the mother of the evening star/I am the love that conquers all.’ Allison Russell sings them over a stately blend of country and church as she summons a congregation of her own vocal harmonies, gathering strength as she promises reassurance." - The New York Times on “Nightflyer”
"Triumph glistens along poetic lyric lines as Russell uncovers unforeseen strength. Understanding this deeply rooted resilience derives from generations of strife, the artist beams with pride knowing the same strength will continue to build for her daughter and generations to come." - American Songwriter
LISTEN TO OUTSIDE CHILD HERE
Born and raised in Montreal, Russell imbues her music with the colors of her city - the light, the landscape, the language - but also the trauma that she suffered there. It is a heartbreaking reflection on a childhood no one should have to endure, and at the same time a powerful and warm statement of hope - asserted from a place of healing, of motherhood, of partnership - and from a new home made in Nashville. The record features contributions from many of the artistic family members she has found there including producer Dan Knobler, Erin Rae, Jamie Dick, Joe Pisapia, The McCrary Sisters, Ruth Moody, Yola, and her partner JT Nero.
“It was just about making these songs live and breathe in the most honest way,” Russell says. “We were laughing, we were crying. And the communion between musicians, I hope people can hear that on the record. It felt like magic.”
“Outside Child, Russell added, “is about resilience, survival, transcendence, the redemptive power of art, community, connection, and chosen family.” The album is both a radical reclamation of a traumatic childhood and lost home, and a lantern light for survivors of all stripes - a fervent reminder of the resuscitative power of art. “Allison’s new album, Outside Child, draws water from the dark well of a violent past,” says poet and songwriter Joe Henry.” “The songs themselves ––though iron-hard in their concerns–– are exultant: exercising haunted dream-like clean bedsheets snapped and hung out into broad daylight, and with the romantic poet’s lust for living and audacity of endurance.”
For special offers and exclusive merchandise, visit Allison’s official online store HERE. 
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