Allison Russell (CA)

About

Allison Russell spent years as a sideswoman before stepping out front, and it paid off in a big way. She cut her teeth in Po' Girl, Birds of Chicago and Our Native Daughters, the collective she shares with Rhiannon Giddens, Leyla McCalla and Amythyst Kiah, before her 2021 solo debut Outside Child landed a run of Grammy nominations, a spot on the Polaris Music Prize long list, and a nod for Emerging Act at the Americana Honors & Awards. The follow up, The Returner, came out in 2023 and took the Grammy for Best American Roots Performance with "Eve Was Black", plus a Polaris shortlist place. Her sound sits somewhere between folk, country, alternative pop and southern gothic, and she's never stuck to one lane: she's played the Grand Ole Opry, organised the Love Rising benefit concert in Nashville, voiced a bear at Disney World, and made her Broadway debut as Persephone in Hadestown. Lately she's been back with a new video for "Searchlight" featuring Kashus Culpepper.