Allison Russell

Allison Russell, a Grammy Award-winning musician and activist, launched her acclaimed solo career with the release of ‘Outside Child’ in 2021, an album that earned her three Grammy nominations and the Juno Award for Contemporary Roots Album of the Year in 2022, followed by the Americana Music Association Album of the Year award. Prior to her solo breakthrough, Russell’s extensive career began in 1999 as a co-founder of the Vancouver-based Celtic folk band Fear of Drinking. In 2003, she co-founded Po’ Girl with Trish Klein, releasing seven albums with the band, including their debut ‘Po’ Girl’ (2003), ‘Vagabond Lullabies’ (2004), ‘B-side Recordings’ (2006), ‘Home to You’ (2007), ‘Deer in the Night’ (2008), ‘Live’ (2009), and ‘Follow Your Bliss’ (2010). Russell continued to evolve her sound, co-founding Birds of Chicago in 2012 with JT Nero, an ensemble that released three studio albums: ‘Birds of Chicago’ (2012), ‘Live from Space’ (2013), and ‘Love in Wartime’ (2018), alongside ‘American Flowers’ (2018).

Her versatility extends to the screen and stage, with a recent voice role as Teddi Barra in Disney World’s Country Bear Musical Jamboree, released in July 2024. Looking ahead, Russell is set to make her highly anticipated Broadway debut as Persephone in ‘Hadestown’ in November 2024. She is also slated for a prestigious performance with the Kronos Quartet at The University of Chicago in July 2025, during the Nobel Laureate Assembly for the Prevention of Nuclear War, further cementing her status as a multidisciplinary artist at the forefront of music and culture.