ALLISON RUSSELL RELEASES “ALL OF THE WOMEN FEATURING SA-ROC (dim star REMIX)”

NOMINATED FOR TWO JUNO AWARDS INCLUDING BEST SONGWRITER

NOMINATED FOR THREE GRAMMY AWARDS 
Best Americana Album 
Best American Roots Performance 
Best American Roots Song 

DEBUT ALBUM
OUTSIDE CHILD 
OUT NOW ON FANTASY

Today, artist, author and activist Allison Russell has released the remix of “All of the Women featuring Sa-Roc” produced by dim star. The original track appeared on her critically acclaimed debut solo album, Outside Child. The dim star remix features an appearance from the Atlanta-based (by way of D.C.) rapper Sa-Roc and chronicles Russell’s experience as a healthcare worker in Vancouver and the women she would encounter on the frontlines. LISTEN HERE. This past Friday, Russell sat down with writer, poet and critic Hanif Abdurraquib for his Sonos Radio show Object of Sound where they discussed Sa-Roc, Outside Child, trauma and joy. Listen to the episode here. 

Last week, Russell was nominated for two JUNO Awards in her native Canada including “Songwriter of the Year” and “Contemporary Roots Album of the Year.” Russell and Outside Child have also been nominated for three GRAMMY Awards, two Americana Music Association Awards, three UK Americana Awards (including 2 wins!), four Canadian Folk Music Awards, and the Polaris Long List.

Allison Russell on “All Of The Women”:

I had a day job when I lived out West. I was a front-line mental health worker for almost 7 years in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver (aka DTES, the poorest postal code, heart of the homelessness crisis and fentanyl/opioid crisis in Canada), from 19 until I was 26. I worked for two harm reduction initiatives- the PHS – a low threshold housing society, and Insite – the first ever safe injection site in North America. Most of our residents/participants were dual diagnosis- addiction, and mental health. Many of the women in our community had histories and stories akin to mine. I was constantly afraid for the women working in the sex trade especially- I moved to Vancouver amidst the ongoing Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls Crisis- now understood to be on the level of Genocide – that was belatedly only semi-addressed by law-enforcement. It is more perilous to be a woman in every culture and society. We are seeing the devastating overlap between #blacklivesmatter, #blacktranslivesmatter and #mmiwg today. BIPOC women are leading the way out of bigotry and into true equality. Shirley was luminous and so kind to me as I got to know the parameters of my caregiving jobs, and the complex and close-knit community that I served and came to love and identify with deeply. She was indomitable and I miss her.

 

Earlier this year, Allison Russell performed her single “Persephone” on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Flatiron Books (a division of MacMillan) also announced that they had inked a deal with Russell to publish her debut memoir which will be a deep dive / excavation of her life sprung from the material of her award-winning album. Senior Editor, Bryn Clark whose credits include books with Oprah Winfrey and ‘me too’ founder Tarana Burke will edit the book. Read the full story via Variety. Flatiron Books, founded in 2014 has published over 70 New York Times Bestsellers including works from President Joe Biden, Oprah Winfrey, Ashley C. Ford, Liane Moriarty and more.

On the critically acclaimed Outside Child (produced by Dan Knobler), Allison Russell, the poet, singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, activist and co-founder of Our Native Daughters and Birds of Chicago, unpacks her youth in searing detail. 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! and CBS This Morning, made her Opry debut and appeared at the Country Music Hall of Fame.  Russell also acted as the closing curator at the 63rd annual Newport Folk Festival. In the set, she brought together BIPOC/LGBTQIA+/Ally visionaries for a landmark collaboration with a mission of placing Black Womxn and active Allies at the center, the event included Adia Victoria, Brandi Carlile, Chaka Khan, Margo Price, Kyshona, Yasmin Williams and so many more.

Allison Russell is on tour throughout North America, the UK and Europe throughout 2022. Highlights include a run of dates opening for Brandi Carlile, Andrew Biard & Iron and Wine. A full list of tour dates can be found below.

PRAISE FOR ALLISON RUSSELL’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.

Photo credit: Marc Baptiste

TOUR DATES:
March 08: The Sinclair, Cambridge, MA (w/ Kyshona)
March 09: State Theatre, Portland, ME (w/ Kyshona)
March 10: Love Rocks, NYC, NY
March 12: Nashville Ballet Ball, Nashville, TN
March 13: Kentucky Performing Arts, Louisville, KY
March 17: Luck Reunion, Luck, TX
April 06: Savannah Music Festival, Savannah, GA (w/ Katie Pruitt)
April 10: Word of South: A Festival of Literature and Music, Tallahassee, FL
April 30: Merlefest, Wilkesboro NC
May 14: Door Community Auditorium, Fish Creek, WI
May 22: Basement East, Nashville, TN
May 29: Strawberry Fest, Grass Valley, CA
June 01: Spoleto Festival, Charleston, SC
June 02: Virginia Arts Festival, Norfolk, VA
June 12: The Van Buren, Phoenix, AZ (with Andrew Bird x Iron & Wine)
June 13: The Magnolia, San Diego, CA (with Andrew Bird x Iron & Wine)
June 15: The Greek, LA (with Andrew Bird x Iron & Wine)
June 17: The Greek, Berkeley CA (with Andrew Bird x Iron & Wine)
June 18: Pioneer Square, Portland OR (with Andrew Bird x Iron & Wine)
June 19: Woodland Park Zoom Amphitheater Seattle WA (with Andrew Bird x Iron & Wine)
June 21: Red Butte Gardens, Salt Lake City, UT (with Andrew Bird x Iron & Wine)
June 24: Red Wing Roots, Mt Solon, VA
July 10: Mariposa Festival. Orillia, ON
Aug 06: Edmonton Folk Music Fest, Edmonton, Alberta
Aug 07: Edmonton Folk Music Fest, Edmonton, Alberta
Aug 18: Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia, MD (w/ Brandi Carlile and Indigo Girls)
Aug 19: Bethel Woods, Bethel, NY (with Brandi Carlile and Yola)
Aug 20: The Mann, Philadelphia, PA (with Brandi Carlile and Celisse)
Aug 24: Omeara, London, UK
Aug 27: The Long Road Festival,
Sept 09: Red Rocks (w/ Brandi Carlile)
Sept 10: Red Rocks (w/ Brandi Carlile)

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