Broadway star and Grammy award-winning artist Allison Russell recently captivated her audience at The Showbox on May 16 during her ‘All Returners’ international tour. Following a successful 15-week run as Persephone in ‘Hadestown’ and an opening slot for Hozier on his ‘Unreal Unearth’ tour, Russell returned to headlining, showcasing her remarkable talent on stage.
The anticipation built from her postponed tour dates in the fall of 2024, and Russell felt grateful for the warm reception from her loyal fans. “The audiences have been so wonderful and warm and forgiving,” she remarked, expressing her appreciation for those who remained patient and understanding. “Many of them had tickets for last fall, so I am very grateful that they were patient and understanding and came back with us in the spring.”
Kara Jackson, a promising young artist, opened the night with an acoustic guitar and her hauntingly beautiful voice. Her simplistic yet impactful lyricism resonated profoundly with the female audience, proving to be both blunt and humorously relatable, particularly as she addressed themes such as fragile masculinity and thrifting.
“She’s just this incredible young, brilliant artist,” Russell praised. “Her voice does something to my neurology and physiology. She’s just so powerful, I cannot express this enough.”
The atmosphere shifted as Russell’s backing band, The Rainbow Coalition, performed their pre-show ritual, surrounding her as she lit a candle before diving into their performance of “Hy-Brasil.”
Russell’s second song, the opening track from her latest album ‘Springtime,’ paid homage to her Québécois heritage. Singing in both French and English, she delivered a journey of blissful lyricism that reflected her upbringing. “It’s just how I grew up,” she explained. “I was raised speaking English and French in Montreal in a French foster family and French immersion schooling up until the tenth grade. I consider it one of my mother tongues.”
During her performance, Russell’s music served as a reflection of her life experiences in Montreal, shedding light on her tumultuous childhood marked by homelessness and violence. She transformed her painful past into a safe haven for her audience through her art. “People don’t realize how much they are a part of co-creating any live show,” Russell stated. “The people that come to listen and to participate are as important as the people on stage. It’s always a community, and you’re always building together.”
The concert became more than just a musical performance; it turned into a dialogue. Between songs, Russell spoke passionately about various topics ranging from the crisis in Palestine to her experiences playing clarinet with Joni Mitchell. Her engaging storytelling often took precedence over singing, leading to remarks from her ensemble that she had evolved into a more preacher-like figure. “I guess because I was playing Persephone for so long, I definitely brought a little of her onto stage,” Russell remarked humorously.
The connection between Russell and her Broadway character was accentuated during an acoustic rendition of her song “Persephone,” where she shared the story of her budding first love. Watching her perform, it was evident that the girl who experienced those emotions years ago is now reflected in who she has become as an artist — a 43-year-old mother traveling the world to sing about love, all encapsulated in her tour’s title, ‘All Returners.’
“The idea metaphorically to be a returner is the idea of a joyful survivor, which we all are,” Russell articulated. “There’s not a human on the planet who leaves this world without experiencing trauma. I am reminding us all that our human birthright is this transcendent survival and resilience.”
In a deliberate show of appreciation, Russell spent over ten minutes acknowledging her fellow band members, The Rainbow Coalition, highlighting the importance of collaboration in creating exceptional art. “If I’m not going to hire brilliant intersectional artists, then who will?” she asked the audience. “In order to make great art, you have to feel safe and you have to feel respected.”
As the night drew to a close, Russell led the crowd in a heartfelt sing-along to the title track from her latest album, ‘The Returner,’ leaving her audience with a lighter heart. Instead of the typical gesture of tossing guitar picks or drumsticks, she delighted attendees by throwing bouquets of flowers into the crowd before exiting the stage alongside the Rainbow Coalition.
The journey for Russell is far from over as her ‘All Returners’ tour continues through the end of May, followed by select dates in Canada during July and August. Looking ahead, Russell shared her ambition to release her fourth album, stating, “We’re almost done with our new record called ‘In The Hour of Chaos.’ Now I’ve definitely been bitten by the theater bug, and I’m looking at a few other projects so we’ll see, but I want to keep a foot in that world for sure.”
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