Folk Music Ontario and SOCAN will present a songwriting masterclass with Allison Russell on Nov. 16, 2021, online via Zoom, to a limited audience that signs up for the event.
On her debut album Outside Child, Russell – now based in Nashville – reclaimed her story of being an abused child who found her lifeline in her hometown of Montréal. Russell moved to Vancouver when she came of age, where she had her first experiences as a professional musician, co-founding the band Po’Girl. With her daughter’s father, JT Nero, she founded the folk/gospel/Americana duo Birds of Chicago in 2012. In 2021, she released her first solo album – after overcoming the writer’s block that emerged after the birth of her daughter.
“I felt an urgency to write,” she says. “It became important to me to express vocally what I’ve been through, to end the cycles of violence – racism, sexism, sexual violence. It’s also very important to me to write my own story, and be able to tell people that it’s survivable.”
Russell’s unique life story and songwriting experience promise to provide a fascinating and instructive look at the process of turning life into song, and overcoming the struggles of that activity.
To register for her masterclass, click here.