BABE #320: ALLISON RUSSELL - Singer/Songwriter, Birds of Chicago

October 29, 2019 Chelsea DuDeVoire

Allison is a singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist for Birds of Chicago, and a mother to a tenacious young BWH in-the-making. Together with her partner (both in music and in life), she serenades crowds with a dreamy combination of folk, rock, soul and gospel music. Most of her days are spent touring, but she recently started experimenting with solo recording to lessen her time spent on the road. Her hustle looks like a lot of writing, a lot of playing, and for now, a lot of traveling. We loved catching up with her at Bourbon and Beyond and look forward to seeing what she conquers next.

The Basics:

Hometown: Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Current city: Nashville, Tennessee
Alma mater: Dawson College, Montreal
Very first job: Dog walking for folks in my apartment complex at age seven
Hustle: Singer/Songwriter, Birds of Chicago

The Interests:

Who’s a babe you admire?
Mavis Staples. She’s been a babe I’ve admired my whole life. Not just for her artistry, but for her activism; she’s on fire. I'm part of another group called Our Native Daughters, and we recently got to sing with Mavis, Hozier, and Jason Isbell — we were all there worshipping Mavis Staples, and it just doesn’t get better than that. She’s someone I admire very, very deeply.

MEKElly

How do you spend your free time?
I have not added a ton of free time lately. I'm a mom as well now—my daughter is 5, so any free time from working is just spent desperately trying to make up for how much we’ve been apart for the past few months. We flew to Europe when she was 4 weeks old; she’s been to 15 countries and every state except Hawaii. Last spring, she sat us down after a tour and told us she wanted to go to school and stop touring with us. She’s a total babe who hustles.

What’s your current power anthem?
TBH, anything Lizzo. My daughter and I are obsessed with Lizzo. She’s so empowering, and so compassionate, and so confident, and so gracious. She’s everyone’s current power anthem.

The Hustle:

What does your typical workday look like?
I’m a singer/songwriter for Birds of Chicago, the rock and roll band I started with my husband. We tour about 180 days each year, although we’re trying to be on the road less. We recently started recording solo records because we want to be able to do some individual touring so we’re not both away from our daughter simultaneously during the school year. My last four workdays have looked like 12-hour days in the recording studio, going home to spend time with my daughter, then hopping in the van to tour and do interviews. Lots of writing, lots of playing, lots of traveling.

When did you first start playing music?
I always sang and I always wrote, but it was very much a closeted, personal thing growing up. I ended up leaving home at 15 years old (which I don’t recommend, though sometimes that's the only path). I started playing music when I found my way from Montreal to Vancouver and got to know my maternal aunt, Jen Russell, who lived there. She’s a singer and songwriter, and she introduced me to the world of folk music. I kind of never looked back.

How has playing and touring with your partner influenced your music (and your relationship)?
It's a tough thing. The music and the friendship came first for us, and the relationship evolved out of that. We've always had the utmost respect for each other as artists and are very careful to protect that. It's really rare to have a strong musical connection like we do—more rare than a romantic connection. Eventually, we just decided to go with the flow and agree we’re going to be respectful and loving with each other, whatever happened. So, here we are today, 13 years as partners. By no means is it sunshine and roses every day. Of course there's conflict. We’re getting better at putting compassion first, having boundaries—healthy boundaries—and doing things individually that feed our souls, too.

Doug Mason Photography

How has being a woman affected your professional experience?
I would say there's a lot of needing to prove your competence that happens when you're a woman in the music industry—it’s just very different for men. I see it firsthand with the way people interact with my husband versus the way they interact with me, and I’m more experienced than he is in terms of touring and being on the road. Little comments like, “Do you know how to plug that in?” and bigger things like sexual harassment are definitely prevalent. It’s important to reinforce boundaries and to support each other as women, and it’s cathartic to navigate those things together. I always try and approach bigotry with compassion because I want my daughter to live in a better environment than we do. Change always comes from the people who come before us—and that happens through conversations just like this one.

Career and/or life advice for other babes?
Don’t give up. Don't give up when there's a little resistance. Don't feel like you have to acquiesce to something that makes you uncomfortable in your gut. There are ways to be gracious and assert your boundaries. Also, don't feel like you always have to be gracious—sometimes it's appropriate not to be. Sometimes someone needs to hear they crossed the line without consent. I think if you have a strong passion for something, nobody else gets to tell you whether that’s for you or not. Nothing worth having comes without struggle. Don’t be afraid of struggle, and don’t be afraid of conflict—conflict is not the same as violence.

Darrin Ballman