FIJM | Allison Russel’s Apotheosis Concert in Her Hometown

Incandescent, resilient, moving, burning, luminous, magnificent! All this and more can be said about Allison Russell.

Accompanied by a trio of musicians, the singer-songwriter revealed herself to a huge crowd on the FIJM stage. And it was a brilliant, magical moment!

After a short clarinet solo and an a cappella song, Allison followed up with her song Montreal, which recounts some very painful moments from her Montreal childhood. But it was also a way of telling the audience that she was happy to be back in her hometown. And that she was making it her own.

“It’s good for my spirit to be here with you,” she chanted.

It seems to me that Allison Russell is becoming more and more assertive, and that her voice is gaining in depth all the time. Her Americana mix moves us, makes us groove and also makes us think. The 43-year-old seems to be glowing, despite a turbulent past and a complicated career to say the least.

This concert also had a Montreal dimension: she sang several verses in French and addressed the crowd as much, if not more, in the language of Molière than in that of Donald Trump.

She also spoke of the importance of free access to culture in Montreal, of the art that literally saved her life when she was a teenager. She still loves Montreal.

The now Nashville resident also shared with us her anxieties about what her host country is becoming, the reversal of pro-diversity policies, of which she is a great supporter.

Who knows? Donald Trump may end up deporting her. She recently sang on a song with several groups called “No Kings in The USA.”

But last night, it was the music that dominated everything. And that voice! Allison Russell also took the risk of lowering the intensity in the middle of the concert to present us with a more acoustic “campfire” moment, singing the magnificent “Superlover,” which she recorded in the studio accompanied by Annie Lennox, the legendary singer of the British band Eurythmics. A song about tears in Palestine, Israel and Tennessee.

Then it was back to grooving for the last part of the concert, much to the delight of the crowd. By chance, we heard some bangs, probably fireworks, which for a moment made us think of an American invasion… I’m joking, but not completely.

I’m still amazed that many Quebecers don’t know Allison Russell, despite an interview she gave on Tout le monde en parle in 2023. I hope this free outdoor concert will give her the recognition she deserves here as much as anywhere else.

Photo: Victor Diaz Lamich