When she first hit the stage before sunset, and again as darkness fell towards the end of her performance, singer-songwriter Allison Russell held up her hands in the shape of a heart towards the crowd at Confederation Park.
The action was an appropriate bookend to her main stage set to open Ottawa’s 45th annual Jazz Festival on Friday.
Much like her lyrics’ not-so-hidden human themes, Russell’s performance — accompanied by the Rainbow Coalition Band comprised of LGBTQ+ and racialized musicians — offered love, protection and hope with jazzy, genre-defying melodies.
Russell, who was hardly ever separated from her trusty clarinet throughout the night, set an ethereal and comforting tone by opening with “Hy-Brasil.” Her low, stirring vocals matched the drum’s steady thumps, the notes sitting in a snug range for the Montreal-born performer.
With gentle flicks of her peacock-patterned dress as she moved about the stage like tall grass dancing in the wind, Russell kicked up the energy with “Springtime.” Her band echoed her melody with light and springy harmonies, as Russell willed the steadily growing crowd to clap along.
“I used to think that I was doomed to die young, to be consumed,” she sang, smiling as she slipped into a resilient line: “So long, farewell, adieu, adieu, to that tunnel I went through.”
Russell broke up her setlist with personal anecdotes of winning chess tournaments and skating on Ottawa’s Rideau Canal, maintaining a warm connection with the attentive crowd.
One of her songs, the speakeasy-esque “Montreal” that elegantly flitted between English and French, paid homage to her hometown.
“This is as close to home as I’ve been in a long time,” she tenderly told the audience.
Though careful to entertain with the gentle hums of strings and clarinet, Russell’s words packed a powerful punch by balancing human strength with the fight for social causes.
In particular, Russell’s “Snakelife” lyrics eloquently track her healing journey, turning her into an “unstoppable” and “blazing force,” imploring others to do the same. Russell’s voice had a poignant shake as she clung onto the final notes of the song, before individually calling communities — Black, queer, Muslim, transgender and more — beautiful in their own right.
“The only planet that we know of in this universe is beautiful, irreplaceable, precious, miraculous,” she sang, hanging on with a vigorous belt to the final word.
Russell carried her message of universality into the driving “Eve Was Black,” a song that won her a Grammy award in 2024. The eclectic mix of banjo and shakers made for a rousing performance, accompanied by flashes of red and silver lights that cast a potent glow upon the crowd.
“No matter our differences, they are riches, they are glorious,” Russell said. “Diversity is not a dirty word, it is the prerequisite of all life on this earth.”
In a particularly memorable performance, Russell and the band huddled together near the front of the stage for stripped-back renditions of “Persephone” and “Superlover,” carried by Russell’s deep, hollow vocals. Swirly yellow and blue lighting made for a precious moment akin to playing for a group of friends, huddled around a campfire instead of a festival show.
Capping off the night with soft rock-sounding “Rag Child,” Russell left with commanding, dynamic melodies and thumping harmonies, before the stage lit up with yellow dots appropriately resembling the fireflies Russell was singing about in her bluesy, “Nightflyer” encore.
“I’m an angel of the morning too, the promise that the dawn will bring you,” Russell sang, ending the night with the same resilience and hope that echoed throughout the rest of her performance.
Featured image by Murray Oliver/the Charlatan
