ALLISON RUSSELL ANNOUNCES THIRD STUDIO ALBUM IN THE HOUR OF CHAOS
Today, Allison Russell has announced her third studio album, In The Hour of Chaos, produced by Russell and Dim Star and arriving on July 10th via Fantasy Records. To mark the occasion she has shared the single “Cold April” featuring her tourmate Kara Jackson, Denitia and the Explore! Pop Choir. LISTEN HERE.
Allison Russell on “Cold April”
Things are rough. Things have been rough before. Cold April is not laying out the grim facts of the moment. Cold April asks if we can let the music itself restore and recharge us. The act of singing with my sisters, Kara Jackson and Denitia, is a balm for my soul, and a wind at my back to keep on. And the Explore! Pop Choir… Let them tell it:
“Calling all birds from across the nation
yeah we got a brand new murmuration
we don’t have to fly in that
old formation, no”
Youth - and Love - will be served!
Allison Russell’s In the Hour of Chaos is a fervent plea for connection in this time of alienation, isolation and dread. These are songs meant to reverse the tides that pull us farther and farther apart, even from ones we love the most.This is a record meant to make you feel GOOD, and, in these times, feeling good is a radical act. It’s only fitting then, that Russell leaned into her vibrant and ever expanding community of artists and friends to create a collaborative song suite that goes far beyond a succession of features.
The songs unfold like a series of one act plays with Allison, who joins with an artist(s) from her rainbow diaspora, many from her adopted home in Nashville. Tactile, vulnerable, raw, soothing, sensual, sad – each is a little capsule of humans being fully human and fully present. From the quiet reckoning of “No Springtime” with Joy Oladokun and Julie Williams, to the joy- with-a-splash-of-sadness that is “Cold April,” where Kara Jackson, Denitia, and Russell’s daughter Ida’s Explore! Pop Choir add intergenerational depth, Allison Russell curates collaborators with care: Brittney Spencer’s earthy soul on “Black Lavender,” Norah Jones’ intimate ease on “Really Real,” Ruby Amanfu’s vulnerable grace on “Just Like Saturday,” – all serve as portals into our flawed, fantastic, interconnected lives.
Elsewhere, Devon Gilfillian brings effortless warmth to “Love is a Golden Lion,” Kashus Culpepper lends grit and swagger to “Searchlight,” Chibueze Ihuoma adds an otherworldly tenderness to “Two Stars,” and Ahya Simone’s incomparable harp closes the circle with the haunting “Good Omens.” Across these songs, Russell holds the center effortlessly, while illuminating the voices of her chosen family. She turns these throughlines into golden thread, strengthening as she weaves, the only protection she knows against the chaos of this hour.
Allison Russell just completed her second run on Broadway as Persephone in the 8x Tony Award winning musical Hadestown. She took over the role in November 2024 initially, after spending much of that year opening for Hozier on his Unreal Unearth Tour supporting his arena run on all US dates and throughout Europe. She made her Billboard Hot 100 debut thanks to their duet “Wildflower & Barley.”
Russell recently took the stage at the JUNO Awards to pay tribute to fellow Canadian, Joni Mitchell. The performance was a duet between her and Sarah McLachan who she will tour with throughout the summer. Dates kick off on July 1st in Franklin, TN.
The accolades for Russell have been immense. Last year she was nominated for the Polaris Prize and named Billboard Women In Music Canada’s “Breakthrough Artist of the Year.” She has had 8 GRAMMY nominations and one win, earned three 2022 Americana Award nominations and a win for Album of the Year with subsequent nominations in 2023 and 2024, two International Folk Music Award wins, a 2022 Juno nomination for ‘Songwriter of the Year,’ and her first-ever Juno Award win for Contemporary Roots Album of the Year. Russell won three Canadian Folk Music Awards, two UK Americana Music Awards, and more.