A Grammy-Nominated Singer Performs and Explores Music's Deep Power Over Us
About this episode
In this guest-hosted episode, producer Annie Galvin talks with Grammy-nominated singer Allison Russell, who performs songs live with her band. Russell traces music's physiological power — its neurological and emotional immediacy — and its role as a companion through her abusive childhood, when she found community through music and her first love, memorialized in 'Persephone.' They discuss her songwriting process, the blend of pain and hope, her idea of 'survivor's joy,' and what home means to a touring musician. Russell performs and explains 'Quasheba, Quasheba,' an homage to her enslaved ancestor Quasheba, whose survival she credits for her existence, and reflects on how trauma connects across diasporic experiences. She closes with her mantra song 'Fourth Day Prayer,' advice for listeners in hard times, and book and album recommendations.