Allison Russell Archives | Folk Roots Radio

Folk Roots Radio Episode 659: We’re All About The Music! (Mak’em & Tak’em Edition)

May 03 2023

Join us on Episode 659 of Folk Roots Radio for another hour of the latest new folk and roots releases. There is loads of great new music out there, and, as always, it’s an absolute pleasure to be able to share more of it with you. This time around we check out new music from Unthank Smith, Cinder Well, John McCusker, Annie Capps, Waymzy (Kyle Waymouth), A’Court with Spiegel & Vinnick, Aaron Nathans & Michael G. Ronstadt, Nadjiwan, Logan Staats, The Rough & Tumble, Peggy Seeger, Maggie Fraser, Tim Grimm and Del Barber. Remember, If you like the artists you hear on this show and want to support them, don’t just stream their music – BUY their music, and then you’ll really make a difference to their income at a time when it is becoming more and more difficult to make a living as a musician. Check out the full playlist below.

Folk Roots Radio Episode 644: We’re All About The Music! (You're Not Alone Edition)

Oct 08 2022

We’re pleased to bring you another hour of great new music on Episode 644 of Folk Roots Radio. This time around we include “You’re Not Alone”, the latest single from Allison Russell (which also features Brandi Carlile), alongside new releases from Suzie Vinnick, Terra Spencer & Ben Caplan, Mia Kelly, Tommy Emmanuel, John McCutcheon, Peter Mulvey & Sistastrings, Wally Barnick, Deidre McCalla, Coulee Creek, Helen Townsend with Shannon Smith. We wrap things up with a rousing blues rock set featuring Blue Moon Marquee, Steve Strongman, Crystal Shawanda and Bywater Call. It’s a great episode. We hope you’ll enjoy it. As always, If you like the artists you hear on this show and want to support them, don’t just stream their music – BUY their music, and then you’ll really make a difference to their income at a time when it is becoming much more difficult to make a living as a musician. Check out the full playlist below.

Folk Roots Radio Episode 640: We’re All About The Music! (Charmed Life Edition)

Aug 13 2022

Join us on Episode 640 of Folk Roots Radio for another fine selection of songs that sound just so good together. This time around we check out new music from Michael Logen & Amy Stroup, Durham County Poets, The Divine Comedy, The Montgomery Street Band, Basset, Moonfruits, Jasmine (feat. Victor Hernández), The Woods, Madison Violet, woe11er, Sons Of The Never Wrong, Oysterband and Pat Chessell. We wrap things up with a fabulous live version of “’til It’s Gone” from Allison Russell and her music and life partner JT Nero as fabulous folk/Americana duo Birds of Chicago. Remember, if you like what you hear on Folk Roots Radio… and want to support the artists… don’t just stream their music, BUY their music and then you’ll really make a difference to their income during this difficult time, when live show opportunities are harder to come by. Check out the full playlist below.

Folk Roots Radio Episode 630: We're All About The Music! (All Of The Women Edition)

May 07 2022

Join us on Episode 630 of Folk Roots Radio for another selection of the latest new releases. This time around, all of the songs we play are by female artists and we feature new music from Anaïs Mitchell, Basia Bulat, Abigail Lapell, Pharis & Jason Romero, Ingrid Henderson, Kathy Kallick, The Swinging Belles, Susan Cattaneo, Eddi Reader, Tami Neilson (with Willie Nelson), Aoife O’Donovan, Allison Russell (with Sa-Roc) and Annabelle Chvostek. Remember, if you like what you hear on Folk Roots Radio… and want to support the artists… don’t just stream their music, BUY their music and then you’ll really make a difference to their income during this difficult time, when live show opportunities are harder to come by. Check out the full playlist below.

Folk Roots Radio Episode 615: Our Favourite Albums of 2021

Jan 09 2022

They are finally here – Our Favourite Albums of 2021! One of the best things about doing a radio show is getting loads of great music to listen to each week. One of the hardest things to do though is to take all that fabulous music and narrow it down to your ten favourite albums of the year. ‘Best of the year’ lists are very subjective and can only reflect the albums that you’ve actually received, but they are a fun way to reflect on a year gone by, and hopefully get people to check out music they may not have realized they actually like. Join us on this episode as we countdown The Top 10, and check out the rest of our long list in the playlist below. We’ll be dipping into The Next 40 on future episodes of Folk Roots Radio. Remember, if you like what you hear on Folk Roots Radio… and want to support the artists… don’t just stream their music, BUY their music and then you’ll really make a difference to their income during this difficult time when it’s really hard to find live show opportunities.

Folk Roots Radio Episode 591: feat. Kay Howl - Pink Trees & More New Releases

Aug 04 2021

London ON based singer-songwriter Kay Howl joins us on Episode 591 of Folk Roots Radio for an in-depth conversation about her music. You may not recognize the name Kay Howl, until we tell you that as Kay Oh Chay, she was the big voice behind the keys of the fun bluesy duo, The Oh Chays. She’s now back with a new identity, new direction and a wonderful new album, “Pink Trees”. It’s a great interview – we hope you’ll stay with us to check it out. As always, we wrap up the episode with more new releases, and this time around they are all by female artists as we hear from Flo Perlin, Tenise Marie, Tess Anderson, Allison Russell, Katie McNally Trio, Tania Joy, Katherine Priddy and Madeline Doornaert. Check out the full playlist below.

Folk Roots Radio Episode 581: feat. Sarah Smith - The Covid Times Interview & More New Releases

May 24 2021

We’re pleased to bring you another great Covid Times interview on Episode 581 of Folk Roots Radio. One of our favourite performers, pop/rock singer-songwriter Sarah Smith joins us to chat about how, like many musicians, her life and career have been turned completely upside down by the ongoing health crisis. Despite the loss of her live work, Sarah has been keeping herself busy engaging her fans by Livestream and working on new songs. She’s also settling into a new home on Pender Island in British Columbia. It’s a really insightful interview – we hope you’ll stay with us to check it out. As always, we wrap up the episode with new music, and this time around it’s all by female artists and female lead bands. Join us for new releases from Sarah Jarosz, Allison Russell, For Lua, Amythyst Kiah, Katie McNally Trio, Geneviève Racette, AV (Ann Vriend), Annabelle Chvostek and Good Lovelies. Check out the full playlist below.

Folk Roots Radio Episode 578: feat. Lizzy Plotkin & Natalie Spears - Just Over The Ridge & More New Releases

Apr 27 2021

We’re off to Colorado on Episode 578 of Folk Roots Radio to talk to fiddle and banjo duo Lizzy Plotkin & Natalie Spears about their six track EP “Just Over The Ridge” which has a wonderful Appalachian feel to it and a really nice groove. It’s a great conversation, and definitely worth checking out. We wrap up the episode with more new music we’ve received and this time around we hear from Tekla Waterfield & Jeff Fielder, Rosier, Sarah Burton, Alec Fraser Jr, Reid Jamieson, Allison Russell, Suzie Ungerleider (formerly Oh Susanna), Rachel Cribby and Peggy Seeger. Check out the full playlist below.

Folk Roots Radio Episode 569: We're All About The Music! (International Women's Day)

Mar 08 2021

We’re celebrating International Women’s Day on Episode 569 of Folk Roots Radio with an hour of great new music by female artists. Join us for new releases from The Weather Station, Rosier, Brigid O’Neill, Becky Buller, Katie McNally Trio, Lyn Koonce, Sara Thomsen, Colleen Kattau, Allison Russell, La Légende de Calamity Jane, Bobby Dove, Lisa Jeanette, Jaspar Lepak, Susan Ellenton and Liz Simmons. Check out the full playlist below.

Folk Roots Radio Episode 565: We're All About The Music! (For The Love Of LIVE Edition)

Feb 13 2021

We’re holding back the interviews again on Episode 565 of Folk Roots Radio to bring you another hour of great new music with some fine Covid times singles thrown into the mix. Musicians and music industry employees have seen their livelihoods severely impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. For that reason, we have chosen to use the Canadian Live Music Association awareness campaign slogan For The Love Of LIVE (#fortheloveoflive) to subtitle this episode. Music helps us all get through tough times. It’s time for us to give back and do what we can to help publicize the issues facing artists and the live music industry, generally, during the current crisis. Join us on this episode for new music from Allison Russell, Mati Haskell (with JK Gulley), John Smith, The Treeline, Seamus Egan, Joy Zimmerman, Lizanne Knott, Larry Folk, Jaime Michaels, Francine Honey, Luke Concannon, The Brother Brothers, Jerry Leger, Justin Rutledge and Keith Goodwin. If you like the artists you hear on this show, don’t just stream their music – BUY their music and then you’ll really make a difference to their income during this difficult time when it’s impossible to play live shows. Check out the full playlist below.

Folk Roots Radio Episode 486: Our Favourite Albums of 2019

Dec 31 2019

It’s that time of year… we’re holding back the interviews on Episode 486 of Folk Roots Radio as we check out our ten favourite albums of 2019. One of the best things about doing a radio show is getting loads of great music to listen to each week. One of the hardest things to do is to take all that fabulous music and narrow it down to your ten favourite recordings of the year. You can check out The Top 10 on this episode. We’ll be playing more of our favourite albums on upcoming episodes of Folk Roots Radio. If you don’t see an album you really loved, maybe it didn’t make it up on to our radar, or perhaps we never received a copy. Please consider sharing your favourite albums in the comments – we might even spin them on a future episode of the show. Listen to The Top 10 and check out the full playlist below. Enjoy!

Folk Roots Radio Episode 458: feat. Tragedy Ann & More New Releases

Aug 16 2019

Liv Cazzola and Braden Phelan join us on Episode 458 of Folk Roots Radio to chat about the sweet music they make together as duo Tragedy Ann. If you recognize the name Cazzola, that’s because Liv and sister Anita, are leaders of Guelph art.folk collective The Lifers – and Braden Phelan is a guitarist in that band. As Tragedy Ann, Liv and Braden have great chemistry and a wonderful gentle humour. They’re now charming listening rooms across Canada with their folky mix of beautiful harmonies, ukulele, accordion and guitar. We hooked up with Tragedy Ann just before they set out on a tour of Northern Ontario, Manitoba and Saskatchewan. It was a great conversation, and definitely well worth checking out. We also take a look at more of the latest new releases and this time around we hear from Rising Appalachia, James Gordon, Paper Beat Scissors, Our Native Daughters (Rhiannon Giddens, Amythyst Kiah, Leyla McCalla, Allison Russell), James Hill & Anne Janelle, The Rails, Den Of Ashes and Michael McDermott. Check out the full playlist below.

May 17 2019

Khalid Yassein from Toronto’s folk-pop band Wild Rivers is our special guest on Episode 448 of Folk Roots Radio. After two album releases and a couple of singles, the Toronto-based band are really gaining traction, and have already developed a loyal fan base. They’ve just been touring Western Canada with Matt Andersen and his band, and this summer, they’ll be playing the wonderful Hillside Festival (July 12-14), at beautiful Guelph Lake, just outside Guelph ON. We check out their latest single “Moving Target”, plus two tracks from their 2018 E.P. “Eighty Eight”. We also take a look at more of the new releases we’ve received and this time around we include new music from Merival, Geneviève Racette, Our Native Daughters (Rhiannon Giddens, Amythyst Kiah, Leyla McCalla, Allison Russell), Irish Mythen, RUNA, Michelle Rumball, Manx Marriner Mainline (feat. Harry Manx and Steve Marriner), Bryan McPherson and Onion Honey. Check out the full playlist below.

Folk Roots Radio Episode 433: feat. Emily Jean Flack & International Women's Day

Mar 08 2019

We’re celebrating International Women’s Day on Episode 433 of Folk Roots Radio as we sit down with Canadian singer-songwriter Emily Jean Flack to chat about her music and new E.P. “Throwing Shapes”. We also check out more music from female artists including new releases from Carly Thomas, Madison Violet, Our Native Daughters (Rhiannon Giddens, Amythyst Kiah, Leyla McCalla, Allison Russell), Hannah Sanders & Ben Savage, Jen & John, Tret Fure and Kat Danser. It’s a great episode. We hope you’ll take a listen. Check out the full playlist below.

Folk Roots Radio Episode 326: Montreal Folk Fest sur le Canal

Jun 02 2017

We’re all about the Montreal Folk Fest sur le Canal on Episode 326 of Folk Roots Radio. The 10th edition of the festival takes place on the banks of the Lachine Canal in Montreal from June 14-18 2017. Starting out as a day long festival attracting just 500 festival goers, it’s since evolved into a five-day event of free outdoor programming and ticketed indoor concerts that brings some of the best folk, roots and bluegrass music into the heart of Montreal. Festival co-founder Matt Large joins us to chat about the history of the event and this year’s lineup. We also hear from Guillaume Jabbour, leader of Quebec band Jabbour. We’re also including something very special… an excerpt from a great live studio appearance by the wonderful Birds of Chicago featuring JT Nero and Allison Russell. We round out the hour with music from some of the other performers heading to Montreal this time around. This episode is a great introduction to a festival that continues to grow – and still manages to make all its outdoor programming free to enjoy. You may not be able to get to the festival this summer, but hopefully our review may encourage you to try and make it there another year. For more information about the Montreal Folk Festival sur le Canal, visit montrealfolkfest.com. Listen to the episode and check out the playlist below.

Aug 06 2016

Northern-Irish singer-songwriter Ciaran Lavery makes his Canadian debut at Silence in Guelph on Monday August 15. Ciaran’s been creating lots of buzz for the quality of songwriting and some achingly beautiful songs, especially on his 2013 debut “Not Nearly Dark” and the “Kosher” EP (2014). His new album, “Let Bad In”, is already gaining some great reviews. We also include a special musical tribute to Canadian folk stalwart Penny Lang who sadly passed this week, alongside some of the latest new releases.