Announcing FAI 2025's Keynote Speaker, Allison Russell
FOLK ALLIANCE INTERNATIONAL (FAI) ANNOUNCES KEYNOTE SPEAKER ALLISON RUSSELL, IN CONVERSATION WITH NPR’s ANN POWERS
FOR 37TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE
FAI UNVEILS CONFERENCE PROGRAMMING WITH OVER 125 EVENTS
Kansas City, MO and Montréal, QC (January 16, 2025) - Folk Alliance International (FAI), a 501(c)3 and the foremost global nonprofit for folk music, today announced that GRAMMY Award-winner and eight-time nominee Allison Russell, who made her Broadway debut in November performing as Persephone in Anais Mitchell’s Hadestown, will be the Keynote Speaker at its 37th annual conference. Celebrated author and NPR Music journalist Ann Powers will be interviewing Allison. FAI also unveiled its programming lineup for the conference, with over 300 panels, roundtables, discussions, film screenings, Official Showcase performances, meet-ups, and other programs. The conference takes place February 19-23, 2025 in Montréal, QC.
Allison Russell is a singer, songwriter, poet, activist, multi-instrumentalist, and actor who has redefined what artistry means in the 21st century. From her devastatingly moving celebration of survivors’ joy on her 2021 debut album, Outside Child, to the body-shaking, mind-expanding, expression of Black liberation that is The Returner (2023), Russell’s music exceeds all reasonable (and unreasonable) expectations and affirms her place among today’s most vital artists.
Various honors include her Grammy win for Best American Roots Performance for “Eve Was Black” alongside seven additional Grammy nominations; the Juno Award for Contemporary Roots Album of the Year, the Americana Music Association’s 2023 Spirit of Americana Award & 2022 Album of the Year Award, two International Folk Music Awards, three Canadian Folk Music Awards, and four UK Americana Music Awards.
Alongside the Rainbow Coalition Band – her all-women ensemble of fierce musical empaths – Russell uses her music and platform to activate the dream of the “Beloved Community” and is dedicated to lifting others upwards as her own star ascends.
FAI also confirmed over 175 Official Showcase Performances and over 125 other events, including:
The International Folk Music Awards;
the third annual Black American Music Summit with panelists and facilitators include Lady A, Tiara Amar, Bertrand Evans-Taylor, Jenn Jeffers, Kaïa Kater, Lisa Sanders, Shakura S'Aida, Lara Supan, Brandi Waller-Pace, and Jada Watson, with a welcome message from Dom Flemons;
Special programming in partnership with the International Indigenous Music Summit;
Featured interview with Michelle Chawla, Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Canada Council for the Arts;
A discussion of Music In Times of War;
Book Club: Talkin' Greenwich Village: The Heady Rise and Slow Fall of America's Bohemian Music Capital, with author and Rolling Stone writer David Browne;
Local 1000 Town Hall: P2 Visa Delays;
From Score to Show: Building Musical Museums and Exhibitions, including members of the teams of the Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music, the National Music Centre of Canada, FARHOF, and the Louisiana Music and Heritage Experience
A panel on Caretaking in the Music Industry with Mag Blackburn, Robyn Stewart, and Rosalyn Dennett;
A roundtable on WILD FOLK: Nature, folk arts, and finding wonder amidst climate chaos;
A discussion of Louder Together: How artists raise their collective voice to fight for their rights against industry titans;
A panel on Music as a Driving Force in the space of disaster, with MusiCares VP Debbie Carroll, the Recording Academy’s Reid Wick, and LEAF Global Arts executive director Jennifer Pickering;
A conversation about Existing as a creative in an authoritarian society?;
A panel on Building Your Dream Team with moderator Matthew Wilson and panelists Tao-Ming Lau (Paquin Artists), Andrew Britton (PS Business Management), Peter Strand (Mandell Menkes), Shauna de Cartier (Six Shooter Records);
The workshop House Concerts Unlocked;
A Legal Summit, in partnership with the American Bar Association;
film screenings of six-time CFMA winning film Walking Through the Fire; The 9 Lives of Barbara Dane; and the Folk Americana Roots Hall of Fame Inaugural Induction Ceremony .
Country Focus: Portugal, featuring an official showcase, two private showcase rooms, and a Portuguese panel
Traditional French Canadian fiddler Gilles Losier is this year’s Mike Seeger Traditional Fellowship
FAI’s 37th annual conference will feature over one hundred and seventy-five artists, representing thirty-eight countries of origin, nineteen U.S. states, and all thirteen Canadian provinces, one of the larger slates of showcases in the conference’s history. The conference will be held at Montréal’s Sheraton Hotel. Complete list of Official Showcase Artists.
Among the artists announced to be performing Official Showcases are:
* JUNO Award-winner Ron Sexsmith, about whom the New York Times said is “known for his soulful voice and masterful melodies.”;
* Contemporary roots singer-songwriter and Indigenous music Award-winner Mimi O’bonsawin, mixed French Canadian & Abénaki, a member of Odanak First-Nation;
* The legendary Connie Kaldor, who has won the Order of Canada, a Western Literature Association Award of Merit, and three JUNO Awards;
* Tania Elizabeth, fiddle player/songwriter/vocalist, who played with the Avett Brothers;
* Halifax, Nova Scotia folk duo Mama’s Broke, who have appeared on an NPR Tiny Desk Concert;
* Canadian-Grenadian “star in the making” (Folk Alley) Kaïa Kater;
* Chinese-American pianist/vocalist Vienna Teng, who has been featured on NPR All Songs Considered and NPR Weekend Edition;
* Amy Speace, who was personally signed by Judy Collins; an NPR critic said, “Her velvety achy voice recalls an early Lucinda Williams”;
* Sara Curruchich, the first indigenous Guatemalan singer-songwriter to take her songs in Kaqchikel–her mother tongue–and Spanish internationally;
* JUNO Award nominee and singer/cellist/composer Jorane, who has won a Jutra Award from her film work and performed at Montréal International Jazz Festival;
* Platinum-selling songwriter and “quite possibly the most talented, and engaging, solo performer on this planet” (NPR) Steve Poltz;
* GRAMMY nominee, rapper/singer-songwriter SaulPaul, who has performed at America’s Got Talent, The Kennedy Center, and Austin City Limits;
* The “rich colors and hazy atmospherics in a sweet and savory mix” (AP) of ISMAY;
* Singer/autoharp player/songwriter, Polaris Music Prize short-listed artist, and JUNO Award nominee Basia Bulat, whose music has been produced by Jim James;
* Powerhouse vocalist, intrepid songwriter, and drag queen Flamy Grant, winner of 2023 Kerrville New Folk Competition;
* Malena Cadiz, who “has a voice that grabs you within seconds” (NPR);
* Olive Klug, who found success on TikTok and whose songs reflect their experience with queer identity and the struggle to establish adulthood in unprecedented times;
* Chinese-American Latin GRAMMY nominee Alex Wong, who has performed at Coachella, Stagecoach, and Outside Lands;
* Beloved Seattle blues singer Lady A;
* Festival headliners Bella’s Bartok, who present a passionate kaleidoscope of sound, born of Americana and Folk music;
* 2023 JUNO Award-winning blues artist Angelique Francis, who has shared stages with Buddy Guy, Gary Clark, Jr., Joe Bonamassa, Keb’ Mo’, Beth Hart, and more;
* Aleksi Campagne, who was named New Discovery of the Year by Penguin Eggs and Roots Music Canada Critics;
* Portugal’s Marta Pereira da Costa, who has performed an NPR Tiny Desk Concert and is one of the first women guitarists in the Fado tradition;
* International Folk Music Award Spirit of Folk winner Amanda Rheaume, of the the Métis Nation of Ontario; and
* One of Haiti’s most inspiring and celebrated musical ambassadors, Wesli has earned acclaim across the globe for his appealing music, energizing live performances and charming personality.
The conference’s premium sponsors include Bandzoogle, Bose, DistroKid, Folk Americana Roots Hall of Fame, Grassy Hill Entertainment, Pandora Amp, Tourisme Montréal, and Why Portugal.
