Originally Published on May 8, 2025 for Rock DNA Magazine

Have you ever been to a show where optimism, activism, and fierce, unconditional love were present all at once? Those are exactly the vibes that the Philly stop of Allison Russell’s, All Returners Tour brought to the Theatre of Living Arts last week.

Easing into this soundbath was the unconventional folk sound of Kara Jackson. With just her magnetic voice and guitar, the Chicago native entranced the audience with her refreshingly authentic sound and honest reflection – feeling like diary entries set to music. Her calm alto was interspersed with personal recollections and observations, most notably, the song, “free”, she described as her mother’s favorite on the album.

Kara Jackson

Allison Russell and her Rainbow Coalition was up next, taking the stage in a spirited handstack and cheers. Throughout Russell’s powerful set, she lauded and emphasized the importance of community, resistance, freedom, and, most importantly, love. Love is what she gave to each member of the audience, to Jackon, her band members–Genessa James, Caoi de Barra, and Caoimhe Hopkinson– and to each of her experiences (good and bad), and all that are suffering worldwide, especially Palestine and marginalized groups in the USA. Russell remarked that she was not quite in “tour mode” yet and extolled praises of her peers and collaborators (Annie Lennox, Hozier, and Mavis Staples, to name a few!) through anecdotes with the giddy excitement of a friend. Closing out the show, Russell was joined by Jackson with a moving rendition of “You Are Not Alone.”

Allison Russell