Some musicians I love simply because their music resonates with me in a huge way. It makes me feel something.
Other times, there are artists I love because not only does their music resonate with me but their entire existence on this planet does.
Allison Russell falls into the second category.
Her second solo album The Returner was released in September. I heard some of its songs at the Black Deer Americana Festival last June and a bunch more when she played to a sold-out crowd at Portland House of Music in Portland, Maine on Dec. 8.
Barack Obama just released his annual list of favorite music and “The Returner” is on it.
Also, Russell is up for FOUR GRAMMY AWARDS. (Best Americana Album, Best American Roots Song, Best Americana Performance and Best American Roots Performance). The countdown to Feb. 4 is SO ON!
Allison Russell “The Returner.”
Can Russell sing and play several instruments, including the clarinet, really well?
Indeed she can.
But she also writes songs that are so full of love and hope that even when she’s singing about the horrors of racism and abuse, they burst with rays of light so bright, inclusive and kind-hearted, I can’t help but feel a groundswell of love and connection wash over me. Plus, Russell also knows how to make people dance. I’m looking at you, “All Without Within.”
Before the Portland performance, Russell and I sat down for a chat. I knew that she loved Sinéad O’Connor the same way that I did so I mentioned it was Sinéad’s birthday. Later that night, Russell would take my breath away singing an O’Connor song. But hold that thought for a moment as I share our conversation.
The Returner has been out for a few months. How are you feeling?
I’m just thrilled that people are listening so generously and we’re really proud of the work. It’s an auditory artifact of the circle work we’ve been doing and growing over the last couple of years since Outside Child came out so it makes me feel very happy and honored that folks are listening and seem to be connecting with the work.
Can you tell me about writing “Eve Was Black?”
I actually wrote it as a poem and submitted it to The New Yorker but it got rejected.
You got the last laugh, obviously.
It went through an evolution. Its first musical iteration was to accompany a ballet that was choregraphed by a fellow Canadian from Montreal, Kevin Thomas. He now runs a dance company in Memphis called Collage Dance. But we were doing a brief collaboration with Nashville Ballet and I decided to set that poem to music for that. Then I called my next door neighbors SistaStrings and asked them if they’d come put some strings on it. So the first iteration is just the three of us, me on banjo and them on strings and then when we were finishing the writing for The Returner I realized that Eve was part of that world and I really see the backbone of the album as three songs; “Eve Was Black”, “Demons” and “Snakelife” so I realized that that was its home. It went on a whole journey and started as a poem two years ago.
Do you have other songs that started a poems?
A few. It’s rare for me because usually poetry is poetry for me and I rarely feel the need to revisit it or try to put melody to it but that one wouldn’t go away. It stayed with me until it got realized into its current form.
Thank god because I can’t imagine the album without it. The epilogue that you wrote for The Returner. Tell me about writing that.
It’s part of a larger piece called “As Above Beneath,” and initially I was hoping during the Returner sessions (we recorded the whole record in six days, 16 women, ten songs, six days and our three chosen brothers and I was hoping at the end of the sessions to do an improvised piece where the goddesses would just play and I would speak or chant or sing or whatever happened. We never got to it. I was much more brief with these liner notes. Each song just has a haiku that’s attached to it and a prologue to sort of explain the intention but I wanted to let the songs speak for themselves and let people take their own journeys. But it felt right to have a little piece of that poem which I wrote as we were going into those sessions and that felt very much a part of the ethos of what we were doing.
The studio you recorded the album in. I know the albums that were recorded there (Joni’s Blue and Carole’s Tapestry among many others). Did you feel their presence? I can’t even imagine…
Yes, very much. All of us I think felt the presence of the good ghosts in that room. And Wendy and Lisa have their own studio above Studio D where we recorded. They’ve been there for 16 years creating music and they loaned us a ton of their amazing gear including the waterphone that I played on “Snakelife” which was just thrilling.
I was going to ask about that. I had to look up what that was! Did you have to learn how to play it?
Our first meeting when they were deciding if they wanted to do this with us, JT and I went over to their place about two months before the sessions when we happened to be in L.A. for some writing work and we hung out and we all just fell in love with each other. During that hang they let me play with all of their wonderful treasures in their studio and I became completely enchanted with the waterphone and couldn’t stop playing it. It’s so beautiful.
How did you originally connect with Wendy and Lisa?
Our beloved chosen brother Joe Henry who lives in Maine now. He’s a wonderful producer. He’s produced records you love like Joan Baez’s last record (Heaven Can Wait). For many years he and his wife Melanie were in L.A. His wife is the younger sister of Madonna and he used to manage Daniel Lanois and he’s worked a ton with T Bone Burnett. He produced Solomon Burke’s comeback that won the Grammy. Bettye Lavette’s comeback that won a Grammy. He’s done a ton. He’s a brilliant producer, he’s a brilliant writer too and he’s close friends with Wendy and Lisa so he introduced us.
The way that you look at things and write about things transcends so much. I mean I think about everything from my white girl privilege and beyond that, there’s so many lenses to look at it through. As a music fan…all of it. I don’t want to ask you where you get your strength because that’s horribly cliché, but what does it look like for you write a song like Eve Was Black? You invite people in, you don’t say fuck you, you say please come here.
I feel like it’s life, and I guess because of my personal history and the ways that I’ve survived which is only through the kindness of strangers who became family. I think a lot of it has to do with how I kind of came of age when I moved from Montreal to Vancouver. I started doing frontline work in a downtown Vancouver as a mental health worker, as a care worker for a non-profit society for low threshold housing meaning we weren’t telling people you don’t get a home if you fall back into your addiction. We weren’t telling people you don’t get a home unless you ascribe to a certain version of someone’s idea of what god was. It was unconditional love and care and understanding that all humans have basic needs that have to be met before any other healing work can happen. And we also opened the first ever safe injection site in North America, not just Canada but North America, called Insite. It was 2003. So at the same time that I was forming my first band called Po’ Girl, I was doing this frontline work. I did that work for seven years and the way that I approach everything is from the harm reduction model that I learned working there in the downtown eastside and so I’m really interested in outcomes and how we get to better outcomes for more people and being self-righteous about something, getting on a high horse about something, shaming people, none of it works. It just doesn’t work. It’s not gonna make any change, it’s just gonna drive division and anger and punitive or violent behaviors.
Hanif Abdurraqib is one of my favorite writers. When Sinéad died I was so overwhelmed I couldn’t find my own words, and he wrote this piece that was so cut to the quick and what she endured to be a truth teller and a visionary and a prophet of our time. She’s part of my survival. If she hadn’t made her stand on SNL in ’92 and if Tracy Chapman hadn’t sung “Behind the Wall” and if Tori Amos hadn’t written “Me and a Gun”, if I hadn’t heard those women singing about hard things I wouldn’t have left my home and I would have died there. We have to be able to talk about everything.
_________
As for the Dec. 8 show. I sat right up front with some good friends and soaked up every second of songs from “The Returner” and “Outside Child.” Songs like “4th Day Prayer,” “Shadowlands” and “Springtime” that Russell and the three luminescent musicians with her played. “Eve Was Black” was a favorite moment.
Towards the end of the show, Russell turned her attention to the passing last summer of Sinéad O’Connor and how much Sinead and her music meant to her. Then she sang a most unexpected Sinéad song. One from the Gospel Oak EP and one that brought stinging but happy tears to my eyes.
Here’s “This is to Mother You,” captured by my friend Stephanie Hicks Homon.
Russell ended the show with “Persephone” from Outside Child which some of us sang along with. No one in that room wasn’t touched to the core by the entire evening.
Russell has a handful of U.S. dates in January and is headed to Mexico as part of Brandi Carlile’s Girls Just Wanna Weekend. Then it’s off to the United Kingdom for a string of shows and back to North America for Canadian dates before more U.S. ones kick off.
Allison Russell is not just a singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. She’s a humanitarian, teacher and connector. She cares deeply about humanity.
So yeah, come for the music but stay for everything else.
Because from where I sit, the world needs more of Allison Russell.
Follow her everywhere. Buy her records. See her live.
While my feet have been back on American soil for a few weeks, part of my heart is still in a gorgeous field in Tunbridge Wells, Kent where I spent three idyllic days hearing some of my favorite artists as well as a bunch of new-to-me ones.
Did it POUR on one of the days? Of course it did, it’s England after all. But that didn’t stop any of the music from happening.
Permit me to unpack some of what I heard and saw but before I forget, I simply must share that I tried my first ever Scotch Egg and my god it was delish!
Thankfully Aer Lingus had a flight that only partially broke my bank and I was also able to find a nifty hotel to lay my head at night without having to take out a second mortgage on my house.
I arrived on Thursday, June 15 by way of a layover in Dublin from Boston and after settling into my temporary digs, took a stroll around town and promptly found an incredible shop where I bought a Chewbacca seatbelt cover. BECAUSE OF COURSE I DID.
I also found some of the best pizza I have ever had and in a hilarious twist, ate it back in room paired with a cold bottle of Budweiser because I’m weird.
Tunbridge Wells is such a lovely place that I hope I get a chance to explore again
ONTO DAY ONE!
Friday, June 16
Black Deer offered a handy and affordable shuttle bus which was an ace option so I used it all three days. Whizzing along on the “wrong” side of the street on a narrow country road was a thrill for me and I hadn’t even reached the festival grounds.
Black Deer was held at Eridge Park which is a massive field at the bottom of a rolling hill. Many attendees camped right there on the grounds in either tents, trailers or the posh yurts that were available. Smart move as one could roll out of one’s sleeping bag and right into the grounds.
After getting the lay of the land and hearing bits of music from about seven total performance areas I headed for the photo pit to shoot my first pics of the day.
As a professional journalist, I pride myself on hardcore prep but this trip was just as much a mini-vacation as it was a quest to document the festival so I had to laugh when, 15 minutes before he took the stage I connected the dots and realized why the name Damian Lewis was familiar to me. OMG IT’S THE DUDE FROM HOMELAND!!!
He’s got an EMMY and a GOLDEN GLOBE on his mantel for his portrayal of Nicholas Brody. As a hardcore fan of the show I had to wipe the stars from my eyes for a few seconds and get a grip on myself. (And yes, he’s also in “Billions” though I haven’t seen that series).
Damian Lewis at Black Deer Festival on June 16, 2023. Photo by Aimsel Ponti
Turns out, Lewis is also a musician and his debut solo album “Mission Creep” was released ON THAT VERY DAY. It includes a cover of Neil Young’s “Harvest Moon” and is 13 tracks long. Who knew? Clearly several people as the The Ridge Stage tent was a madhouse during his set. Well done, Sergeant Brody!
Damian Lewis at Black Deer Festival on June 16, 2023. Photo by Aimsel Ponti
After a bit more wandering I caught part of This Is The Kit and if you don’t know their music, RUN DON’T WALK to wherever/however you listen to music. All bow to Kate Stables…
I found myself wondering why IN THE HELL I wasn’t familiar with Irish singer-songwriter CMAT. Her afternoon main stage set absolutely SLAYED and I especially adored “I Wanna Be a Cowboy, Baby.” CMAT’s got a terrific voice, sassy stage presence and I loved she and her band immensely.
CMAT on June 17, 2023. Photo by Aimsel Ponti
Later in the evening when the sun was contemplating setting Nathanial Rateliff & The Night Sweats closed out the evening on the main stage. They always put on a solid show. Always.
And honestly, hearing “S.O.B” live always makes me happy.
Lest there be any doubt of how stacked this festival is, other acts on this day included Bonny Light Horseman, Kurt Vile and The Violators and Willi Carlisle among a bunch of others. As in a TON.
Saturday, June 17
I woke up, TBH, not particularly well rested but none the less excited to hop aboard the bus and whisked back to Black Deer.
I get to write a sentence that I’ll likely never get to write again and one I write still completely freaking out over.
THE PRETENDERS FOLLOWED BONNIE RAITT ON THE MAIN STAGE.
I hope you heard the huge exhalation of breath that just happened for me even more than a month later.
But first, huge shout out to Calexico! It was my first time seeing them and man alive, entirely righteous set on the main stage.
Calexico on June 17, 2023. Black Deer Americana Festival. Photo by Aimsel Ponti
Under the tent at the Ridge Stage I had the extreme pleasure of catching most of Kyshona’s set and don’t think for a second I didn’t go up to her and fan girl later that day when I saw her near me watching Raitt’s set.
Me and Kyshona.
Because of the tricky decisions that had to be made, I missed most (but not all) of Amythyst Kiah’s set but do yourself a gigantic favor and get wise to what she’s all about.
Now about Bonnie Raitt…
Amythyst Kiah at Black Deer Americana Festival. June 17, 2023. Photo by Aimsel Ponti
I need to tell a quick back story. I’ve been a fan for decades of Raitt and have been fortunate enough to have seen her a few times through the years. But more to the point, on Record Store Day of 2023, which was on April 23, I got to interview her IN PERSON at Bull Moose Music in Scarborough, Maine. You can watch it here.
I had not been feeling well (not Covid) for most of that week and sadly, couldn’t make the show she had that night in Portland. I had to rally hard to do that interview because I wasn’t going to miss it for anything. Raitt was lovely to talk to.
The very next day, April 24, was the day I went to my hometown in Massachusetts and, long story short, it was that very day we found out my mother Louise had a massive brain tumor.
We lost her five weeks later.
As you imagine, the memories of last April are tangled up in bittersweet memories because as a music journalist, interviewing Raitt is a career highlight though the afterglow was so quickly extinguished 24 hours later.
So yeah, I needed to see her and my god what a set she performed at Black Deer. A dozen bangers including the Grammy winning ballad “Just Like That” as well as hits like “Nick of Time” and “Something to Talk About.” Raitt also conquered with her takes on INXS’ “Need You Tonight” and Talking Heads’ “Burning Down the House.”
But I have to say, there’s truly nothing quite like hearing Bonnie Raitt sing John Prine’s masterpiece “Angel From Montgomery.” I can’t begin to fathom how many times Raitt has sung it live since releasing in on 1974’s “Streetlights” album. This is one of those times that the saying “it never gets old” is accurate because “Angel From Montgomery” is that special. It’s Raitt’s “Over the Rainbow.”
Still on cloud 9,000 from Raitt’s set, those of us with photo passes were allowed into the pit for songs three and four from The Pretenders. Chrissie Hynde and company kicked the set off with “Losing My Sense of Taste” and “Message of Love” as I freaked out side stage waiting for the green light to go into the pit.
It happened and it was truly surreal being THAT CLOSE to a band I’ve loved since the early 80s. “Turf Accountant Daddy” and “Hate For Sale” were the songs (both from 2020’s “Hate For Sale” album).
Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders. Black Deer 6-17.23 Photo by Aimsel Ponti
After doing my best with photos I had to make quick work of getting myself to The Ridge tent because one of my reasons for living had her set at just about the same time as The Pretenders.
It was singer-songwriter and all around SUPREME HUMAN BEING Allison Russell. Her 2021 album “Outside Child” is extraordinary as is “The Returner,” the first single from the album of the same set for an early September release.
Initially I was a bit crestfallen that I would have to try and be two places at one but then I remembered how lucky I was to even be there in the first place.
Allison Russell at Black Deer. June 17,2023. Photo by Aimsel Ponti
Allison Russell at Black Deer. June 17,2023. Photo by Aimsel Ponti
Allison Russell at Black Deer. June 17,2023. Photo by Aimsel Ponti
Allison Russell at Black Deer. June 17,2023. Photo by Aimsel Ponti
I made my way into the photo pit, took my fill of shots and heard a few more songs before trotting back to within hearing distance of The Pretenders.
Check out the entire setlist here and imagine little old me standing in that field taking it all in listening to “Hymn to Her, “Don’t Get Me Wrong,” “Talk of the Town” “Mystery Achievement” and “Middle of the Road.” It was goddamn transcendent and I fell asleep feeling nourished and with a huge smile on my face.
Sunday, June 18
At this point I was a Black Deer veteran and knew my way around, knew where my favorite food stalls were and where the shady spots were. I was comfortable, relaxed and rolled into Sunday with a sense of adventure and without an urgent agenda with one key exception: PATTY GRIFFIN! I’ve been a fan of the Maine native singer-songwriter since the 90s and have seen her countless times and have interviewed her more than once for the Portland Press Herald. She’s a songwriting GENIUS and it was a massive thrill to her perform in England.
As for the rest of the day, HELLO AMANDA SHIRES, BRANDY CLARK, LUKAS NELSON and PROMISE OF THE REAL AND STEVE EARLE. And to be entirely clear, that’s just some of the dozens of acts spread all over the Black Deer stages.
Patty Griffin at Black Deer. June 18, 2023. Photo by Aimsel Ponti
I mostly wandered around on Sunday hearing a song here and a song there and it was a perfect way to navigate the day. Two non-musical things that happened that day was watching what ended up being a downright riveting chili pepper eating contest and my first attempt at ax throwing. I landed one in the target but sure had fun throwing. I also sat (and had my nerdy photo taken) on one of the ACTUAL scooters used in “Quadrophenia.” There was even one of the helmets and an army jacket like you see in the film. The donation to sit on it benefited a local charity but the thrill for me was priceless.
While I’m at it, another absolute highlight of day one was riding the Ferris Wheel which afforded a terrific view of the grounds. I did however take a hard pass on the helter skelter as I’m certain I’d still be in a Kent hospital with a broken limb or two.
The helter skelter slide and ferris wheel at the Black Deer Americana Festival 2023. Photo by Aimsel Ponti
ALL OF THIS IS TO SAY: Black Deer is a marvelous, well thought-out, expertly curated festival. Also, everyone I met was really kind. I love that! I mean look at these lovely people and this wonderful scene:
Fans at the 2024 Black Deer Americana Festival in Kent, England. Photo by Aimsel PontiThe 2023 Black Deer Americana Festival from a distance. iPhone pic by Aimsel Ponti
I sure hope to make it back to to Kent for another one, that’s for damn sure.
Know this: Several days have passed since I miserably scraped the ice off my car at the bus station after midnight on a Saturday night. I had taken a bus from Boston’s Logan Airport back home to Maine and froze to death, under dressed, as arctic air constricted my lungs which were breathing much easier just hours before while in MEXICO.
Know this: I am still trying to wrap my head around what I just experienced over five picture-perfect days which included four holy-shit-are-you-kidding-me afternoons and nights of music.
Know this: Every party I ever attend for the rest of my life will not top the Friday night hot tub pool party starring Brandi Carlile and Holly and Jess from Lucius. FFS, I didn’t even go in the pool, but I was there until after 2 a.m. and what happened in Mexico ain’t stayin’ in Mexico. It’s just too good not to share. Just ask my friend Hilary who was on the receiving end of Carlile pouring tequila right into her mouth.
And know this: Brandi Carlile herself said the word “epic” doesn’t do the festival justice and she is of course entirely right about that. So let’s ditch that word IMMEDIATELY AND FOREVER.
Perhaps the word that does do Girls Just Wanna Weekend 3 justice has yet to be invented? I’m gonna think on that.
In the meantime, let me tell you all about my experience that took place between Feb. 1 and 5, 2022 at the Maya Riviera Hard Rock resort near Cancun, Mexico.
And let me be clear: I am sharing this for a few reasons. First off, DUH, it simply MUST be documented. It must.
But it’s more than that. It is my hope that you’ll walk away from having read this feeling a few embers sparking in your belly. A hunger pang. A thirst.
It is my hope that you’ll want to plan your own music adventure. As of this writing, it has not been announced if there will be a Girls Just Wanna Weekend festival next year but that doesn’t matter, find something else to get excited about and to obsess over and count the days down for. It can be a show in your own city or a multi-day festival halfway ’round the world. Whatever it is. Find it.
It is also my hope that you’ll have restored faith in kindness and generosity. For it was these two things that made the trip possible for me. With about two weeks before the start of the festival, I gently put it out to the universe that maybe there would be a way for me to attend. And look, I’m not claiming for a split second that I don’t live a fairly privileged life because I most certainly do. I just do so on a journalist’s budget.
In fact, I was fortunate to be able to swing a trip to the firstGirls Just Wanna Weekend in 2019. Never in a million years did I think I’d ever be able to go again.
Two women I didn’t know named Karen and Sheila reached out to me and made that miracle happen. For a couple of reasons they were unable to attend and sold me their package for a fraction of the cost. I will never forget this. Ever. EVER.
And that’s the thing about Brandi Carlile fans. We would give each other the goddamn shirts off our backs if they were needed. And her fans, known as The Bramily, are the definition of grace and kindheartedness. At this festival, a new world is created and it’s called the Brandi Bubble. I didn’t invent this term, it invented itself a few years ago and no one ever wants to leave it.
Imagine if Carlile is Santa and she swoops down onto the Island of Misfit Toys (an analogy she loves) holding a gold microphone in one hand and a bottle of tequila in the other. And she’s got two elves with guitars named Tim and Phil. Imagine if, instead of loading us all up on her sleigh she instead joins us and plays songs all night long.
But that’s not all. A bunch of other sleighs start landing on this island and what to our wondering eyes should appear but a shit ton of jaw-dropping-I-am-gonna-die-right-here-right-now upper level artists.
And HELLO, it’s a tropical paradise on the sea of the Mexican Caribbean. And there’s beaches and gigantic pools and massive amounts of food and drinks. And the huge Iguanas don’t mind if you photograph them because they’re gonna soak up the sun and tell everyone to lighten up AND SO IS SHERYL CROW BECAUSE SHE’S THERE TOO!
I know…I know.. Reel it in, Aimsel. But that’s the thing, I can’t reel it in. I won’t.
Here’s the lineup of artists who performed. Read it and then tell me again that I should reel it the eff in.
I’ll list them in order of appearance (At the Hard Rock Main Stage and Beach Stage. Note: There was also a second location at Unico Resort where daytime performances took place as part of Girls Just Wanna Weekend).
Margo Price (Main Stage)
Brandi Carlile (Main Stage)
Celisse (Beach Stage)
Allison Russell (Beach Stage)
YOLA (Main Stage)
Tanya Tucker (Main Stage)
Brandi & Friends (and omg, emphasis on the friends) (Main Stage)
Katie Pruitt (Beach Stage)
Brandi-Oke (Beach Stage). This was fans singing Brandi songs with Brandi and the band
Lucius (Main Stage)
Sheryl Crow (Main Stage)
Amythyst Kiah (Beach Stage)
KT Tunstall (Main Stage)
Indigo Girls (Main Stage)
Ladies of the 80’s (Main Stage) {this featured pretty much everyone on the above list playing 80s gems}
Now then, I’ve got a few thoughts to share on these performances but first, a side note: I missed some of the beach shows because I was obsessively and crazily holding my spot up against the railing right up front on all four days. Some days this vigil started at around 2 p.m. and on Friday morning it started at around 9 a.m. because of a couple of hardcore Indigo Girls fans who I realized upon looking out at the stage from my balcony were not messing around. These are my people. So I grabbed my stuff and joined them. I love being up front, I enjoy the show so much more from this spot and I’m willing to go to great lengths to be there. What’s so lovely about my fellow “rail riders” at this festival is that we had each other’s backs, got each other food and drinks and minded the spots during bathroom and shower breaks. It was worth the sunburn (oops) sore feet and back and beach stage FOMO. Zero regrets. Only joy.
And special shout out to my squad of Hilary, Michelle, Angie, Dayna, Marian and Stephanie. WE CRUSHED IT.
Tuesday night opened with a welcoming toast from Brandi and a ritual involving two locals and a conch shell and incense. This magic happened in the photo pit area and it was spellbinding. A blessing of sorts that set the tone for the next four days: Healing, love and redemption. And so much more than that.
Then it was off to the motherfuckin’ races with Margo Price and her crackerjack band. Price brought the fire and the twang because OF COURSE SHE DID and along with about ten originals she destroyed us with her take on Lesley Gore’s “You Don’t Own Me.” The fantastic photographer and videographer Shauna Ireland captured it and you can watch it HERE. YEAH MARGO!
Next up was a set from ringmaster and queen bee Carlile and her holy shit hallelujah band. BCB kicked it off with the Joni Mitchell-inspired “You and Me on the Rock” from the latest album “In These Silent Days” and I think we all sighed in relief that, somehow, we had all made it there and were seeing one of our favorite artists do her thing and do it better than most. “Fulton County Jane” was next and then, OMG, “Dying Day” from the 2009 album “Give Up The Ghost.” A few songs later we were hit with a doubleshot of covers; Joni’s “Woodstock” and Elton John’s “Rocketman.” I’ve heard these before but there was something extra special about hearing them in this setting, with the ocean behind the stage and I’m guessing around 4,000 fans knowing that we were all so, so lucky to be there.
Margo Price at Girls Just Wanna Weekend 2.1.22 Photo by Aimsel Ponti
The 16-song set ended with the one-two punch of “Hold Out Your Hand” and another “Silent” track, “This Time Tomorrow.”
Brandi Carlile at Girls Just Wanna Weekend on 2.1.22. Photo by Aimsel Ponti
AND THIS WAS JUST THE FIRST DAY.
I made my way back to my room, filled the jacuzzi tub (when in Rome, y’all) and soaked in disbelief as I listened to the happy post-show chatter down in the courtyard.
WEDNESDAY was my one heavy drinking day. I’ve always been a lightweight when it comes to booze but, well, I kinda let loose on this particular day and it began at 8 a.m. with a Bloody Mary at breakfast. Fast forward to noon at the Heaven pool where I was registered for the Lip Sync contest. I moseyed on up to that bar and order two Johnny Walker Black Label scotchs because, ya know, liquid courage. Then, about five minutes before I was due to go on, I ordered one more.
Microphone (not on OBV) in hand, I did my thing for 90 seconds with “Under Pressure” by Queen & David Bowie which is among my favorite all-time songs. No joke, it was an out of body experience free of insecurity and self-doubt. I loved every moment.
Aimsel in lip-sync action on 2.2.22. Photo by Hilary Cox
Post lip-sync, well TBH, I’m not entirely sure where I wound up, likely at the rail area for a bit but it’s a bit of a blur. I do know that I made a tactical error by missing Celisse’s beach set. SHE IS AMAZING. Like I can’t even amazing…Trust me on this. Thankfully though I saw her during the very next performance.
I did however make it to the beach stage in time forAllison Russell.
Know this: Allison Russell’s “Outside Child”was my FAVORITE ALBUM of 2021. I’m not alone in this. In fact, Russell was nominated for THREE Grammy Awards! “Outside Child” is up for Americana Album of the Year. The song “Nightflyer” is up for American Roots Song and American Roots Performance. Fun fact: Yola is also up for Best American Roots Song for “Diamond Studded Shoes” and best Americana Album for “I Stand for Myself.” I can’t cheer loud enough to express my happiness over this.
Allison Russell at Girls Just Wanna Weekend. 2.2.22. Photo by Aimsel Ponti
ALSO: SIGNAL BOOST: Allison will be at the State Theatre in Portland, Maine on March 9. Come hang with me and my friends! She’ll also be at The Sinclair in Cambridge, MA on March 8.
And while I’m at it, Yola will be at in Boston on Sept. 21.Just sayin’
ANYWAY… back to Allison’s set in Mexico.
She and her band played several tracks from “Outside Child” including “My-Brasil,” “Persephone” (Carlile’s 16-year-old niece Caroline, played banjo on this one!)” “The Runner” and “Nightflyer” during which she was joined by Brandi Carlile and Celisse. Sister Strings were also on stage with Russell. The sun was out, the day was magnificent and Allison Russell held the whole world in her hands and in her heart for that hour.
Allison Russell at Girls Just Wanna Weekend on 2.2.22. Photo by Aimsel Ponti
Know this: A few hours and again two days later Allison Russell’s star would shine in a way that took my breath away..three times. But hold that thought as I continue with the rest of Wednesday.
Allison Russell and Brandi Carlile are all smiles at Girls Just Wanna Weekend on 2.2.22. Photo by Aimsel Ponti
In the post-glow of Allison’s set, I repaired back to my railing spot where I re-joined some of my squad as we eagerly awaited Yola. Sometime in there I downed a cold Corona in about three sips and a few hours later I saw a woman walk by holding a delicious looking cocktail which she told me was a Sea Breeze. I ended up having two of them. When Yola took the stage at 7:45 I was FEELING GOOD. Not lampshade on my head good but close. Without a care in the world I readied myself for the British GODDESS to start her performance. Brandi introduced her saying “Right now, I don’t think you’re ready for what’s about to hit you. Her album ‘I Stand for Myself’ has been an absolute lightning bolt this year. She has been working so hard. She is absolutely incredible…” Yola lived up to this and started the night off with “Faraway Look.”
Yola at Girls Just Wanna Weekend on 2.2.22. Photo by Hilary Cox
Four days before “Stand for Myself” was released on July 30. Some friends and I were fortunate to score tickets to her album release show at a tiny venue in Newport, Rhode Island. It was a Newport Folk Festival adjacent performance and I’m still carrying with me a feeling of semi disbelief. Celisse, who was one of the surprise stars of Newport, was on stage with Yola for the show.
Months later, here I was in freakin’ Mexico seeing her again, this time with a complete understanding of how every damn song on “Stand for Myself” is 14 karat gold. “Diamond Studded Shoes” is a banger to end all bangers. “Be My Friend” has backing vocals from Carlile on it so OF COURSE Carlile came on stage and sang it with her friend. Glorious!
Yola first came to my attention in 2019 for two reasons: Her debut album “Walk Through Fire” and her mic drop moment with The Highwomen during their first live performance at Newport Folk Festival. She dipped into the “Walk” album in Mexico with “Faraway Look” and her cover of Elton John’s “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.” I heard someone in the crowd say to someone else “I think I like YOLA’s version better than Elton’s.” Girlfriend, to you I say: SAMESIES! Yola sings the shit out of it and it’s a whole other thing.
After a set-ending “I Stand For Myself” with Celisse, Yola wasn’t done with us because she had another cover up her sleeve and once I realized what it was, I LOST MY MIND. First off all, I was three seconds years old when I learned that the tune was co-written by Michael McDonald AND Kenny Loggins.
So yeah, Yola sang “What a Fool Believes” by The Doobie Brothers and echoes of ALL OF US singing “she… had a place in his life/He… never made her think twice” are still crashing ’round those vicious waves behind that stage. This was the encore to end all encores. I mean my god. What is life?
When Yola ended her set I made an executive and wise decision for myself. I gave up my spectacular spot and enjoyed the rest of the show from my balcony. This was a MASSIVE perk of lucking out with a concert courtyard room with a faneffintastic view of the stage. I floated in and out of my room while the legendary Tanya Tucker did her thing and the nostalgia ran deep as I stood out there singing along with “Delta Dawn.” God love this woman.
Wednesday night ended with the Brandi & Friends set and I expected my FOMO for not being right up front to kick it at any second. It never did. The sound was sublime from my balcony and the set started with “Hold Out Your Hand” followed by Tanya Tucker joining BC for “That Wasn’t Me.” On “You and Me on the Rock” from “In These Silent Days,” Holly and Jess from Lucius are on backing vocals and so it only made sense for them to join Carlile and Co. on stage for the song which was all the more sensational live.
And then, holy shit, Katie Pruitt sang “Turpentine” with Carlile and then Margo Price dueted with her on Dolly Parton’s “Nine to Five.” I was pretty much jumping up and down at this point. Sisters with Strings accompanied the band on “Dreams” and then Caroline and Jay from Smalltown Strings got their turn on stage followed by Brandi and her sweet daughter Evangeline singing Joni’s “Both Sides Now” together. Every heart in that courtyard melted. Celisse was up next to play “Raise Hell” with the band and that too was a to die for moment. Still in death throes, we were treated to a pair of Highwomen tunes. The namesake track and “Crowded Table” which was the sing-a-long heard ’round the world.
Then. Somehow. It got even better. Because Indigo Girls Amy Ray and Emily Saliers sang “Cannonball” with Brandi and Allison Russell dueted on the single Brandi recorded with Alicia Keys called “A Beautiful Noise.” Voices rang out on that warm Mexican night and I’ll never forget hearing them. Carlile also killed us with “Party of One.” It was all entirely unreal.
AND THERE WERE STILL TWO MORE DAYS OF THIS MADNESS TO GO!
Thursday was the day many of us had been living for. LUCIUS BABY! It’s been a minute since their last album and the new one, “Second Nature” will be out on April 8. To say we’ve been hungry for new tunes is a gargantuan understatement. The first single “Next to Normal” is a tremendous dance-inducing banger that I hope someone remixes the hell out of. The second one, “White Lies,” released earlier this week, is a show-no-mercy to your heart ballad with their signature vocals that will knock your feet right out from under you. Schedule a good cry for this one. Christ…
THEY PLAYED BOTH OF THEM at Girls Just Wanna Weekend. The set opened with “Next to Normal” with Holly and Jess playing hand bedazzled KEYTARS for the absolute win!
Holly Laessig and Jess Wolfe from Lucius at Girls Just Wanna Weekend. 2.3.22. Photo by Aimsel Ponti
They also dusted off “Dusty Trails” and no one loves singing it more with them than Brandi Carlile. Twelve billion thumbs up for that one. Lucius also hit us with a different yet ULTRA COOL arrangement of the “Wildewoman” tune “Turn it Around” (a personal favorite) and I’m still reverberating from it a week later.
Lucius is doing a massive tour. GO SEE THEM and also, PRE-ORDER THE NEW ALBUM.
Now then…permit me to GUSH about Sheryl Crow. I’d seen her in the 90s at one of the Lilith Fair shows and again a few years back at Newport Folk Festival. But nothing could have prepared me for the all-out upper level holy guacamole set she and her band turned in that night.
Crow launched into her set with “Maybe Angels,” from her 1996 self-titled album and hit us right back with “A Change Would Do You Good.” It was then I realized in grand fashion just how many hit songs she has and HOW GODDAMN GREAT they all are.
A few songs later I was transported back to 1993 and the debut album to end all debut albums. “Tuesday Night Music Club” will always hold a special place in my heart and somewhere in a box somewhere I still have a promotional cassette of it that wound up at my college radio station. So yeah, it was something to hear “Leaving Las Vegas” live. Quite something. The same can be said for the very next song on the set list, also from the “Tuesday” album. “Strong Enough,” which she was joined by Holly and Jess on. It was a damn near religious experience. The same can be said later in the show with the song that ends “Tuesday Night Music Club.” For “I Shall Believe,” Holly and Jess were also joined by Brandi. Need I say more?
Sheryl Crow at Girls Just Wanna Weekend. 2.3.22. Photo by Aimsel Ponti
I’m gonna. MAD PROPS to “Steve McQueen,” “Everyday is a Winding Road” and “There Goes the Neighborhood.”
Also, you haven’t lived ’till you’ve heard “All I Wanna Do” live. It was like hearing the song for the first time and it sounding like a dose of pure sunlight on a river of butterscotch where the party never ends. All I wanted to do was go to Mexico and have some fun. I’m forever in your debt, Sheryl, for being a significant part of that.
Friday felt different from the moment I woke up because I knew, we all knew, it was the last day of the festival. I rose before the sunrise, like every other morning that week and stealthed my way over to the place with the early morning coffee while Mexico woke up. It was my second to last breakfast outside at Ipanema. I had the same server all week and it pains me that I can’t remember her name. She kept me in coffee and respected my “dias mio, no gracias!” to her suggested morning shots of tequila with a smile.
This was the day that, post-breakfast, I noticed that a small posse had started the rail vigil impossibly early and it’s the day I almost fell down the stairs in my flip flops on my way to frantically joining them.
I send out a bat signal to my squad and they were ace about taking shifts. It was quite welcomed when we were given the boot (but allowed to keep out stuff and hold out spots) from 3 to 5 p.m. for a couple of soundchecks as I was able to hit the Hacienda pool where I floated around for a solid half hour, clutching a can of Corona like the rock star tourist that I was.
When were allowed back into the area, the excitement was ratcheting up and the small legion of fans were joined, slowly, by other ones who were also intent on being right up front. The few, the proud, the rail nerds.
I was not happy about missing Amythyst Kiah’s set at the beach stage but took comfort in knowing that there will be other opportunities because her she’s not going anywhere. I’m still reminded of seeing part of the Our Native Daughters set in 2019 at the Newport Folk Festival. That’s the super group she’s in with with Rhiannon Giddens, Leyla McCalla and Allison Russell.
At 7:30 the last night on the main stage started off on a stupendous note because KT Tunstall strutted out on stage. The previous time I had seen Tunstall, at the inaugural Girls Just Wanna Weekend in 2019, she was a one-woman wrecking machine who slayed with multiple guitars and a looping pedal.
This time around she brought a secret weapon with her in the form of drummer Cat Myers. Whether the crowd knew her hits like “Black Horse And The Cherry Tree” “Suddenly I See” and “Other Side of The World” made little difference because as I looked, everyone was just as into it as I was. Tunstall was engaging, funny and best of all, a first-rate vocalist and musician who owned every inch of that gigantic stage.
KT Tunstall at Girls Just Wanna Weekend. 2.4.22. Photo by Aimsel Ponti
Indigo Girls were next. Lemme say that louder for the folks in the back: INDIGO GIRLS WERE NEXT!
In 1989 I saw them open for R.E.M. and I’ve been a devoted fan ever since. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen them because, although I have a giant glass jar of ticket stubs, I don’t actually keep track of how many times I’ve seen an artist live but I would not be at all surprised if that number was more than 30.
Accompanied by their at this point longtime violinist Lyris Hung, Amy Ray and Emily Saliers played their guts on for a solid hour stacked with tunes like “Chicken Man,” “Power of Two,” “Share The Moon,” “Galileo” and an all-star sing-along of “Closer to Fine.”
But for me there were two songs that were everything. First off, I will never tire of the Amy Ray penned “Kid Fears.” It’s just not possible. Since hearing Michael Stipe himself sing it live with them all those years ago to occasionally catching it on the radio or during an Indigo listening session, the song has never lost any of its hold one me. The Girls had many women to choose from for the Stipe part of the song during the GJWW and it was fun to wonder who it would be and also satisfying to know that it was guaranteed to be freakin’ awesome. Katie Pruitt did not disappoint!
Amy Ray of Indigo Girls at Girls Just Wanna Weekend. 2.4.22. Photo by Aimsel Ponti
The other IG song that is always fresh and enthralling to me is Ray tune and that’s “Go.” And for the love of all that’s holy on this planet, they followed it with Neil Young’s “Cortez the Killer.” I know, I know…Unreal!
Finally, after four days and nights in the sun with old friends and new hearing a world of unforgettable music, it all came down to the final set of the night:
LADIES OF THE 80s.
We collectively buckled up, fer sure like totally, and got ready to be rocked.
I’ve given this some thought and I can’t imagine how it could have started off on a better not than Allison Russell singing Tracy’s Chapman’s “Talkin’ Bout a Revolution.” I had to pause for a minute just now and just stare at my screen in a dream-like state because it really was that extraordinary. I still can’t believe it. And Ali was just getting warmed up for an even bigger statement later in the show.
Carlile bounced around singing Cyndi Lauper’s “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” and then it was time for Yola to slay with Janet Jackson’s “What Have You Done For Me Lately.” I mean my god…
Katie Pruitt had her way with Pat Benatar’s “Hit Me With Your Best Shot” and then, get this, Sheryl Crow sang Belinda Carlile’s “Heaven Is A Place on Earth.”
And then came my favorite moment of the whole goddamn festival.
Allison Russell sang the Prince-penned and made famous by Sinead O’Connor ballad “Nothing Compares 2U.” And before she sang it, she dedicated it to O’Connor who recently lost her 17-year-old son Shane to suicide. And she dedicated to anyone who was struggling. It was raw and real and while Russell poured everything she had into singing that song, I think everyone there felt held tightly. It was sublime. It was healing. It was divine. That’s how it is with Allison Russell, there are no half measures. She goes all-in and boy was I ever there for it.
Somehow, and I’m not sure how, I managed to hold it together for the song and before I realized what was happening, queen Yola was back out there singing Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance with Somebody” and them Sister Strings earned their place in the annals of GJWW history with their take on Salt -N- Pepa’s “Push it.” They pushed it real good, rest assured.
KT Tunstall had a double-shot for the ages, complete with an on-stage costume change. Eurythmics “Sweet Dreams” and The Bangles’ “Walk Like An Egyptian” ruled. They ruled hard.
Sheryl Crow, who by the way was wearing a dress she wore back in the late 80s when she has a back-up singer for Michael Jackson, got back in the spotlight for a duet of “(I’ve Had) The Time of Life” from “Dirty Dancing” with Solomon Dorsey.
Other 80s smash hits we heard by the all-star team of musicians included “What a Feeling,” “Let’s Hear it for the Boys.” “I’m Coming Out,” “Simply the Best” “Alone” (Heart) and “Like a Prayer.”
Holly and Jess with Lucius and Brandi Carlile during Ladies of the 80s. 2.4.22. Photo by Aimsel Ponti
And then Brandi Carlile held that golden mic and closed out the festival like she’s done twice before and in a way that can’t be topped. She and the Twins and every single person on stage and in that crowd sang Bonnie Tyler’s “Total Eclipse of the Heart.” Bright eyes were turned around and yeah, we lived in a powder keg and gave out sparks like our lives depended on it. BECAUSE OF COURSE WE DID.
My bones are still rattled and my vocal chords are still slightly charred and it’s the BEST FEELING.
However, the night wasn’t over just yet. It was time for the Lucius Hot Tub Time Machine!
With Covid-19 still very much a thing, event organizers were wise to hold it outside at the Heaven pool rather than in the night club of years past so there wasn’t an actual hot tub involved. Did that matter one bit? HELL NO.
Sometime around 12:30 with hundreds of us either in or around the sides of the pool the after party began with Holly and Jess on a giant inflatable swan being launched into the pool and waiting fans helping to pull them around in the most insane and perfect procession you’ve ever seen. With tunes being blasted from DJ Ben, this party wasn’t ending anytime soon.
And then Brandi Carlile got into the pool, both on the float and then straight-up being carried around on her back by fans. It was a sight to behold and the level of trust was huge.
Brandi Carlile getting ready to turn around and make her leap of faith into the pool 2.4.22 Photo by Aimsel Ponti.
The tequila was flowin’ like a river and Carlile was clearly having a blast as was everyone else who stuck around.
Like I said earlier, I stayed on dry land but was in the thick of it until I finally called it a night at around 2:15 ish. I heard later that this thing went on until after 3 a.m. and even after the sound was turned off. There are clips floating around of everyone singing “Amazing Grace” that give me chills.
Carlile shared on social media the next day that she needed some serious Tylenol but she had zero regrets. I don’t think any of us did. Time kind of stood still for those couple of hours. We were able to hit the pause button on the pandemic (BTW, thankfully only a handful of attendees tested positive while in Mexico and had to quarantine there and they received a ton of love and supplies from other fans) and we were able to just let loose. To me it felt like the mother of all safe spaces and troubles melted away like Judy Garland’s lemon drops. And you know what else? It was really fun! Several times I hugged some of my soaking wet friends and got to wave to queen bee Carlile. Not for one moment was I thinking about work or Covid or anything else other than what has happening outside of that moment. I can’t think of a greater gift than the present tense served up on a gorgeous night by the ocean in Mexico with like-minded fans and friends.
I got three hours of sleep that last night and as I sat at my favorite table outside on Ipanema with my coffee and French toast, I didn’t want for anything.
And as I end this this entirely too long review/essay/streamofconsciousness, I realize all the more how right Brandi Carlile was when she said that “epic” wasn’t the right word to describe the event. I think I now know what the right word might be, at least for me. Being with my friends in paradise seeing our favorite musicians: It felt like my heart was at home.
Aimsel on the Record 