Alma Russ at the Raccoon Motel -- September 17.
Thursday, September 17, 6 p.m.
Raccoon Motel, 315 East Second Street, Davenport IA
Lauded by Saving Country Music as "an amalgam of many great singers of country and roots interwoven into an original approach," singer/songwriter Alma Russ headlines a September 10 concert at Davenport's Raccoon Motel, Saving Country Music adding that you're likely to find the artist's music "stirring your very soul, sending flutters through your heart and shivers down your spine."
As stated in her biography at AlmaRuss.com, the country-music singer/songwriter "lives in Mill Spring, North Carolina, when she’s not on the road. Her sound is a mix of country gold, Appalachian tradition, and Americana soul. As a child, she fell in love with classic country when she saw The Country Bear Jamboree at Disney World. She became interested in Appalachian culture and music, started learning historic Scotch-Irish murder ballads, and took up fiddle at 12. Banjo and guitar followed, and then she made friends with a hobo who taught her to write songs, so that's what she keeps doing.
"Music has taken her lots of places, from the hometown bars, to church, to the highways, and she’s been bumming around the country playing her songs since she was 19. She spent a while performing as an entertainer on the passenger train in Bryson City, North Carolina, and once she wound up getting three yeses from ABC's American Idol Judges on Season 1 and being sent to Hollywood, California. She once recorded a critically acclaimed album in an abandoned church in the West Texas desert, and she's working on recording some new songs here soon. Her influences include John Prine, Gillian Welch, Patty Griffin, Nanci Griffith, Townes Van Zandt, Emmylou Harris, Lucinda Williams, Dolly Parton, among others."
In its review of the artist's sophomore release Fool's Gold, Lonesome Highway's Declan Culliton raved: "Not only the possessor of a golden voice, Russ is equally skilled as a songwriter. Eight of the tracks here are self-written, the ninth is her take on the traditional song 'Hills Of Mexico. ' Born and raised on a farm in Florida, Russ is country through and through and that sentiment looms large in her writing. The material could not be further removed from the often lifeless and predictable songwriting manufactured in the sweatshops of Music Row. Instead, we’re presented with a suite of songs where the writer appears to have lived through every line. Fool's Gold, for me, is what authentic country music is all about. No frills, songs written from the heart, understated playing, laid back and gloriously loose, and as country a voice as I’ve encountered in quite a long time. A treasure of a find for me, it’s an album that I’ll be spending a lot of time with in the coming weeks and months."
Alma Russ performs her headlining engagement in Davenport on September 17 with an additional set by Tender Mercy, admission to the 6 p.m. concert is $15.88, and more information and tickets are available by visiting TheRaccoonMotel.com.
