Rising Stars: Meet Alma Russ

Today we’d like to introduce you to Alma Russ.

Hi Alma, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
When I was a kid growing up in North Central Florida, my parents took me to Disney World. At the time, there was a show in Frontier Land called the Country Bear Jamboree. It consisted of a bunch of animatronic bears dressed up as cowboys playing in string bands; and making the corniest of jokes. It was pretty bad but 7-year-old me loved it. It is one of the reasons I’m a musician today, along with the summers I spent in Appalachia with my great grandma, listening to fiddles and banjos and learning how to sing traditional Scotch-Irish ballads passed down through generations. I was the kid singing about old true loves and murders and practicing fiddle in the yard because my parents didn’t want dying cat noises in our single-wide trailer. I started fiddle lessons at 12. Banjo and guitar came later. I’ve always been inspired by ladies like Allison Krauss, Emmlylou Harris, and Dolly Parton. I learned about artists like John Prine and Townes Van Zandt, and I fell in love with the art of songwriting. I wrote my first song when I was 16, and that was it for me.

I often played in church, and I started playing the fiddle in bands and performing in bars around 16. I worked as an entertainer on the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad for a while, and I auditioned for American Idol and went to Hollywood in 2019 (I didn’t make it past there, they don’t want folk singers and that’s alright). I spent a lot of time playing in other people’s bands before I branched out on my own as a solo singer-songwriter, and now I’m traveling around this country, living out of my Prius and playing for whoever will listen. I love the road, I’m thankful to God for the gift of music and that I get to do what I love and get by. He has been so faithful.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
No, it has not always been a smooth road. For one, there’s learning how to play in general. There’s doing it for a living and the business aspect of it. I book all my own gigs and cold calling venues, being brave and confident enough to face rejection, and figuring out dates and routes as a traveling musician are all obstacles I work at overcoming. I have to force myself to be organized, which is not my strongest suit. For me, though, one of the biggest struggles has been self-doubt. I’ve often asked myself questions like, “Are you REALLY good enough to step on this stage and do this for a living? There’s folks more talented than you who only play in the closet,” or “Shouldn’t you get a ‘real job’?”. As I’ve grown into myself and more fully realized that God made me to do this, I have learned to tune the voices of doubt. One of the tricks is to recognize them as white lies and combat them with the truth.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am a traveling singer-songwriter out of Western North Carolina who plays folk, country, and Appalachian music. I play locally, and I also live out of my jacked up Prius for months at a time, going around the country and playing for whoever will listen in cafes, listening rooms, bars, the occasional street corner…I play guitar, fiddle, and banjo. I like old songs, and I like telling stories. Songwriting is cheaper than therapy. I recently recorded an album of original music in an abandoned church in a ghost town in the West Texas desert with musicians I met on my way west. It was definitely the album I was hoping to make, and that’s all you can ask for as an artist.

Trigger from Saving Country Music wrote a review for it that made me tear up: https://www.savingcountrymusic.com/album-review-alma-russs-fools-gold/

“Alma Russ has the stuff to be considered a serious contributor to the country music roots resurgence sweeping the independent side of the music emanating from Appalachia and elsewhere, and Fool’s Gold is fair to characterize as one of the best albums to be released in 2022 so far.”

I am currently touring with my friend Bryson Evans. He is a talented songwriter and I am loving the music we are making. We will be playing in Denver later this month!

Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
In all honesty, I have not spent a lot of time in Denver (I am not exactly one for cities in general), but I have enjoyed the art and music scene that you have in my brief time there. I love Colorado, I love the Rockies and the surrounding area. I have always been a mountain lady, and your mountains are gorgeous. My friend and I have two shows in Denver: Broadway Roxy on the 26th and Swallow Hill Music / Tuft Theatre on the 28th.

Tickets for the theatre show are on sale, and here is the event link: https://www.facebook.com/events/464999542095175

I am excited about it!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.almarussofficial.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/always_alma/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AlmaRussMusic/
• Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0iqZDLVgt0MsbZtpmioGI8?si=RJExNIE1TrCgYUV2VyDBDA