Russell was initially a member of the Vancouver-based Celtic folk band Fear of Drinking. in 2009 In 2003, Russell formed the band
Po' Girl with
The Be Good Tanyas member Trish Klein. In 2011, Russell's work with the second iteration of Sankofa Strings—Sankofa—recording "The Uptown Strut" (with Grammy award-winning artist Dom Flemons, the Lovin' Spoonful's John Sebastian, Grammy-nominated Professor Louie (Aaron Hurwitz), Súle Greg Wilson, and Ndidi Onukwulu), was released on the Kingswood Records label. Russell penned "If Wishes Were Gold", the only original on the album. The following year, Russell formed the music group Birds of Chicago with JT Nero. As part of Birds of Chicago, Russell released three studio albums:
Birds of Chicago (2012),
Real Midnight (2016), With the group, she also released a live album,
Live from Space, and an EP titled
American Flowers in 2018. In 2019, the group released the album
Songs of Our Native Daughters under the
Smithsonian Folkways label. Russell was also featured alongside the rest of the group in a
Smithsonian Channel documentary titled
Reclaiming History: Our Native Daughters. As a single, Russell released covers of the songs "
By Your Side" by
Sade and "
Landslide" by
Fleetwood Mac in January 2021. She also released a cover of "
Everything I Wanted" by
Billie Eilish as a single in February 2021. In March 2021, Russell released "Nightflyer" as the first single from her album
Outside Child. She followed this up with the single "Persephone," released in April of the same year. She also released the singles "Montreal" and "The Runner" ahead of the album's full release. On May 21, 2021, Russell released her first solo album
Outside Child under
Fantasy Records. The album explores her experiences during her youth, including her recovery from the trauma of her childhood abuse. Russell performed her song "Nightflyer" with guests
Brandi Carlile and
Brittney Spencer on an episode of
Jimmy Kimmel Live! aired on May 25, 2021. On May 28, 2021, Russell made her debut at the
Grand Ole Opry. In the same year, she also performed at the
Country Music Hall of Fame. She performed several songs from
Outside Child live on
CBS This Morning Saturday on July 24, 2021. On September 25, 2021, Russell performed at the annual
Farm Aid event in Hartford, Connecticut. In November 2021, Russell received three Grammy nominations (Best American Roots Performance; Best American Roots Song; Best Americana Album). A month later, she was one of several artists to perform with the
Black Opry, a revue focused on black artists in country music. On August 18, 2022, she and Brandi Carlile released a re-imagining of "You're Not Alone" which previously appeared on the
Songs of Our Native Daughters album. In March 2023, Russell organized Love Rising, an all-star benefit concert, at the
Bridgestone Arena in Nashville in response to Tennessee's anti-LGBT+ legislation. Russell's second solo album,
The Returner, was released on September 8, 2023. In November 2023, Russell received four Grammy nominations for it (
Best American Roots Performance;
Best American Roots Song;
Best Americana Album;
Best Americana Performance). In September 2024, it was announced that Russell would be making her Broadway debut, performing the role of
Persephone in the musical
Hadestown. Her performances begin on November 12, 2024. On July 16, 2025, the 80th anniversary of the world's first nuclear weapon test,
Trinity (nuclear test), Russell performed, with the
Kronos Quartet,
Bob Dylan's "
A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall" at
The University of Chicago. This event closed the Nobel Laureate Assembly for the Prevention of Nuclear War. == Personal life ==