The Color of Rhythm in the Air

This piece appears in the Alliance’s Under the Tent series edition of Encore.

Songwriter Eugene Russell IV reflects on the experience of setting Beautiful Blackbird LIVE to music at the Alliance Theatre 

As a father of two, Eugene Russell IV is quite familiar with the landscape of children’s music. And when he set out to bring Beautiful Blackbird LIVE to life, he knew his music had to have much more flare. Mostly, it needed more funk.

“I purposely went for something that adults would like as well, because as a father of little ones… I don’t know. Some kids’ music can be so annoying, I’m sorry,” the artist says with a laugh. “But I wanted something that grooved that was fun enough for the kids but funky enough for the parents. You know what I’m saying?” So out came the tunes to Beautiful Blackbird LIVE, which sit in a genre of “funky, soulful, family music.”

Read the full feature on Encore's website.