The song is based on a real-life story
The forthcoming charity compilation All Things Go: 10 Years, with all proceeds benefitting The Ally Coalition, reveals its fourth track — “Sky King” by Juliana Madrid and Ella Jane. Indie-pop kindreds join forces on a hauntingly beautiful song about Richard “Beebo” Russell, the Horizon Air ground agent who, in 2018, stole a plane from Seattle, performed aerial stunts, and fatally crashed on Ketron Island. Remembered as “Sky King,” his story embodies the hidden struggles behind seemingly ordinary lives, rendered here with soft, tender grace. Today (Fri, Sept 19th) would have been his 36th birthday.
“Sky King is based on a real person, Richard ‘Beebo’ Russell, aka ‘Sky King.’ I saw this tribute video to him and his story on YouTube, and I felt really moved by the whole thing. You never know what’s really going on in someone’s life. He gets to rest now. His story encourages me to have an empathetic mindset. While we are all still here, be kind to one another. Show love. That is all that matters,” comments Madrid
“I had vaguely heard of Richard ‘Beebo’ Russell’s story, but it wasn’t until Juliana sent me a video she found about it that I really understood its beautiful tragedy. That’s the cool thing about collaboration – I would never have thought to write about something like this on my own,” Jane says.
Earlier, All Things Go proudly announced the third track off its forthcoming charity compilation All Things Go: 10 Years, with all proceeds benefitting The Ally Coalition. “Tennessee” comes to us from pop icon Kesha, who teams up with country trailblazer Orville Peck, with help from Hudson Mohawke and Tayla Parx. The song made its debut in the award-winning short film Stud Country.
Additional releases include “Welcome to the End” by Maren Morris and “Jesus and John Wayne” by Googly Eyes, Joy Oladokun, and Allison Ponthier.
The full compilation will be released November 7th and includes All Things Go artists past and present, including Kesha, Maren Morris, Rachel Chinouriri, Medium Build, Bartees Strange, Maude Latour, Joy Oladokun, Emei, Jasmin.4.t and more. Celebrating over ten years of All Things Go, it will be available digitally and on limited edition vinyl and CD.
All Things Go is celebrating over a decade of festivals, originating in the Washington, D.C. area before expanding to New York in 2024, and will host its inaugural Toronto 2025 edition this October. The festival reflects All Things Go’s ongoing commitment to cultivating diverse, inclusive spaces within the music community. This year’s editions at Columbia, MD’s Merriweather Post Pavilion and New York’s Forest Hills Stadium include headliners Doechii, Lucy Dacus, Clairo, Kesha, Marina, The Mariás, Lola Young, etc, performing on September 26, 27, and 28. The week after, Reneé Rapp, Kacey Musgraves, Remi Wolf, and Role Model will headline Toronto 2025 on October 4 and 5th.
