KUDZU : MUSIC

Abbie McAllister | Jester | Live AF

Western AF | March 22, 2026

Abbie McAllister | “Jester” | Live AF

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This was Abbie’s first time sitting down to record with us, a kind of threshold moment. An artist who’s been building her own unique little world elsewhere, showing up without trying to smooth the edges or translate herself. There’s an outsider confidence to that. No rush to explain. No need to package it with pretense.

We shot on a cold day in a greenhouse outside Nashville, glass walls doing very little to keep the chill out. You could feel the quiet pressure of the setting. Exposed. Temporary. Once the take started, Abbie didn’t perform so much as inhabit the space like it was her own room. The song carries a spiritual weight without announcing itself, circling questions about devotion, labor, and what’s left when the lights go down and the role is finished. It sits with loneliness instead of fixing it. The kind of song that doesn’t resolve, just stays standing, waiting.

“Jester” is the lead song from our upcoming Live AF release with her. We are all eager to share more, so keep an eye out.

Lyrics:
who heals the healer?
who bandages the bleeder
who will sing to the empty theater?
presenting the sharp edge on which you teeter
waiting alone, on a throne, surrounded only by man eaters

who will hold your hand?
who will farm on your dry land?
why involve me in your plan?
presenting the iron slope on which you stand
waiting alone, on a throne, without even a friend

dance for me, smile for me jester dearest
you fiddle better when your mind is the clearest
you can be free as long as you confide in me
for even when you’re done, you’ve won, but now you’re wandering back to me

is your task well done?
can you see what you’ve become?
can i proudly call you son?
slip your shoes on, and dance until you’re done
waiting alone, by a throne, with freedom as your gun

ohhhhhh
i have no stone to throw
oh so I’ll take my bow
oh so I’ll take my bow

who kneels to the kneeler?
who feeds the endless feeder?
who will sing to the empty theater?
presenting the mountain bed on which you teeter
waiting alone, on a throne, to sing a little sweeter

More from Abbie:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/abbiemcallistermusic/
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Directed by: Brian Harrington
Recorded, Mixed & Mastered: Will Ross
Editor and Colorist: Yuri Figueroa
Camera: Tim Duggan and Brian Harrington
Lighting: Tim Duggan
Executive Producers: Irvin Maddox, Arron Tschida, and Frank Stelter
Producers: Brian Harrington, Will Ross, Travis Blankenship & Mike Vanata

Special thanks: Heather Stanfill and Beth Patterson.