Russo’s big bluesy voice wallops audiences with soulful lyrics that bite, but listeners and audiences have always been drawn to the depth in his lyrics, the hopefulness in the blues, and the way he can make a thinking song sound like a drinking song by blending smarts with satire.  Russo’s song “Rodeo Cool”, which was released on the “Pennsyltucky” album was named as a top 5 finalist (out of more than 2000 domestic and international entries) in the ‘Country’ category of the 2019 Great American Song Contest, while his song from the same album “Unfinished Symphony” received honorable mention in the Folk/Americana category. https://www.greatamericansong.com/winners.php