The 2024 Juno Awards are this weekend, and to celebrate, we're presenting the Juno Sessions: a series in which past and present Juno Award nominees and winners cover songs by musicians who've been inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame.

For the final Juno Session, Montreal musician Allison Russell performed a beautiful folk rendition of Sarah McLachlan's 1997 hit, "Angel."

Russell says this song, which was ubiquitous when it was first released, has taken on layers of meaning for her. "I got to witness Sarah [McLachlan] having a conversation with Wendy Melvoin," Russell recalls. Wendy's brother, Smashing Pumpkins keyboardist Jonathan Melvoin, died of an opioid overdose in 1996; he was the inspiration behind McLachlan's famous song.

"I was just so touched hearing Wendy speak to Sarah about it and how meaningful it was for Wendy and their whole family."

Russell's banjo-led cover is just as emotional as the original, her voice soaring as she's joined by her surrounding bandmates' harmonies. She was joined by bassist Ganessa James, keyboardist Elenna Canlas, guitarist Caoimhe Mariko Hopkinson and drummer Caoimhe Barry.

McLachlan, a 12-time Juno winner, was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 2017. "Angel" is one of her biggest hits to date; it reached No. 1 on the U.S. adult contemporary Billboard chart and is certified gold in the U.S. and U.K. Her album, Surfacing, earned four Juno Awards including best album and best female vocalist.

Watch Allison Russell's heart-wrenching cover of Sarah McLachlan's "Angel" above, and head over to cbcmusic.ca/junos to watch all of this year's Juno Sessions covers.