Amythyst Kiah - Purbeck Valley Folk Festival 2022

Amythyst Kiah (born 11 December 1986) is an American singer-songwriter. Kiah is a native of

Chattanooga Chattanooga ( ) is a city in Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located along the Tennessee River and borders Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the south. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, it is Tennessee ...

, Tennessee and currently lives in Johnson City. She plays guitar and banjo. As of 2022, Kiah has released two solo albums and one EP. She has also appeared (along with

Rhiannon Giddens Rhiannon Giddens (born February 21, 1977) is an American musician known for her eclectic folk music. She is a founding member of the country, blues, and old-time music band the Carolina Chocolate Drops, where she was the lead singer, fiddle pl ...

Leyla McCalla Leyla Sarah McCalla Heart of Gold Work ID No. 886049205 Leyla Sarah McCalla IPI No. 715028763 (born October 3, 1985) is an American classical and folk musician. She was a cellist with the Grammy Award–winning string band Carolina Chocolate Dr ...

, and

Allison Russell Allison Russell is a Canadian singer-songwriter, musician, and activist. Prior to her solo music career, Russell performed as a member of various music groups including Po' Girl, Birds of Chicago, Songs of Our Native Daughters, Our Native Daug ...

) on the album ''

Songs of Our Native Daughters ''Songs of Our Native Daughters'' is the debut Americana/folk album by four North American singer-songwriters collaborating as Our Native Daughters. The group includes Rhiannon Giddens, Amythyst Kiah, Leyla McCalla, and Allison Russell. The album ...

'' (2019). Kiah earned a 2020 Grammy Award Best American Roots Song nomination for her song "Black Myself".

Life and career

1986–2013: Early life

Kiah was born in

Chattanooga, Tennessee Chattanooga ( ) is a city in Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located along the Tennessee River and borders Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the south. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, it is Tennessee ...

, United States. Her father (who is also her tour manager) sang and played percussion in a band in the 1970s. Her mother sang in the church growing up. She attended a creative arts high school and taught herself to play guitar. When she was 17, her mother died by suicide, and singing at her funeral was Kiah's third public performance. Kiah is a graduate of

East Tennessee State University East Tennessee State University (ETSU) is a public research university in Johnson City, Tennessee. It was historically part of the State University and Community College System of Tennessee under the Tennessee Board of Regents, but since 2016, ...

, where she completed the Bluegrass, Old Time, and Country Music Studies program and joined the school's marquee old-time band. She has been touring since 2010 either solo, with a band she called 'Her Chest of Glass' or with her fellow 'Our Native Daughters'.

2013 onwards: Recording artist

Kiah describes her style as "Southern Gothic"' Kiah released her first album, ''Dig'' in 2013. The album was produced by Kiah and recorded at

Recording Lab. This was followed by an EP, ''Her Chest of Glass'' released on October 28, 2016. Kiah wrote three of the EP's five songs, which were recorded in Johnson City and produced by Kiah, band members and Travis Kammeyer. ''Wary + Strange'' was released on

Rounder Records Rounder Records is an independent record label founded in 1970 in Somerville, Massachusetts, by Marian Leighton Levy, Ken Irwin, and Bill Nowlin. Focused on American roots music, Rounder's catalogue of more than 3000 titles includes records by A ...

on 18 June 2021, produced by

Tony Berg Anthony Rains "Tony" Berg (born October 21, 1954) is an American musician, record producer, and A&R representative, in which role he has been described as an "industry guru". Berg's music career began in the late 1970s as a session guitarist who ...

. Kiah began work on the album in January 2018, and recorded the album three times, with three different producers before feeling happy with the sound. The album received favourable reviews with ''Glide'' magazine stating, "This album will be a centerpiece of conversation, not just this year, but in the years to come too" and ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' including it in their list of "25 Best Country and Americana Albums of 2021". Her song "Wild Turkey" was named by ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' as one of the 50 Best Songs of 2021. In 2021, she was a featured vocalist on

Moby Richard Melville Hall (September 11, 1965), known professionally as Moby, is an American musician, songwriter, record producer, disc jockey, and animal rights activist. He has sold 20 million records worldwide. AllMusic considers him to be "amo ...

's single "

Natural Blues "Natural Blues" is a song by American electronic musician Moby. It was released on March 6, 2000, as the fifth single from his fifth studio album, ''Play'' (1999). The song is built around vocals sampled from "Trouble So Hard" by American folk s ...

" (reprise Version). Amythyst Kiah in 2015

On 14 January 2022, she released a cover of

Joy Division Joy Division were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Salford in 1976. The group consisted of vocalist, guitarist and lyricist Ian Curtis, guitarist and keyboardist Bernard Sumner, bassist Peter Hook and drummer Stephen Morris (musici ...

's "

Love Will Tear Us Apart "Love Will Tear Us Apart" is a song by English rock music, rock band Joy Division, released on 27 June 1980 as a non-album single. Its lyrics were inspired by lead singer Ian Curtis' marital problems and struggles with epilepsy. The single was r ...

". Kiah has toured extensively, including throughout the US, Mexico and to the UK.

Participation in ''Songs of Our Native Daughters''

Kiah has also appeared (along with

, and

) on the album ''

'' (2019). Kiah earned a 2020 Grammy Award Best American Roots Song nomination for her song "Black Myself" which featured on this album.

Personal life

Kiah has described herself as "funny-talking, sci-fi-loving, queer Black". She has stated that making music has helped her cope with anxiety around her identity, and that she sees it as a means of increasing the visibility of Black creators. She currently lives in Johnson City, Tennessee.

Discography

Albums

*''Dig'' (2013) *''Her Chest Of Glass'' (2017) *''Wary + Strange'' (2021) *''Still + Bright'' (2024)

EPs

*''Pensive Pop'' (2022)

Singles

*"Your Ghost" (2020) with

Dave Hause Dave Hause (born March 12, 1978) is an American singer-songwriter. He currently performs both solo and with his band The Mermaid. His music draws from heartland rock, folk rock and punk rock. He has also played in multiple Philadelphia-area punk ...

and

Kam Franklin Kamerra Jodale Franklin (born June 7, 1987), known professionally as Kam Franklin, is an American singer-songwriter, performance artist, activist, writer and orator. She is the known as the lead singer for the Houston Soul group, The Suffers. ...

" (2021) by

with Amythyst Kiah *"Black Myself" (2021)

Remix *"Fancy Drones" (Fracture Me) ive at Studio 615 / May 2021(2021) *"Love Will Tear Us Apart" (2022) *"Wild Turkey" (Live) (2022) *"In the Pines" (2024) *"Play God and Destroy the World" featuring S.G. Goodman (2024) *"I Will Not Go Down" featuring

Billy Strings Billy Strings (born William Lee Apostol, October 3, 1992) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, and Bluegrass music, bluegrass musician. He has released four studio albums, with his album Home (Billy Strings album), ''Home'' winning the ...

(2024)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kiah, Amythyst 1986 births Living people 21st-century American LGBTQ people African-American women singer-songwriters American women singer-songwriters East Tennessee State University alumni American banjoists Appalachian music 21st-century African-American women singers 21st-century American women singers African-American banjoists American folk musicians Our Native Daughters members 21st-century American singer-songwriters African-American LGBTQ people Queer singer-songwriters American LGBTQ singers Country musicians from Tennessee