Amythyst Kiah – Must Experience Live
Amythyst Kiah – Hails from Chattanooga and finds her roots in Johnson City. As a matter of fact, she’s a powerhouse singer, banjo player, and guitarist. Yeah, she’s a bad ass performer. All I can say is that she can raise your spirits and then, take you to church and beyond! Also, you really can’t define her by any particular genre because she can handle all styles of music and draws freely from them.
Furthermore, whether she’s performing her original songs or doing covers. She’ll make you feel all kinds of emotions that you never knew you had. She’s one of those artists that can command an audience and just with the intensity of her soulful words. Easily hypnotizing the audience with her music. Check out “Trouble So Hard” – Amythyst Kiah and Her Chest of Glass – A song originally written by Vera Hall also covered by Moby.
Songs of Our Native Daughters
Amythyst represents one-fourth of Our Native Daughters. The group that also features Rhiannon Giddens, Leyla McCalla, and Allison Russell. Pulling from and inspired by 17th-, 18th-, and 19th-century sources, including slave narratives and early minstrelsy, kindred banjo players. Reinterpreting and creating new works from old ones. Songs of Our Native Daughters shines new light on African-American women’s stories of struggle, resistance, and hope.
Growing Up With Music
Growing up in a musical family, her father played in different bands in the 70s. Fully immersed in music, her dad was always playing music in the house and always pursued collecting music. He had a big vinyl & CD collection. Which ranges from Afro-Cuban to African music, to country, to blues rock.
So, its no wonder she’s all over the board playing a variety of genres. At an early age she is already writing poetry and when she is 13, she receives a guitar from her parents and teaches herself how to play by watching video’s and DVD’s.
Becoming a Musician and Beyond
She took her time when it came to starting a career. Mainly because to her, music is a very personal thing. While she did a few talent contests in high school, it wasn’t until she sang a song she wrote at her mother’s funeral that people even knew she could sing including her father.
Afterwards, he encourages her to embrace music. At 19, she moves to Johnson City, where she attends East Tennessee State University. And its here where she finds her launching pad to her career. Lastly, she’s currently working on a new solo album and performing on-line and eventually coming to a town near you.
Be sure, to check out the other blog posts: https://jbonamassa.com/category/blog