Amythyst Kiah (photo by Sandlin Gaither)
Vulnerability and transparency are two words you hear frequently from Amythyst Kiah. They were important to her when she was young and listening to music and are intrinsic to her own music and songwriting.
“For me, music has always been a way to process my feelings and thoughts about things. And I think for me music is something that’s always been very cathartic — a way to express myself when words just weren’t enough. I’ve always had a problem with sharing my thoughts and feelings — part of my emotional repression. Music was the one way I could express my feelings without having to talk. For me music is something that helped me heal. The artists and music that resonated with me showed vulnerability and transparency, and raw feeling and emo-tions. Music heals and helps people. And that’s a big part of why I do it even though a musical career has its challenges. I just really believe in the power of music helping heal people,” she says.
Her latest album, “Wary and Strange,” interlaces her Black identity, confessional alt-rock and the elemental sounds of traditional roots music. The 11-track collection — all written or co-written by Kiah — is a culmination of her journey of personal and musical exploration. Throughout, the most striking moments are those of visceral, unflinching self-actualization, as she brings her once-hidden emotions of grief, anger and abandonment to the forefront in this raw and nuanced redefining of roots music.
“It’s never difficult to write about my personal feelings, that was how I processed things. I kept a journal and wrote poems and then would write songs. For me a big part of writing is about examining yourself and the world you live in. I love vulnerability and transparency in the music I listen to, and it felt natural to take that approach to writing my songs. Once I write the song and put the pain out there, I’m ready to have a conversation about it. I’m okay with it being out there. In most instances, I don’t think twice about writing a personal song, because all the songs I ever listened to were usually personal songs. That’s what beautiful about music. It has a way of disarming people. Regular conversation may fail, but music can drive a point home,”
The album title dates to Kiah’s high school days.
“When I was in high school, I wrote a song that had the words wary and strange in it. I don’t remember the song, but that phrase kind of stuck around. The song was about social anxiety and feeling wary and strange around people. But that phrase has hung with me for years. Objectively when I looked at the songs of the record, the name felt right, because all the songs are about feeling wary and strange in different situations. So, it just fit.
“This is my first record that’s all-original songs. This is something I thought about recently. When I was playing traditional music, old-time music, I was totally putting everything into playing that music. I stopped journaling and writing songs. I think it was almost as if I was leaving behind one phase of my life and starting over again.
“When it came time to really start writing songs, it was a slow process to dig back into it. I started therapy to work through emotional repression, going through the process of unpacking the fears and insecurities that I’d de-veloped. I was able to write about the experiences I was having and embracing my past, the things I’ve endured and all of the good things that have happened.
“What I’m saying is, I stopped writing because I didn’t want to think about how I was feeling because it was too painful. Music was the way for me to feel connected when I felt alone. I guess I’m giving back the vulnerability and transparency that helped me. I’m taking that same idea and putting it out into the world, for another person who is trying to figure things out,” she says.
Kiah wasn’t always this open and honest in her performances. While her songs were vulnerable, she described herself as a “closet” musician because she didn’t perform until she was in college at East Tennessee State Univer-sity, Johnson City, Tennessee.
“Social anxiety and emotional repression are the culprits here. My dream was to somehow be a hermit and survive, but I started realizing that I’m going to have to overcome my fears of rejection and abandonment and find my place in the world, and that has been the hardest lesson for me to learn. Evolving to where I am now has not been linear but learning that it does in fact take a village and meaningful relationships to progress in any meaningful way. It also makes it more fun to share moments with people. We are social creatures by nature and so finding ways to embrace that has been my biggest challenge, but it has been absolutely worth it to work through,” she says.
When she was at ETSU, Kiah played and sang in the Celtic band and then switched to the ETSU Old-Time Pride Band.
“I stumbled into Bluegrass, Old-Time, and Country Music Studies out of sheer curiosity. I’ve always been a very curious person and fortunately it has usually rewarded me as opposed to getting me into trouble. My creativi-ty has always been a bit scattered and sporadic and learning about the cultural history helped give me some structure and a sense of identity and purpose. That program really whipped me into shape to develop a since of discipline, and I’m so grateful for it.
“I spent quite a bit of time learning and playing traditional southern Appalachian songs in my own way, which was usually very stripped down and acoustic. Now I’m interested in experimenting with different sounds and instrumentation and continuing to push my creative boundaries. I’ve always been an alternative kid at heart, and I want to embrace that,” Kiah says.
She describes her music evolution as a “mix of roots and alternative. There’s always going to be a roots music element. The concept was to reconcile my alternative background with my roots background. I compartmentalized those things for so long, and I realized I don’t have to do that. It’s all interconnected anyway with roots being the foundation of all American music. It’s not that big a stretch, it’s just a matter of exploring the sounds and seeing how to connect everything,” she says.
One example of this evolution is her song, “Black Like Me,” which was nominated for a Grammy. Originally, it was part of “Songs of Our Native Daughters” recorded with Allison Russell, Rhiannon Giddens and Leyla McCalla. When she recorded “Wary and Strange,” she beefed up the drums and added electric guitar.
The song was nominated for a Grammy. “I got the news on tour when I woke up in Grand Rapids, Michigan. I had at least 50 text messages. I thought someone had died at first, until I read the texts. I showed my dad who was on tour with me, and we were like ‘wow.’ We’ve been on this journey together, so to have that moment happen while we were together was unreal.
“I avoid conflict at all costs, so to have the first time I’d every truly put any social commentary in a song to be nominated for a Grammy felt amazing. The song looks at how the transatlantic slave trade affected black Americans and enslaved people. It explores 400 years of history in three minutes. It’s about respecting humanity; it’s about subjugated people overcoming tragedy to triumph. All of us in Our Native Daughters are standing on the shoulders of people who survived the transatlantic voyage, the Civil War, the reconstruction, Jim Crow and the civil rights movement. We’re standing on all these shoulders. The Grammys are a thing you never think you’re going to be nominated for. To have a song that has as much depth and expresses that white supremacy and racism are still part of the system and while things are better there is still work to do. I thought that was incredible, and I’m really grateful,” Kiah says.
Kiah brings her expressiveness to Bristol Rhythm and Roots Reunion Sept. 10-12.
“I’m so excited to do that this year. Rhythm & Roots is one of first festivals I ever played. I’ve been back every year since 2010. Bristol Rhythm and Roots has been a wonderful music family to me, and incidentally it’s been a barometer to see how my career trajectory is going. From playing the festival to being an intern working for the Birthplace of Country Music Museum, those relationships were and have been so important, and I am forever grateful,” Kiah says.
For more information, visit www.amythystkiah.com.
THERE'S MORE: Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion returns
