2720 Cherokee St. St. Louis, MO 63118

Open Highway Presents

Amythyst Kiah (solo acoustic)

All Ages
Wednesday, November 13
Doors: 7pm // Show: 8pm
$20
About the artist:

On her new album Still + Bright, Tennessee-bred singer/songwriter Amythyst Kiah explores the vast expanse of her inner world: her deep-rooted affinity for Eastern philosophies and spiritual traditions, a near-mystical connection with the natural environment, the life lessons learned in her formative years as a self-described “anime-nerd mall goth,” and much more. Produced by Butch Walker (Taylor Swift, Green Day, Weezer) and recorded at his Nashville studio, Kiah’s second full-length for Rounder Records merges her revelatory storytelling with a darkly cinematic twist on the rootsy alt-rock of her 2021 breakthrough Wary + Strange—an LP that landed on Rolling Stone’s list of the 25 Best Country and Americana Albums of 2021 and drew acclaim from major outlets like Pitchfork. With its sonic palette encompassing everything from fuzzed-out guitars and industrial-leaning beats to gilded pedal steel and Kiah’s exquisitely graceful banjo work, Still + Bright makes for a vital new addition to a body of work largely dedicated to exploring the struggle and joy of true self-discovery.

 

The latest turn in a dynamic career that’s included joining Our Native Daughters (an all-women-of-color supergroup also featuring Rhiannon Giddens, Leyla McCalla, and Allison Russell), Still + Bright emerged from a deliberate transformation of the songwriting process Kiah adopted after composing her first song on a Fender acoustic at age 13. To that end, the album marks her first time opening up her approach and working with co-writers, including punk legend Tim Armstrong, Sadler Vaden (a guitarist/vocalist for Jason Isbell’s 400 Unit), and former Pentatonix member Avi Kaplan. Although her third LP is an undeniable departure from the anguished emotionality of its predecessor (an album informed by losing her mother to suicide at age 17), Kiah imparts each track with a hypnotic intensity born from boldly stating her convictions. Revealing her rare ability to spin her fascinations into songs uncovering essential truths about human nature, Still + Bright ultimately affirms her as an artist of both daring originality and uncompromising depth.

A professed Southern Gothic songster based in Johnson City, TN, Amythyst Kiah’s commanding stage presence is only matched by her raw and powerful vocals—a deeply moving, hypnotic sound that stirs echoes of a distant and restless past. A graduate of East Tennessee State University, she studied old time music and music performance, and it proved to be a pivotal moment in her life as she transformed from a long-time closet musician into a well-rounded, captivating performer.

Accoutered interchangeably with banjo, acoustic guitar, or a full band (Her Chest of Glass), Amythyst’s toolbox is augmented by her scholarship of African-American roots music. Her eclectic influences span decades, drawing heavily on old time music (Mississippi Sheiks, Son House, Jimmie Rodgers, Olla Belle Reed, Carter Family), inspired by strong R&B and country music vocalists from the '50s-'70s (Big Mama Thornton, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Mahalia Jackson, Dolly Parton, Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn) and influenced by contemporary artists with powerful vocal integrity (Adele, Florence and the Machine, Megan Jean and the KFB, Janelle Monae).

Recent tours in Scotland and the U.K. have seen Amythyst performing for audiences at the Americana Music Association UK Showcase, the Southern Fried Festival, Cambridge Folk Festival, the Edinburgh Jazz Festival, and SummerTyne Americana Festival. She is a crowd favorite at Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion in the U.S., has performed at the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts, and the Smithsonian Folk Life Festival.

Provocative and coolly fierce, Amythyst Kiah’s ability to cross the boundaries of blues and old-time through reinterpretation is groundbreaking and simply unforgettable.

QUOTES:

“Kiah is an important and innovative presence in contemporary traditional music. Describing herself as a “Southern Gothic, alt-country blues singer/songwriter,” Amythyst has a repertoire that honors tradition while crossing genres to illuminate many common threads.” ~ Sam Gleaves, The Bluegrass Situation

“Though her voice is often full of fire, when she leans back and focuses on atmosphere, it creates the most exciting moments of the record.” ~ Afropunk album review for Dig

"In delivering her own mature, carefully-structured songs, Amythyst displayed the confidence to exploit her impressive vocal range without inhibition, assuming an almost spiritual presence. The tenor of her delivery held the room, with a welcome absence of audience chatter which blights so many gigs, her well-judged rhythmic percussive guitar picking the ideal accompaniment for her set."
~ David Innes, Bluesandmoreagain

"Her music sounds like it could be the musical score to any number of westerns, and yet this oversimplifies Kiah’s talent. Her voice carries the weight of the performance, sultry and soaring, controlled and defiant. . . Kiah’s voice is reminiscent of Johnny Cash, but with the energy of the Black Keys. She sings of the expected themes of the old south but with a modern twist. . ." ~ Fletcher Bonin, Rainbow Exotic Music
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