Lauded by Rolling Stone as “one of America’s great up-and-coming secrets,” Amythyst Kiah is a singer-songwriter whose explorations in blues, folk and soul are deep and emotionally immersive. Growing up as a Black LGBT woman in a Bible Belt town in East Tennessee, Kiah has woven her life experiences into a critically lauded body of work that includes a GRAMMY-nominated collaboration with Rhiannon Giddens, Allison Russell and Leyla McCalla as Songs of Our Native Daughters.
“My process starts with just living day-to-day life,” says Kiah, who calls out the importance of creating an atmosphere of inclusion in her live performances. “Whether I’m on the road or at home, I’m always collecting fragments: lines from a book I’m reading, a movie or a show I’ve watched, or even a song I really like.”
On this episode of Sounds of the Road, Kiah explores Atlanta in a newly styled 2023 Toyota Prius Limited AWD, stopping in Earthshaking Music and Peters Street Station en route to Eddie’s Attic, a popular spot just northeast of the city in Decatur. Ride along to the sounds of “Fancy Drones (Fracture Me),” one of the songs off her last LP, Wary + Strange.
Sounds of the Road showcases intimate musical performances and candid interviews with some of America’s best rising talent. Season 3 takes us deep into the musical hub of the south: Atlanta, Georgia. Ride along with Decatur’s own Hero the Band, rock ‘n’ roll sisters Rebecca and Megan Lovell of Larkin Poe, and singer-songwriter Amythyst Kiah as they explore the city in three equally unique and stylish Toyota vehicles.
