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UID:c9cef5e1-fcb9-4311-8763-20c1ffc8f13d@findlocal.community
DTSTAMP:20261026T061804Z
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20270121T200000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20270121T220000
SUMMARY:Amythyst Kiah
DESCRIPTION:Amythyst Kiah Thursday\, January 21 7pm 8pm All ages Seated M
 ember: $22 - $27 Advance: $25 - $30 Day of $30 - $35 Produced by Butch W
 alker (Taylor Swift\, Green Day\, Weezer) and recorded at his Nashville 
 studio\, Amythyst Kiah’s new album Still + Bright explores the vast expa
 nse of her inner world: her deep-rooted affinity for Eastern philosophie
 s and spiritual traditions\, a near-mystical connection with the natural
  world\, the life lessons learned in her formative years as a self-descr
 ibed “anime-nerd mall goth.” In dreaming up the backdrop to her revelato
 ry storytelling\, Kiah and Walker arrived at a darkly cinematic and exhi
 larating twist on the rootsy alt-rock of her 2021 breakthrough album War
 y + Strange —an LP that landed on Rolling Stone’s list of the 25 Best Co
 untry and Americana Albums of 2021 and drew acclaim from major outlets l
 ike Pitchfork. With its sonic palette encompassing everything from fuzze
 d-out guitars and industrial-leaning beats to gilded pedal steel and Kia
 h’s exquisitely graceful banjo work\, Still + Bright fully affirms her a
 s an artist of both daring originality and uncompromising depth. On Wary
  + Strange\, Kiah offered up a collection of spellbinding songs detailin
 g her experience with grief and trauma and alienation\, each illuminatin
 g the extraordinary impact of her songwriting. An electrifying showcase 
 for her singular musicality and soul-stirring voice\, Kiah’s Rounder Rec
 ords debut soon found many leading critics hailing her as a formidable n
 ew talent\, adding to a list of accolades that includes earning a Grammy
  nomination for her powerhouse anthem “Black Myself.” But when it came t
 ime to create her follow-up\, the Tennessee-born singer/songwriter felt 
 compelled toward a profound shift in her artistry. “On the last record i
 t felt so cathartic to write about all the pain I was dealing with\, but
  this time the songs came from a place of finding joy in the music\,” sa
 ys Kiah. “In the past I felt so mired down with anxiety that I sometimes
  held back from what I really wanted to write about\; I felt like I need
 ed to play it safe and keep certain thoughts to myself. But now I’m at a
  point where I’m confident in what I value and love\, and because of tha
 t I’ve made the album I’ve always wanted to make.” Although Kiah’s third
  full-length marks a departure from the anguished emotionality of its pr
 edecessor (an album informed by losing her mother to suicide at age 17)\
 , Kiah imparts all of Still + Bright with a hypnotic intensity born from
  boldly stating her convictions. To that end\, the LP opens on the storm
 y grandeur of “Play God and Destroy the World”: an immediately captivati
 ng coming-of-age tale featuring guest vocals from Kentucky-bred singer/s
 ongwriter S.G. Goodman. With its title taken from a song Kiah penned and
  performed at a talent show in high school\, the hard-charging track dis
 penses a bit of searing commentary on the hypocrisy she witnessed throug
 hout her childhood—and ultimately speaks to the sense of hope and possib
 ility she discovered in unexpected places (e.g.\, the humanistic sci-fi 
 of The Matrix). “I grew up in a good neighborhood and had parents with g
 ood jobs\, but in many respects my family was different\,” says Kiah\, w
 ho was raised in Chattanooga and later moved to Johnson City. “In order 
 to fit in\, you had to go to church and have conservative values—and I k
 now that being Black wasn’t doing us any favors either. This song was wr
 itten for the 15-year-old version of me who suspected that there was a b
 ig world out there that allowed for many beliefs and a more connected hu
 manity.” On songs like “S P A C E\,” Kiah turns inward and ponders her s
 earch for peace of mind in times of maddening uncertainty. “As someone w
 hose identity is tied up in being a touring musician\, the pandemic crea
 ted a lot of anxiety where I started questioning who I was if I wasn’t o
 ut on the road\,” says Kiah. “There were moments when I dealt with that 
 by scrolling through Instagram\, but over time I started to treasure the
  quiet. Meditation became an important part of my life\, and I eventuall
 y wrote ‘S P A C E’ about learning to be more present.” Partly written o
 n banjo\, “S P A C E” unfolds as a soulful outpouring laced with lush ma
 ndolin lines\, lovely fiddle melodies\, and a powerfully soaring vocal p
 erformance from Kiah. “One of my main goals for this album was to show a
  new side of myself as a singer\,” she notes. “I’ve always loved really 
 strong\, gospel-style vocals\, and I put a lot of work into increasing m
 y range for this record.” Another track spotlighting the stunning force 
 of her voice\, “Empire of Love” presents what Kiah refers to as “my pers
 onal theme song”: an impassioned statement of devotion to her journey as
  a spiritual seeker\, gorgeously wrought in brooding guitar riffs and fi
 ercely delivered poetry (“My religion is none at all/I build my own cath
 edrals and let them fall…I pledge allegiance to my soul/I’ll follow wher
 e she needs to go/I’m a pilgrim for the empire of love”). Inspired by he
 r ever-deepening connection to the Appalachian landscape—and by her inte
 rest in Western humanities and Eastern religions—“Empire of Love” finds 
 Kiah constructing her own belief system firmly rooted in compassion and 
 curiosity. “I believe in carving a path in life that honors my own exper
 iences in the context of the wider world\,” says Kiah\, who co-wrote “Em
 pire of Love” with Sean McConnell. “As a seeker in the mountains\, my se
 nse of spiritual connection stems from nature\, which is connected to al
 l of the cosmos. And there is no religious or social dogma that can chan
 ge that.” All throughout Still + Bright\, Kiah reveals her rare ability 
 to spin her fascinations into songs uncovering essential truths about hu
 man nature. On “I Will Not Go Down\,” for instance\, she looks back on a
  barbaric moment in history and unleashes a furiously stomping folk epic
 \, featuring background vocals and nimble guitar work from bluegrass phe
 nomenon Billy Strings. “I read about the Crusades in high school\, and I
  was disgusted at the prospect of coercing people into spilling an unima
 ginable amount of blood and brainwashing them into believing they were s
 erving their god—when in fact they were simply doing the bidding of warm
 ongers\,” says Kiah. “I wrote the chorus in my high school journal\, and
  it became a song about people-pleasing to a fault\, then reclaiming you
 r autonomy and finding a balance between serving yourself and serving ot
 hers.” Meanwhile\, on “Silk and Petals\,” Ellen Angelico’s feverish guit
 ar tones merge with strangely euphoric grooves in a gothic love song spa
 rked from Kiah’s viewing of the supernatural horror-drama of The Hauntin
 g of Bly Manor. “‘Silk and Petals’ was inspired by the story of the Lady
  in the Lake\, the ghost of a woman named Viola Lloyd\,” Kiah explains. 
 “After falling ill with tuberculosis\, Viola leaves her chest of her fin
 est clothes and jewelry to her daughter\, then becomes violent as she wi
 tnesses the affection between her husband Arthur and her sister Perdita.
  While Arthur is away on business\, Perdita smothers Viola in her sleep\
 , only to later be strangled to death by Viola’s ghost. The Lady in the 
 Lake then wanders the hallways for centuries searching for her daughter\
 , killing anyone who moves into the house along the way. I wrote ‘Silk a
 nd Petals’ thinking about the idea of ghosts being unable to leave this 
 realm because they’re hanging onto something they’ve lost\, and the song
  came from being so intrigued by that very intimate intermingling of lov
 e and death.” For Kiah\, the making of Still + Bright involved a careful
  transformation of the songwriting process she adopted after composing h
 er first song on a Fender acoustic at age 13. The latest turn in a dynam
 ic career that’s included joining Our Native Daughters (an all-women-of-
 color supergroup also featuring Rhiannon Giddens\, Leyla McCalla\, and A
 llison Russell)\, the album marks her first time opening up her approach
  and working with co-writers\, including punk legend Tim Armstrong\, Sad
 ler Vaden (a guitarist/vocalist for Jason Isbell’s 400 Unit)\, former Pe
 ntatonix member Avi Kaplan\, and Sean McConnell (a singer/songwriter who
 ’s also written with Brittney Spencer and Bethany Cosentino). “In a way 
 I almost felt like I had to relearn how to write songs\, because the exp
 erience had changed so much for me after taking better care of my mental
  and physical wellbeing over the past few years\,” she says. “It felt co
 mpletely different to write from a place of fulfillment and wanting to h
 ave fun with what I was creating.” While Still + Bright undoubtedly find
 s Kiah pushing into new emotional and musical terrain\, the album also m
 akes for a vital new addition to a body of work largely dedicated to exp
 loring the struggle and joy of true self-discovery. “With all of my musi
 c\, I’d love to leave people with the feeling that it’s okay to go off t
 he beaten path and to structure your life in a way that feels right to y
 ou\,” says Kiah. “And just like with the last record\, I hope that these
  songs can help people out if they’re going through a difficult time. Th
 at’s what I always hope for more than anything: for my music to continue
  to be a part of the healing process for anyone who might need it.” 3S A
 rtspace is funded in part by grants from the The Pete and Nancy Buck Fun
 d of the Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties\, and t
 he New Hampshire Charitable Foundation\, including support from its Joan
  Brodsky Fund. Thank you to our lead sponsors: AC Hotel Portsmouth\, App
 arel Impact\, The Brook\, The Fabulous Find\, The Kane Company Tidemark\
 , Katzman Contemporary Projects\, Raka\, and Sheraton Portsmouth Harbors
 ide Hotel.\n\nTickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/amythyst-kiah-ticket
 s-1993146432634\n\nhttps://findlocal.community/event/c9cef5e1-fcb9-4311-
 8763-20c1ffc8f13d
LOCATION:3S Artspace\, 319 Raynes Avenue\, Portsmouth\, NH 03801
URL:https://findlocal.community/event/c9cef5e1-fcb9-4311-8763-20c1ffc8f13
 d
STATUS:CONFIRMED
SEQUENCE:0
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