TN Shines presents: Amythyst Kiah

Johnson City-based Amythyst Kiah is a Southern Gothic, alt-country blues singer/songwriter who is equally inspired by old-time music (Mississippi Sheiks, Son House, Olla Belle Reed, Carter Family) as she is R&B and country vocalists of the past  (Big Mama Thornton, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Mahalia Jackson, Patsy Cline) and present (Adele, Florence and the Machine, Megan Jean and the KFB, Janelle Monae, Thom Yorke). Her solo album, “Dig,” is raw and sparse, with heavy lyrical content regarding such themes as loss, betrayal, and murder. She has opened for such acts as Tim O'Brien and Darrell Scott, The Duhks, Megan Jean and the KFB, and has played the Smithsonian Folk Life Festival 2012 alongside the Ebony Hillbillies and Sparky and Rhonda Rucker, as well as Knoxville’s Rhythm ‘n’ Blooms Festival and Nashville’s Music City Roots.