[piano intro] - [Female Announcer] Tennessee native Amythyst Kiah is a Grammy nominated alternative country blues singer, banjoist, guitarist, and composer.

She has an unforgettable voice that's both unfettered and exquisitely controlled.

Coming up next on "Echo Sessions."

♪ On the wheels of love we'll roam ♪ ♪ It's a Subie thing ♪ [bright upbeat music] - [male announcer] "Echo Sessions" is made possible by Prestige Subaru.

[upbeat jazzy rock] ♪ ♪ Melancholy always seemed to work for me ♪ ♪ Wistful and uncertain are my dreams ♪ ♪ Stardust forms into shapes that never leave ♪ ♪ Strange and wary they all seem ♪ ♪ I'm a ghost in the hall, a haint in the room ♪ ♪ Everywhere I go impending doom ♪ ♪ How many spirits does it take to lift a spirit ♪ ♪ I don't know, I don't know ♪ ♪ 'Cause I bought every spirit ♪ ♪ And I'm still laying here crying on the floor ♪ ♪ So can you just leave me be ♪ ♪ Been drenched in firewater won't save me ♪ ♪ I'll forsake the path of filth and fleas ♪ ♪ Can you just leave me be ♪ ♪ Pensive stares are the only crowns I've ever gleaned ♪ ♪ So in the dark I find the answers that I need ♪ ♪ City lights are the only stars I ever see ♪ ♪ How many nights until I finally can breathe ♪ ♪ How many spirits does it take to lift a spirit ♪ ♪ I don't know, I don't know ♪ ♪ 'Cause I bought every spirit ♪ ♪ And I'm still laying here crying on the floor ♪ ♪ So can you just leave me be ♪ ♪ Been drenched in firewater won't save me ♪ ♪ I'll forsake the path of filth and fleas ♪ ♪ Can you just leave ♪ ♪ Can you just leave ♪ ♪ Can you just leave me be ♪ This one's called, "The Ballad of Lost."

♪ Every time the wind blows ♪ ♪ My mind goes too ♪ ♪ My heart keeps on wandering ♪ ♪ And my head is in the clouds ♪ ♪ When your name slips through my lips ♪ ♪ My heart falls through ♪ ♪ Don't you know my eyes were brown ♪ ♪ Oh, but now they've turned to blue ♪ ♪ And I am lost ♪ ♪ Maybe I have always been ♪ ♪ And I believe that I can forgive ♪ ♪ Can I forget ♪ ♪ Never ♪ ♪ Oh, your eyes went wide ♪ ♪ When I saw you with her ♪ ♪ You wanted to explain ♪ ♪ Well, I just turned and walked away ♪ ♪ And I am lost ♪ ♪ Maybe I have always been ♪ ♪ And I believe that I can forgive ♪ ♪ Can I forget ♪ ♪ Never ♪ ♪ Someday you're gonna find me ♪ ♪ Once ashes turn to dust ♪ ♪ May peace bring me shelter ♪ ♪ To defeat the pain you cause me ♪ ♪ But until then, I'll still be ♪ ♪ I am lost ♪ ♪ Maybe I have always been ♪ ♪ And I believe that I can forgive ♪ ♪ Can I forget ♪ ♪ Never ♪ All right, thanks again so much for tuning in and watching.

If you're just tuning in my name's Amythyst Kiah and I'm gonna play some more songs.

So I'm gonna switch over to a different instrument.

Do a quick shout out to Fanny's House of Music in Nashville for selling me this Tele, I've been wanting a Telecaster for a very long time, and I'm like, oh wow, I have money, so I can do that now.

So yeah, thanks to them, 'cause this is making its live debut.

So this song is definitely the most difficult one that I've had to write, and it's about a traumatic experience I had when I was much younger, and the way that I coped with it was to kind of bottle things up and keep everything to myself and pretend like everything was fine.

But in the long term, it doesn't really work out that way.

But it took years of therapy to even get to the point where I could ever write a song like this to really address how I was feeling and in a way, it's to give my younger self permission that it was okay to not be okay.

I didn't have to pretend like I was fine.

So yeah, this one's called "Wild Turkey."

♪ Late at night when I feel alone ♪ ♪ I cry in darkness and scream into the unknown ♪ ♪ 'Cause she's never coming back ♪ ♪ No, she's never coming back ♪ ♪ Body in water for days and days ♪ ♪ Hopes for a safe return, my hope's in vain ♪ ♪ 'Cause she's never coming back ♪ ♪ No, she's never coming back ♪ ♪ When I was 17, I pretended not to care ♪ ♪ Stayed numb for years to escape despair ♪ ♪ When your soul dies, you just can't hide it ♪ ♪ Everyone can tell ♪ ♪ Oh Lord, will I ever feel right again ♪ ♪ Tried so hard to be an automaton ♪ ♪ Body of steel and wire circuits for my backbone ♪ ♪ 'Cause she's never coming back ♪ ♪ No, she's never coming back ♪ ♪ Wild turkey in the car seat ♪ ♪ The bottle's empty, I hope it gave her some relief ♪ ♪ 'Cause she's never coming back ♪ ♪ No, she's never coming back ♪ ♪ When I was 17, I pretended not to care ♪ ♪ Stayed numb for years to escape despair ♪ ♪ When your soul dies, you just can't hide it ♪ ♪ Everyone can tell ♪ ♪ Oh Lord, will I ever feel ♪ ♪ When I was 17, I pretended not to care ♪ ♪ Stayed numb for years to escape despair ♪ ♪ When your soul dies, you just can't hide it ♪ ♪ Everyone can tell ♪ ♪ Oh Lord, will I ever feel ♪ ♪ Will I ever feel right again ♪ This one is probably one of my favorite covers to sing.

It's a song by one of the bands that was really influential in my teenage years, a band called Radiohead, and this song is called "Fake Plastic Trees."

♪ Her green plastic watering can ♪ ♪ For her fake Chinese rubber plant ♪ ♪ In the fake plastic earth ♪ ♪ She bought it from a rubber man ♪ ♪ In a town full of rubber plans ♪ ♪ To get rid of itself ♪ ♪ And it wears her out ♪ ♪ It wears her out ♪ ♪ It wears her out ♪ ♪ It wears her out ♪ ♪ She lives with a broken man ♪ ♪ A cracked polystyrene man ♪ ♪ Who just crumbles and burns ♪ ♪ He used to do surgery ♪ ♪ For girls in the '80s ♪ ♪ But gravity always win ♪ ♪ And it wears him out ♪ ♪ It wears him out ♪ ♪ It wears him out ♪ ♪ It wears ♪ ♪ She looks like the real thing ♪ ♪ She tastes like the real thing ♪ ♪ My fake plastic love ♪ ♪ But I can't help the feeling ♪ ♪ I could blow through the ceiling ♪ ♪ If I just turn and run ♪ ♪ And it wears me out ♪ ♪ It wears me out ♪ ♪ It wears me out ♪ ♪ It wears me out ♪ ♪ And if I could be who you wanted ♪ ♪ And if I could be who you wanted ♪ ♪ All the time ♪ ♪ All the time ♪ All right, well I got time for one more.

Thanks to IamAvl and Echo Mountain Recording Studio.

Again, it's always a pleasure to be able to come here and make music and I'm happy to be back here again.

You know, I've missed playing shows in Asheville.

This is technically the first show in Asheville I've played in probably over a year now, of course.

So anyway, I'm glad to be back in any capacity.

I can't think of a better place to do it.

So hopefully down the road, we'll see y'all live and in person just like back in the good old days.

But anyway, I will send you off with a song called "Black Myself."

Some of you will remember that single from a release that came out last year or two years ago now with another project I'm with called Songs of Our Native Daughters Rhiannon Giddens, Leyla McCalla, and Allison Russell, so as the time as gone on and so much, the perception of that record is something that was beyond our wildest dreams.

You know, to continue to have that conversation about the Transatlantic Slave Trade, about the aftermath and the things that happened and the way that it really continues to in a lot of ways break us down in society, where white supremacy is still something that's very much real and to know that there are a lot of people out there, a lot of allies that want that to end.

You know, with the reception of this record gave us so much hope.

And with this song, I wanted to rerecord it again and rerelease as a single on this record, because it's a song that I really want to reach out to people to better understand that the Black experience is not just an experience of Black people, but it's an experience of American people, and we're all Americans, we're all humans and the things that hurt us, things that will hurt one group, it hurts everybody.

We're not in a vacuum, we're not compartmentalized, so anyway, I can go on and on about that, but this song tries to encapsulate that, the triumph over tragedy.

So thanks again for listening and we'll see you next time.

♪ I wanna jump the fence and wash my face in the creek ♪ ♪ But I'm Black myself ♪ ♪ I wanna sweep that gal right off her feet ♪ ♪ But I'm Black myself ♪ ♪ I'm tired of walking around with no shoes on ♪ ♪ 'Cause I'm Black myself ♪ ♪ And your precious god ain't gonna bless me ♪ ♪ 'Cause I'm Black myself ♪ ♪ Is you washed in the blood of your chattel ♪ ♪ 'Cause the lamb's rotted away ♪ ♪ When they stopped shopping work horses ♪ ♪ They bred their own anyway ♪ ♪ I don't pass the test of the paper bag ♪ ♪ 'Cause I'm Black myself ♪ ♪ I pick the banjo up and they sneer at me ♪ ♪ 'Cause I'm Black myself ♪ ♪ You better lock your doors when I walk by ♪ ♪ 'Cause I'm Black myself ♪ ♪ You look me in my eyes but you don't see me ♪ ♪ 'Cause I'm Black myself ♪ ♪ Is you washed in the blood of your chattel ♪ ♪ 'Cause the lamb's rotted away ♪ ♪ When they stopped shipping work horses ♪ ♪ They bred their own anyway ♪ ♪ I don't creep around ♪ ♪ I stand proud and free ♪ ♪ 'Cause I'm Black myself ♪ ♪ I go anywhere that I wanna go ♪ ♪ 'Cause I'm Black myself ♪ ♪ And I'm surrounded by many loving arms ♪ ♪ 'Cause I'm Black myself ♪ ♪ And I'll stand my ground and smile in your face ♪ ♪ 'Cause I'm Black myself ♪ ♪ I washed away the blood and tears ♪ ♪ I've been born brand new ♪ ♪ There's no more work horses ♪ ♪ But still some work to do ♪ ♪ 'Cause I'm Black myself ♪ ♪ 'Cause I'm Black myself ♪ ♪ 'Cause I'm Black myself ♪ ♪ Black myself, Black myself, Black myself ♪ ♪ Black myself, Black myself, Black myself ♪ ♪ 'Cause I'm Black my, Black my, Black myself ♪ [upbeat jazzy rock] ♪ ♪ On the wheels of love we'll roam ♪ ♪ It's a Subie thing ♪ - [male announcer] "Echo Sessions" is made possible by Prestige Subaru.