Amythyst Kiah Goes It Alone for ‘Mountain Stage’ ‘Black Myself’ Performance [Exclusive Video]

Amythyst Kiah's "Black Myself" is powerful in any context — with Our Native Daughters, as a solo release, remixed with Moby — but her Mountain Stage performance of the song is particularly so. Kiah's full Mountain Stage performance will premiere on Thursday (Sept. 17), but The Boot's readers are getting a sneak peek at it.

For her Mountain Stage performance of the Grammy-nominated "Black Myself," Kiah is onstage alone, and accompanies herself on acoustic guitar. The simple setup is all she needs to do the song justice.

"Her songwriting is straightforward; her voice is a force of nature. Especially with only an acoustic guitar, we can appreciate the full impact of that vocal," says singer-songwriter Kathy Mattea, the recently announced new host of Mountain Stage, of Kiah. "I'm anxious to watch her star rise …"

Kiah is a Chattanooga-raised musician who studied in East Tennessee State University's bluegrass program and has toured with both fellow Our Native Daughters member Rhiannon Giddens and Yola as a solo artist. After earning a Best American Roots Song nomination at the 2020 Grammy Awards for "Black Myself," as performed by Our Native Daughters, she included her solo version of the song on her recently released solo album, Wary + Strange.

"Writing "Black Myself" helped me find the courage to speak my mind, and the opportunity to perform it on Mountain Stage was an honor and a dream come true," Kiah says. "Everyone was warm and gracious — the audience, the guests, and all the people involved with the show. I can't wait for the next time!"

Mountain Stage began in 1983, as a product of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, but soon found a spot among National Public Radio's programming. Today, nearly 300 public radio stations across the United States broadcast Mountain Stage, which has featured performances from everyone from John Prine and Mavis Staples to R.E.M. and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band.

Visit MountainStage.org or NPR.org for details on how to catch Kiah's full Mountain Stage performance, as well as other past and upcoming sets. Kiah's upcoming tour dates are available at AmythystKiah.com.

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