Border Bash: Amythyst Kiah | Virginia Ground feat. Dave Eggar

Amythyst Kiah – 8:30 PM

With an unforgettable voice that’s both unfettered and exquisitely controlled, the Tennessee-bred singer/songwriter expands on the uncompromising artistry she most recently revealed as part of Our Native Daughters, an all-women-of-color supergroup whose Kiah-penned standout “Black Myself” earned a Grammy Award nomination for Best American Roots Song and won Song of the Year at the 2019 Folk Alliance International Awards.

When met with the transcendent quality of her newly elevated sound, what emerges is an extraordinary vessel for Kiah’s songwriting: a raw yet nuanced examination of grief, alienation, and the hard-won triumph of total self-acceptance.

This new studio version of “Black Myself” is a glorious collision of two vastly different worlds: the iconoclastic alt-rock that first sparked her musical passion, and the roots/old-time-music scene.

Preview Music – Amythyst Kiah

Virginia Ground feat. Dave Eggar – 7:00 PM

After 10 years apart, Virginia Ground reunited, and within a year, they released their sophomore album, Valley of the Crow. In 2018 they were named a FloydFest “On the Rise” Band. Also in 2018, lead singer and guitarist, Jamen Denton grabbed the overall winning award for his songwriting at the Richard Leigh Songwriter’s Festival held annually in Abingdon, VA.

The band’s most recent EP, Radio Songs, self-released by Middle Fork Records in late 2018, is their most recent work.

These days, Virginia Ground plugs in more at shows as Denton plays lead on electric guitar. But the band never forgets their roots for those old crowd favorites when he picks up the acoustic and blends vocals and sound with original members, Jon McGlocklin singing harmonies and Will Outlaw on trombone, and newest members, Jim Denton on bass, and Noah Denton on percussion.

Preview Music – Virginia Ground