Finding Identity as a Black and Appalachian Musician | The Express Way with Dulé Hill

Official website: https://to.pbs.org/3TwQDsm | #ExpressWayPBS

Dulé Hill meets the Grammy-nominated, Appalachian musician, Amythyst Kiah. Amythyst discusses the Black community’s contributions to American traditional music, and how she processed her grief over her mother’s suicide.

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#bluegrass #appalachia #musicianlife

Amythyst Kiah is redefining the sound of traditional music in Appalachia through her lens as a queer, Black woman in America. When Amythyst’s parents gifted her a guitar as a child, she spent hours playing, copying training cd’s and popular artists she heard on the radio, but it wasn’t until she took a bluegrass guitar class that she discovered the African contributions to the music of Appalachia. As a teen, Amythyst remembers feeling alone as her father battled drug addiction and her mother eventually committed suicide. Turning to alcohol nearly cost her a shot at a musical career, but through her father’s intervention, Amythyst began to re-channel her sorrow into song. She earned a 2020 Grammy nomination for Best American Roots Song for her tune “Black Myself," and today, Amythyst is continuing her journey of self-discovery through music.

The Express Way with Dulé Hill
Multi-talented actor and performer Dulé Hill (“The Wonder Years,” “The West Wing”) and director Danny Lee (“Who Is Stan Smith?”) take audiences on an emotional and celebratory road trip across the nation to explore the transformative power of the arts. Along his journey, Hill travels to California, the Appalachian region, Texas and Chicago to connect with local visionaries, activists, changemakers and pioneers who are using their artistic passions to foster connection, deepen empathy, and create meaningful change within their communities.