Arriving to the sound of "5 O’clock Somewhere" Amythyst Kiah took to the Rhinestone Stage solo with just her red guitar for company. Admitting to being a little time zone confused and sleepy, she kicked things off with "Hangover Blues" really emphasising the first words "Woke Up" which came with the unrepentant lines
" If I did it all over again,
I’d do the same damn thing anyhow"
Amythyst was providing the ideal soundtrack for a lot of the early bleary eyed audience with her soulful blues.
An early cover came in the shape of Tori Amos's "Sugar" generating a loud intro before dropping into a more strummy sound, though letting rip on the chorus.
Her "Wary + Strange" album provided "Fancy Drones (Fracture Me)" a rootsier tune, came with a slower guitar style,
There was a change to an acoustic guitar for "Wild Turkey" and a much softer delivery with the haunting refrain "She's Never Coming Back"
It was back to the electric for "Trouble So Hard", familiar to UK audiences via Moby, this version brought the original feel and emotion of the song back to the forefront.
Amythyst started "Sleeping Queen" a capella, before gradually coming in on guitar, it's theme of being sleep deprived fitting in well with Amythyst' current state.
Once again Amythyst returned to her acoustic guitar for her final tune "Black Myself" which asked lots of questions about history and sterotypes and left us with a lot to unpack - Amythyst certainly pulled no puches with lines like
"When the stopped shipping work horses
They bread their own anyway"
The final verse "I stand proud and free" giving hopefully a postive outlook for the future.
Roots and Americana music has always been the voice of protest and there was plenty both to enjoy and ponder on within Amythyst's set,
Parting with the words "I'm going to bed now" Amythyst left the stage but she will return to the UK at Bush Hall in November
The Long Road Festival will return 25th-27th August 2023.