Kyshona to Release New Single 'Fear'

On Friday, November 8th, Kyshona will release "Fear," a swampy new track from her forthcoming album Listen, out February 28, 2020. The song, written with her brother and fellow artist Kelvin Armstrong, premiered exclusively at The Boot earlier this week. "In an age in which we all have a digital platform to express ourselves, we seldom feel heard. Kyshona, the electrifying Nashville-based singer-songwriter, knows that better than anyone," said The Boot. "Kyshona effortlessly grooves between roots, R&B and folk music. On 'Fear'...she digs deep into a swampy hook that dredges the depths of our subconscious. While the song explores all of the ways we tell ourselves what we can't do, Kyshona imbues it with the determination needed to free ourselves from our doubts."

"Fear is that boogieman that sits quietly in the corner of our minds that can paralyze us the moment confidence enters the picture," Kyshona told The Boot. "Rather than listen to that voice that's telling you why change isn't possible, call it out. Recognize the fear and move past it. It's just another wall to be knocked down. We can't let fear rule our every move. Fear is what has kept us so divided." "Fear" follows the release of "Fallen People," a reflection on finding commonality in the fact that we all struggle and that we all fight something on a daily basis, and lead single "Too Much," a Mavis-Staples-style organ-laced gospel-tinged groove about finding hope in the midst of overwhelming circumstances.

Kyshona has always lent her voice and music to those that feel silenced or forgotten. She began her career as a music therapist, writing her first songs with her patients--the students and inmates under her care. She soon found the need to write independently and find her own voice, an endeavor that led her to the fertile ground of the Nashville creative community and its collaborative songwriting culture.

Since then, she has learned how to balance her music career with her passion to heal the hurting--writing, recording, and touring while remaining active with organizations like Music For Seniors, for which she was recently highlighted at PBS NewsHour Live. Audiences will find a common thread of empowerment, overcoming adversity, and finding hope in her work. In February, Kyshona will release her new LP Listen, co-produced with Andrija Tokic (St. Paul & The Broken Bones, Alabama Shakes, Hurray For The Riff Raff) and recorded mostly at his famed Nashville studio The Bomb Shelter.

In each of the album's 10 tracks, Kyshona blends roots, rock, R&B, gospel, and folk with lyrical prowess to uplift the marginalized and bring awareness to the masses. It's for every silent scream, every heavy load, every fearful thought, and a simmering sense of anger that the repressed, the lost, and the forgotten try to hide from the world. "I've been thinking a lot about purpose," she says. "When I write and when I perform I am often thinking of what my point is. What is my purpose? What is my mission? At this particular moment in these particular times, my mission is to be a voice and a vessel for those who feel silenced and forgotten." After her powerful performances, concertgoers often ask, "What can I do?" Her response? "Listen."

TOUR DATES:

11/16 - Square In The Circle - Takoma Park, MD

11/17 - Sevaried House Concerts - Alexandria, VA

11/21 - The Olde Glory Theatre - Seward, NE

11/22 - Rehmsworld Concert Series - Holdrege, NE

11/23 - Progressive Voices Concert @ First Unitarian Church - Des Moines, IA

11/24 - Dyck Arboretum of the Plains - Hesston, KS

12/16 - Club Jaeb at the Straz Center - Tampa, FL

1/28-1/30/2020 - AmericanaFest UK [Official Showcasing Artist] - London, UK

Photo credit: Hannah Miller

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