Redefining the Genre
Amythyst Kiah, the Grammy-nominated singer and songwriter, made her feelings on Appalachia plain in a PBS documentary series this year.
“I just appreciate,” she said, “someone trying to tell the story in a way that is beautiful instead of harping on all the negative things.”
Kiah has been part of that movement through her award-winning music.
She, along with the Bluegrass, Old-Time, and Roots Music Studies program at East Tennessee State University she graduated from, is helping transform not only how the world understands the region but the genre of music itself – a place where new artists can break through, and all are welcome and celebrated.
Born in Chattanooga, Kiah was nominated for a Grammy for Best American Roots Song for “Black Myself,” the opening track of Songs of Our Native Daughters. On the critically acclaimed album, Kiah worked with Rhiannon Giddens, Leyla McCalla, and Allison Russell. They earned a nomination for Duo/Group of the Year at the 2019 Americana Honors Awards, while “Black Myself” captured the 2019 Song of the Year at the Folk Alliance International Conference.
How is Kiah reshaping the industry? For one: While many may associate instruments such as the banjo exclusively with the White mountain South, Kiah – a Black and queer performer – has begun dealing with race more specifically in her music.
In her 2021 album, Wary + Strange, she addressed deeply poignant themes, including losing her mother following suicide and being in the minority when it came to performing bluegrass.
“I don’t pass the test of the paper bag,” she sings. “’Cause I’m Black myself … I pick the banjo up and they sneer at me.”
The influential have taken notice.
“Amythyst Kiah found her powerful voice,” declared The New York Times about Wary + Strange. “Now she has a sound to match it.”
ETSU graduate Tray Wellington, an award-winning performer, earned high praise following the release of his album, Black Banjo, in 2022.
The Wall Street Journal glowed: “This is a record that breaks right through subgenre boundaries. If bluegrass is about spotlighting virtuosos, here’s a new one people will be checking in on for some time to come.”
Kiah and Wellington are hardly the only ETSU-associated performers earning accolades and changing the industry.
At the 2023 International Bluegrass Music Association World of Bluegrass Conference, one of the most significant bluegrass events in the world, numerous faculty and alumni earned nominations and awards.
Artist in Residence and Grammy-winning artist Tim Stafford emerged as Songwriter of the Year. Stafford’s band Blue Highway took home Event of the Year for their annual Blue Highway Fest.
Faculty member and Grammy-nominated musician Trey Hensley was named Guitar Player
of the Year, and Program Director Dan Boner received the Momentum Award for Mentor
of the Year. Many others, including the renowned Becky Buller, earned nominations. 
These honors come just two years after the university celebrated the department’s 40th anniversary in 2022.
Legendary bluegrass musician Jack Tottle founded the department in 1982. In so doing, he accomplished something that had never been attempted at any other four-year university.
Legendary bluegrass musician Jack Tottle, founder of the ETSU Bluegrass, Old-Time,
and Roots Music Studies program
An enthusiastic crowd packed a concert at the ETSU Martin Center for the Arts that celebrated the 40-year milestone of the program. That included a visit from Kenny Chesney, one of the most well-known names in country music and a 1993 graduate of ETSU, who received an honorary doctorate.
“The influence that ETSU has had on American music over these past 40-plus years is absolutely profound,” said Boner. “Our students and alumni have, put simply, transformed the music industry.”
Read more incredible stories in the Summer 2024 Edition of ETSU Today. #BucsGoBeyond
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