When I was invited to write an album review for this issue, I perused several volumes of JAS media reviews. Many thoughtful and well-written reviews highlighted albums readily legible as “Appalachian” through repertoire, style, and genre. Reflecting on this issue's focus on queerness, I decided to cover the work of two artists whose work invites audiences to listen carefully to the subtleties and nuances of queerness in and from the region. Yet both, in their own ways, also elide, bend, and “queer” canonic styles, genres, and aesthetics commonly associated with Appalachia and Appalachian studies.
Over the past decade, Amythyst Kiah's work has implicitly centered the sounds and voices of African American musicians elided in canonic “Appalachian” music, while subtly opening space for queer performance and listening. Born in Chattanooga and an alumnus of East Tennessee State University's Bluegrass program and Old-Time Pride Band, Kiah's debut acoustic album Dig (self-released 2012)...