Press so far for Legacy

"...heartfelt empathy is evident on Legacy, an inspiring collection of gospel, folk and blues." - NPR https://www.npr.org/2024/03/12/1237341224/taylor-swift-beyonce-spring-2024-albums

"Kyshona's genre-fluid album...finds redemption in exploring generational traumas - with compassion, heart, and family ties front and center" 
- Ed Helms, Good Country

"Kyshona nurtures the myriad branches of her family tree with this remarkably thorough tribute to her ancestors." - The Boston Globe

"...organic, rocking, soulful groove" - The Nashville Scene

"On her stirring new album Legacy, Kyshona searches out the legacy—of her family, of her home place, of her name—that her ancestors have bequeathed to her with eloquent soul." "...an ethereal testimony to the resonating presence of the generations of individuals who reverberate through our lives." "Kyshona inhabits these songs in the same way she dwells in the spirits of her legacy, and they in her. She transports her listeners, and herself, on this journey to the nooks and crannies of legacy, and it shines brightly through her soaring vocals." - Folk Alley

"Kyshona makes Nashville a better place" "Whether it’s through her work as a music therapist and activist, or the impressive artistic community she’s marshaled for her upcoming album Legacy...Kyshona is always one to use her light to refract through others and create something greater than the sum of their parts." https://adobeandteardrops.com/2024/04/interview-kyshona-leaves-an-emotional-legacy.html

"Kyshona incorporates sounds from across the spectrum of Black music to craft a gift for the rest of us." "Kyshona incorporates her family’s own archive of choir performances and sermons to craft a throughline from her immediate ancestors to the deep past — and back to the future." "As Kyshona guides us through her family tree, the songs are dappled with blues, funk, and gospel, all tied together by the pursuit of excellence that so clearly defines her spirit." "In each song, Kyshona and her collaborators have an undeniable chemistry. No one person outshines the others, as there is not only a clear regard for each other, but a commitment to serving the song itself. This is leading by example. Musically or politically, we can only build legacies by building with each other." - No Depression

"...a soul stirring exploration of the complexities of the idea of 'home' and belonging, and the power of storytelling and art to make sense of it all."  "...a steaming country funk beat bubbles beneath the surface before it boils over and it all ends up sounding something like Odetta cutting a '70s Stax slow jam." - Holler

"...an absolutely fierce bit of soulful rock and roll about the importance of keeping her familial stories, and sacrifice, alive"
- Don't Rock The Inbox (Marissa Moss' country-centric newsletter)

"Comin' Out Swingin'" premiere "...a Nashville-based and roots-driven soul vocalist, educator, musical therapist and songwriter bearing peerless Americana, country and folk co-signs" "Both as an album and a reclamation of her family's over 150-year-old American genealogy...it -- like many of her previous works -- captures the 'honest essence' of 'tangible realities.'" "...funk-driven soul" - The Tennessean

""...a stunning display of passionate soul and country-fried blues...showcases the artist’s poetic approach to songwriting as she delivers her words in a cloud of soulful prowess." "...nostalgic and present at the same time, a time portal to soul’s history that leads you to Kyshona’s hometown with warm tones and enough southern charm to go around." - Glide Magazine

"a powerful affair – almost threatening in its intensity and the ‘Legacy’ album promises more of the same" https://www.soulandjazzandfunk.com/news/oh-carolina

"Kyshona crafted this album about legacy to capture the history and honest stories of her ancestors and family so future generations will have something to hold onto" https://news.theurbanmusicscene.com/2024/02/kyshona-to-release-new-album-legacy

"...a roots rock song with soul and a splash of gospel that’s perfect for hyping yourself up." https://riffmagazine.com/mp3/tt-camera-obscura-20240206/ 

"Musical pep talk with a rich and soulful sound. Place that bet on me." https://www.instagram.com/p/C22X2bFufo_/?hl=en

Rock & Blues Muse:

"Spiritual"

"One spin of these 13 memorable gems (and three brief interludes) takes the listener to another, higher psychological plateau, lifting spirits and encouraging a more divine, holistic approach to life through her music."

"...subtle African rhythms with gospel, blues, R&B, rock and a ton of passion for an expansive, often sprawling 50 minute disc with no weak moments."

"...it’s impossible not to be emotionally touched."

"...you don’t need any religious affiliation to get uplifted and well, spiritually elevated, by this music. It’s what makes this album such a transcendent experience...'Do What Feeds Your Soul' Kyshona advised on her 2022 single. Listening to Legacy is a perfect start."

https://www.rockandbluesmuse.com/2024/04/24/review-kyshona-legacy

Press for Listen

"Listen highlights Kyshona’s descriptive songwriting and soulful vocals alongside a versatile blend of folk, rock and R&B influences. While Kyshona sings of fear, hope, community, love and understanding throughout the 10-track project, she also finds herself."

- Billboard

“This is protest music for a new generation, a musical treatment for social ills, a unique prescription that only works if you listen.” 

- No Depression

“I don’t think it’s a coincidence that she called it Listen, because she has that very real conviction that the act of listening and the feeling of being heard are fundamental human needs…there’s that sense of purpose in the language that she chooses, that sense of speaking in a collective way in the language that she chooses. There are particular songs where she will address ‘Brothers and Sisters…hear what I’m saying.’ It’s stately, noble language, and sometimes it’s optimistic, and sometimes it’s more confrontational…it’s always emphatic, but it’s also warm.”

- Jewly Hight, NPR’s New Music Friday

“…a soulful, Southern groove”

- Rolling Stone (10 Best Songs to Hear Now. November 2019)

“With an ambition ‘to bring the light of music into places of darkness,’ it’s clear that ‘Fear’ and the other nine tracks from her upcoming LP unapologetically and convincingly do just that.” 

- American Songwriter

"Everyone is making political records. Everyone is making albums that speak to 'this moment.' Too few of them are making music that speaks to the people who inhabit this moment. Kyshona does."

- The Bluegrass Situation

"Over ten original and co-written songs the album carries on this mission with empathy, connection, community, and spirituality (but not proselytizing.) It’s a remarkable feat that though society systemically attempts to render her and women like her invisible, assuming that they’ll stand aside or allow themselves to be tokenized, Kyshona compassionately defies those expectations and opts to design her selfhood — and thereby, her art — to interact with the world on her terms and not the world’s."

- The Bluegrass Situation  

"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."

- The Boot

"In these uncertain times we need music like this more than ever. Open your heart and Listen to Kyshona’s compelling truths."

- Highway Queens

"The melodies are catchy, but it’s the lyrics that really grab the attention on this album. [Kyshona] sings with the undeniable spirit and conviction that was more common in the tumultuous 60s. However, through all the turmoil of the times, the message is ultimately one of hope that leaves you believing things will get better."

- Americana Highways

Audiofemme premieres the official music video for “Listen”.

-Cillea Houghton January 2020

Tone Talk with Guitar Girl Magazine.

-January 2020

“Wherever she plants her feet, she does so with righteous conviction and a strong sense of her own voice”

- NPR Music (NPR Music: Best of 2017 - Jewly Hight)

“Music therapist turned singer-songwriter Kyshona Armstrong embraces activist role” by Jewly Hight