Kyshona to release 'Legacy,' a personal, soulful and roots-driven folk journey

Kyshona -- a Nashville-based and roots-driven soul vocalist, educator, musical therapist and songwriter bearing peerless Americana, country and folk co-signs -- releases "Legacy," her latest album, on Apr. 26, 2024.

Both as an album and a reclamation of her family's over 150-year-old American genealogy conducted alongside a genealogist at the Robert Frederick Smith Explore Your Family History Center at the Smithsonian Institute's National Museum of African American History and Culture, it -- like many of her previous works -- captures the "honest essence" of "tangible realities."

Not only has Kyshona performed and toured with artists including Taj Mahal, Margo Price, and Allison Russell, but she's also the founder of Your Song. This charitable organization provides therapeutic and trauma-processing-centered songwriting workshops for at-risk youth, formerly incarcerated women, older adults and more.

Kyshona's album's lead, funk-driven soul single, "Comin' Out Swingin'," features her brother, Kelvin, a singer-songwriter whose music has been described as "rock, country, and R&B in a bowl."

"Maybe everyone has that family member that they really look up to. That cousin that intimidates you but also makes you feel like you're 10 feet tall. That sibling that you have repeatedly watched walk a hard road but still meets every challenge head on with wild abandon. Kelvin and I wrote this song out of love and admiration for our cousin Crystal C," says Kyshona about the collaboration.

"We imagined this as [Crystal's] personal anthem for those moments she needs that boost of confidence, but in truth, I feel like I wrote this song for myself as well. When I'm feeling my lowest, I think of Crystal and all the women who came before us who made hard decisions and sacrifices in the name of love, home and purpose."

"Legacy" also features Kyshona's late grandfather, Hawthorne "H.T." Armstrong (himself a songwriter), plus Grammy-winning and Memphis-based engineer and producer Matt Ross-Spang (Jason Isbell, Margo Price, Al Green, John Prine), Grammy-nominated producer Rachael Moore (T. Bone Burnett, Mike Elizondo) and contributions from Ruthie Foster, Keb Mo', Odessa Settles, Aaron Lee Tasjan, Brittney Spencer, Caroline Spence, Jess Nolan,  Chris Pierce and Crys Matthews among many.

"Our access to the people and places who shaped us can grow weaker and more distant the older we get. People pass on, forget things. We move, travel and explore new places, collecting new stories. This album is my attempt to capture the history, character, essence, and honest stories of my ancestors and family so generations that come after me will have something tangible to turn to when they waver in who they are and wonder where they came from," adds Kyshona via a press statement.

"Legacy" is currently available for pre-save.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Kyshona to release 'Legacy,' a personal, soulful and roots-driven folk journey