Madi Diaz, Nashville's indie starlet, says Music City makes her 'feel seen'

Madi Diaz is brazen, bold, unfiltered.

She writes songs about some of the difficult interpersonal conversations we're all scared of having. It's made her one of the biggest rising alternative-indie stars in Nashville and the wider music scene.

In one of her songs, Diaz asks her then partner if their intense love could fall apart and ruin both of their lives. In another, she calls out a boyfriend's ex-girlfriend for calling him when he's in a new relationship. She sings, "Are you hoping he'll catch feelings for you again?"

Her voice is smooth and soft, but she can belt with power. Diaz's sound draws from artists like Waxahatchee, Sarah Jarosz and Julien Baker, but with her own unique warmth.

In 2023, Diaz toured with Harry Styles and duetted with friend Kacey Musgraves. Recently, she sang on "The Tonight Show" and "CBS Saturday Morning," following the February release her lauded new album "Weird Faith."

Though Diaz has been around the block, her career as indie music's newest starlet is reaching new heights. Listeners are taking note.

Music City always gave back to Diaz

The 37-year-old singer-songwriter, who grew up in Pennsylvania, attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, where she honed her skills. Diaz still collaborates regularly with some of her Berklee classmates, like her drummer on tour, Adam Popick.

Diaz first moved to Music City in 2007 with collaborator Kyle Ryan. "We kind of did everything together," Diaz said.

Now Diaz is more of a solo act, and Ryan owns a music studio where he writes and records, Diaz said.

Diaz left Nashville briefly, spending a five-year stint in Los Angeles from 2012 to 2017. She found the City of Angels wasn't for her and felt called back to Music City.

"I guess it always felt like I was going to come back home at some point," Diaz said. "(Nashville) felt like home.

"I had been through so much in Los Angeles, whether it was starting bands that kind of fizzled out or weren't going to work out, or these relationships that I had, personally and romantically, that blew up in my face. And Nashville just didn't care."

She felt friends acknowledged her experiences in L.A. but never judged her or made her feel bogged down on the past.

"Nashville is always taking care of me," Diaz said. "I just felt so nurtured and seen."

There was something special about Nashville in the late 2000s, Diaz said. "Everybody was excited about what everybody else was doing and wanted to be involved."

Even when she was in Los Angeles, Diaz joked that Nashville was paying her bills.

Diaz collaborates with Kacey Musgraves

Now, Diaz finds herself in a Nashville music scene that feels like one giant melting pot, not one separated by genre.

"There's just so much good, creative energy, supportive energy," Diaz said.

Among song of Diaz's collaborators are Stephen Wilson Jr., Olivia Barton, Steph Jones, Charlie Hickey, Lori McKenna and Kacey Musgraves.

Musgraves appears on the song "Don't Do Me No Good," a tune that Diaz released as a single in November ahead of her new album. Musgraves and Diaz have known each other for years but became better friends during the COVID-19 pandemic when they found themselves hanging out in the same bubble.

When it came time to record "Don't Do Me Good," Diaz said, the song "just felt like such a singular, lonely kind of feeling. And I really just wanted a friend on there with me."

So she dialed up Musgraves.

"You know, Kace and I had spoken a lot about that particular topic of when do you leave? Whether it's professionally or personally, I feel like that's a thing a lot of us deal with. When do you just call it? When do you say enough is enough?"

So together, the two collaborated on a heartfelt song about when to walk away and move forward. They harmonize: "Every time I try to walk away I stay, you knew I would / I know loving you, it don't do me good."

In new album 'Weird Faith,' Madi Diaz muses on hurting, healing

"Weird Faith," Diaz's fifth studio album, is a 12-track collection that touches on romantic relationships and having trust in good things happening again after life has felt dismal.

"I had survived this grieving period where my heart had been broken," Diaz said.

"There's this thing that happens after you go through heavy heartbreak and you're in this healing phase where it's really hard to not get really calloused and close off and decide to not open up parts of yourself anymore."

As Diaz tried to allow herself to believe in herself again, "Weird Faith" took shape.

"(It) was kind of written on the backs of a lot of mantras that I was finding from myself," Diaz said.

She had fallen in love and found a partner, felt her career evolving through tour offers, found a label, great management and a team that had her back.

"(I had) all of these things that I hadn't had and was feeling a lot of excitement and joy," she said.

But simultaneously, Diaz found herself suspicious of how good things had become.

"I feel like 'Weird Faith' started to come about as I was unpacking that," she said of her suspicions, "and wondering why it was so hard for me to keep believing in good things continuing to happen."

The result is a 41-minute album that is so specific, it's relatable.

In the title track "Weird Faith," Diaz reminds herself that every love comes with a lesson and that she can pick herself up off the floor, changing for the better at the next turn.

Another track, "Kiss the Wall," finds Diaz meditating on efficiency. She sings, "I love this place, I love waiting in line / Nothin' is a waste of time."

The dreamy song captures the importance of being present in the little moments, not just the big ones like headlining tours and recording albums.

That tune reminds Diaz of bartending at Nashville's Wilburn Street Tavern in 2018, one her favorite bars to this day. She found pouring liquor for friends and washing glasses meditative.

Diaz didn't make a lot of money there, but "it was such a haven for me in that time period and a very healing period that I would never take back," she said.

Though Diaz's album discusses healing moments, big and small, it also allows her to sit in the pain, too.

Diaz's favorite track on the new album is "Hurting You." She wrote the song in response to a time when she felt like her words were damaging everyone around her.

"It felt like I was like a porcupine," she said. "Everything that comes out of my mouth just feels like poison, like it just hurts coming out. And I'm sure it hurts whoever it's hitting."

With longing and soaring notes, Diaz sings, "You never even know it, 'cause I can't say it / Right now, I know it's hard for you to see / Hurting you is hurting me."

Diaz hits the road on Weird Faith Tour

Though the hurt in Diaz's album is palpable, she said, "I'm living, breathing, I'm on tour. There's some things that are really wonderful about what's happening in my life right now."

She continued, "And there are some things that are really hard about what's happening in my life right now. But that's just part of the whole thing."

Currently, Diaz is on her Weird Faith Tour, which brought her to Nashville for a lively hometown show at the Brooklyn Bowl on March 8.

The Nashville show saw fans belting along, some in tears as they felt the gravity of Diaz's raw lyrics live for the first time.

Next, Diaz will be headed out West and to California, hitting the road with Daniel Nunnelee. Later in the year, she will tour as Musgraves' supporting act.

For more information on Diaz, her tour and music, head to madidiaz.com.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville indie star Madi Diaz reaches new heights with 'Weird Faith'