-This is a busy time for Kimaya Diggs, as she is only days away from launching an extensive U.S. tour in support of her third album, Green, released on Oct. 2.
The western Massachusetts-based singer-songwriter will begin the tour with a hometown show in Northampton on Saturday, Oct. 10, followed by a show at Nova Arts in Keene, on Wednesday, Oct. 14. Diggs will then perform at Next Stage Arts in Putney on Friday, Oct. 30.
Over the years, Diggs has been a frequent performer in Vermont and southern New Hampshire. Her most recent local show was in July, when she opened for the legendary Mavis Staples at the Colonial Theatre in Keene. She will open a show for Staples on this upcoming tour and has also shared the stage with Emily King, Trombone Shorty, as well as Tank and the Bangas.
“I can’t wait to get out on the road again,” Diggs said of the upcoming tour, adding that she is equally excited to release Green into the world, describing it as “a huge project that encompasses so much of my life and experience.”
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The new albumfeatures genre-blending indie soul-pop with strong rhythm and blues, neo-soul, folk, and rock elements, all delivered in Diggs’ warm, rich voice.
Green’s title comes from the spring growth spurt, when everything seems to bloom overnight. It is the perfect title for an album in which Diggs both explores her connection to the land and explores themes of personal growth, resilience, and growing stronger without becoming hard.
On her previous release, Quincy, Diggs was working her way through grief after losing her mother, her dog, and a close friend, all in a relatively short period. She also underwent surgery for a vocal injury and had lost her voice for a while.
Going through that difficult period left her wondering: If she had been a better person, would she have been spared these painful experiences in her life? As she prepared to write the songs on Green, she asked herself this question and others, like: “How can my values be reflected in the way that I live? Where do I belong as a person?”
“I needed something to give me a sense of structure, and starting with the questions was the approach I took,” she explained. “Historically, the themes make themselves known as I work, but in this case I took a different approach. Instead of writing songs one at a time, I wrote everything simultaneously.”
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The 13 songs on the album span a range of emotions, from the anger heard on the first single, “I Know That I’m Perfect,” about an old boyfriend who made her feel like a side character in his life, to the joy of “Dance With Me,” which celebrates the freedom felt on the dance floor.
Then comes the poignant spoken word “A Sense of Place,” where Diggs writes about being a person of color in a predominantly white community where she often feels isolated yet deeply connected to the land around her. Lizzie No accompanies Diggs on harp as she asks, “What makes a place feel like home / The people or the land?”
“Being a person of color in western Massachusetts can feel pretty isolating, and so I was questioning, ‘Is this my home?’ It feels like my home in so many ways, and then it feels also isolating and alienating in so many ways — it was a really great experience exploring that question because it helped me.”
Diggs said writing the song forced her to explore and dig deeper into her connection to her community as well as the natural world that surrounds her. Overall, she experienced a lot of growth during the time she has worked on Green.
“I learned how to build a community [and] find a sense of belonging where I may not have originally felt a sense of belonging,” she said. “How to be more resilient and how to identify and choose and pursue joy and hope in the midst of everything that’s going on.”
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Musically, Diggs has also found herself taking charge. “The biggest way I’ve grown is that I am the lead producer for the album, and I engineered about a quarter of the tracks, something I never thought I would do.”
Green has more of an indie-pop edge than her previous work, yet it has also has a ’70s rhythm and blues and soul feel throughout. This isn’t surprising, as Diggs grew up in South Hadley, Massachusetts, in a musical household where funk and soul and R&B were frequently played.
“The biggest genre of music I was listening to growing up was ’70s soul music,” she said. “I love so much about that era of music. I love that it is glamorous, but it’s also unpolished in a lot of ways.”
Music and singing have always been a part of her life. Growing up, she played piano and cello and sang in a trio with her sisters. She even studied opera for a while. In her 20s, while learning to play guitar, she started songwriting. Her first touring experience was with a group called Northern Harmony, a touring ensemble of Village Harmony based out of Montpelier.
“Some of my favorite Northern Harmony folks will be joining me in Putney, this trio called Road Dogs,” Diggs said. “They’re just a fantastic trio that came up with me in the Village Harmony/Northern Harmony World. They are all incredible singers and musicians. So many of my fondest late-teen moments were spent making music in Vermont and touring all over the state.”
Diggs hopes people will take the time to sit and listen to Green at least once through, stressing that this music is the antithesis of algorithm music — it is slow, thoughtful music made by real people.
“I hope that the big takeaway will be that having hope in these times is not naive,” Diggs said. “It is a critical part of our survival, and I hope that people will find a way through this music to connect with the joy that exists in so many parts of life.”
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Kimaya Diggs will appear at Nova Arts (48 Emerald St., Keene) on Wednesday, Oct. 14, at 7 p.m. The Get Down opens. Tickets ($20 general admission) are available at Novaarts.org. Diggs will perform at Next Stage Arts in Putney on Friday, Oct. 30, at 7:30 p.m. where Road Dogs will open. Tickets ($25, $20 in advance, and $10 for livestream) are available at Nextstagearts.org.
Sheryl Hunter is a freelance writer from Easthampton, Massachusetts, whose work has appeared in various regional and national publications.
This Arts column by Sheryl Hunter was written for The Commons.