Amythyst Kiah books Higher Ground’s Ballroom for Jan. 22

The East Tennessee songwriter behind Still + Bright brings her band to South Burlington’s 650-capacity room in January, and tickets top out at $25.

Mid-January in Vermont is when a good indoor show earns its keep, and one just landed on the calendar. Amythyst Kiah plays Higher Ground (Ballroom) on Friday, Jan. 22, 2027, at 7:30 p.m. The date was announced Nov. 3, and tickets are $22 to $25 through See Tickets. At that price, in a 650-capacity room, this one won’t take long to sell through.

If you don’t know Kiah yet, start with Still + Bright, her album released Oct. 25, 2024, on Rounder Records, per Wikipedia and Shore Fire Media. Butch Walker produced it at his studio in Nashville, and it was her second full-length for Rounder, following 2021’s *Wary + Strange*. The record has been carrying her on the road since: her “Still + Bright” tour reached the UK and Ireland in January 2026, as Americana UK reported, including a stop at Glasgow’s Celtic Connections.

Kiah is rooted in Johnson City, Tennessee, where she still lives, and her song “Empire of Love” names the town outright, per The Bluegrass Situation. That interview’s headline gets at what makes her interesting: she enjoys challenging assumptions. Our data files her under indie, folk and rock all at once, and that’s about right. Her songs pull from Appalachian roots without staying put there.

Her songs pull from Appalachian roots without staying put there.

Critics haven’t been unanimous. Songlines gave Still + Bright three stars, praising her voice while arguing that some of the songwriting drags the album down. Other coverage, including WNCW, featured the record warmly on its release. That voice is the constant, and it’s the reason to see her in a room this size.

Higher Ground’s Ballroom is a good fit: big enough to feel like an event, small enough that a quiet song doesn’t get lost. For a songwriter whose catalog moves between rootsy and full-band rock, 650 people is the right audience, close enough to catch the detail and loud enough when she turns it up.

When to buy: now. The show is more than two months out, but it’s a Friday, it’s cheap, and the room is mid-size. Shows like this tend to sell steadily and then all at once in the final weeks, especially once the weather turns and everyone is looking for something to do on a winter weekend.

Put it on the calendar, buy the ticket before the holidays eat your budget, and plan to get there for the first song. January is long. This is a good way to break it up.

Sources: Amythyst Kiah – Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org); Amythyst Kiah – Shore Fire Media (shorefire.com); Amythyst Kiah brings her Still + Bright tour to the UK and Ireland – Americana UK (americana-uk.com); Amythyst Kiah Enjoys Challenging Assumptions – The Bluegrass Situation (thebluegrasssituation.com); Still + Bright review – Songlines (songlines.co.uk); New Tunes at Two: Amythyst Kiah, Still + Bright – WNCW (wncw.org); Amythyst Kiah at Higher Ground (Ballroom) – JamBase (jambase.com); Tickets – See Tickets (prod-nts-api.seeticketsusa.us)