Divas, Ingénues & Vixens Podcast

The Song Is Never Finished
A songwriter creates it. A singer steps inside it. And somewhere between the first note and the last, a song can become something no one quite expected.
Inspired by R-E-S-P-E-C-T: A Celebration of the Music of Aretha Franklin at The Ruby Room in Kansas City, Amity follows a musical thread from Otis Redding to Aretha Franklin, from Dolly Parton to Whitney Houston, asking what happens when interpretation becomes discovery—and sometimes transformation.
But there’s one more person in that exchange: you.
Because music happens now. It changes with the voice, the moment, the room and the person listening. Perhaps that’s why the songs we love keep finding new lives—and why, when someone else takes a breath and makes the music live again, the song is never finished.

What happens when someone looks at a small Kansas town and thinks: Why not here?
In Humboldt, Kansas, singer-songwriter and community builder Damaris Kunkler dreamed up the Middle of Everywhere Music Festival—a gathering built not only around great music, but around extraordinary hospitality, creative possibility, and the belief that artists deserve to be valued.
Damaris knows both sides of that equation. A grant writer and community development manager who once wrote songs almost in secret, she eventually found the courage to claim her own voice as a singer-songwriter. Now, that experience shapes the way she welcomes artists—including Emily Hollingshed, Erica McKenzie, Flat Susan and a remarkable lineup of artists making music on this year's festival stages.
But this conversation asks a bigger question: Does music build community—or is the act of making and experiencing music together already an act of community?
It's a story about music, a festival, and one remarkable Kansas town. But it's also about dreaming big, doing the work, and choosing possibility in a world where cynicism can sometimes sound smarter than optimism.
Because sometimes the middle of everywhere isn't a place you find.
It's a place someone has the courage to build.

Nearly fifty years ago, two Kansas City women imagined a stage where women in jazz could be heard—and then they built it.
Author, educator, and musician Carolyn Glenn Brewer joins Amity to share the remarkable history behind her book: Changing the Tune: The Kansas City Women’s Jazz Festival, 1978–1985 and the vision of founders Carol Comer and Dianne Gregg. Then musicians Eboni Fondren and Alyssa Bell Jackson help bring that legacy into the present—and ask us to imagine what might be possible for the women who come next.
The road to the Women's Jazz Festival's 50th Anniversary Celebration in 2028 begins September 30 with the official launch party, 4:30–7:30 p.m. at Ted's Taproom in Kansas City. Admission is $5.
Honor the women who built the stage. Celebrate the women standing on it today. Imagine who she might become.

We know the green skin, the broom, and the songs. But what happens when you follow Wicked beyond the Broadway stage?
With Wicked returning to Kansas City, Amity revisits Gregory Maguire’s Wicked Years—four novels that transform a familiar Oz story into something much bigger: a journey through identity, legacy, courage, and grace. And throughout the journey, Stephen Schwartz’s unforgettable score becomes an emotional underscore, reminding us that sometimes a melody stays with us long after the story ends.
This isn’t a book report or a musical review. It’s about what happens when we allow a story to change us—and find ourselves eager to tell someone else why it mattered.
Sometimes we read a story. Sometimes, if we’re lucky, the story begins reading us.
Look to the western sky.

Every episode begins as an invitation.
This week, I invite you into one more conversation with my dear friends Lauren and Taylor of Apothogothic as we explore Mystic, a fragrance inspired by Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. What begins with music and scent soon becomes a conversation about imagination, friendship, courage, and the hope that always waits on the other side of the forest.
Because sometimes the most important journeys don't happen on a map.
They happen within us.
Pull up a chair.
Let's wander together.

Can a dance floor reunite a nation?
When the Berlin Wall fell, politicians worked to reunify a country—but artists, musicians, and everyday people found another way to rebuild trust. They danced.
In this episode of Divas, Ingénues & Vixens, Amity Bryson explores the remarkable story of Berlin's Love Parade, tracing its journey from a small political demonstration to a global symbol of hope, freedom, and community. Along the way, she reflects on her own travels to Berlin, the new Berlin: A World Divided exhibit at Union Station in Kansas City, and a question that reaches far beyond Germany:
What if music doesn't just bring people together...what if it teaches us how to be together?
Part history, part travelogue, and part invitation, The Beat That Broke the Wall is a celebration of music's power to transform cities, shape communities, and remind us that every festival may be a rehearsal for something much greater.
 

Where are you headed—and what's keeping you from taking the next step?
Kansas City singer-songwriter Jillian Riscoe joins me to celebrate the release of her new single, Goin' Somewhere, but our conversation quickly becomes about much more than music.
Over many conversations together, I've watched Jillian grow not only as a songwriter, but as a woman learning to trust her own voice. We explore what it means to dream bigger, let go of fear, redefine success, and discover that confidence isn't something we're given—it's something we build.
Along the way, we uncover four ideas that shape every creative journey:
✨ Hope gives us the courage to imagine.✨ Curiosity invites us to take the next step.✨ Confidence grows every time we show up.✨ Freedom comes when we stop asking permission to become ourselves.
Whether you're writing songs, changing careers, starting over, or simply wondering what comes next, this episode is an invitation to trust your path... and keep goin' somewhere.
Join Jillian's Release Celebration!Celebrate the release of Goin' Somewhere on Sunday, August 2, from 3–6 p.m. at J. Rieger & Co.'s Electric Park Garden Bar in Kansas City. The event is free, and it's the perfect opportunity to hear the new single live, support an outstanding local artist, and celebrate the next chapter of her musical journey.

What if music is humanity's oldest form of alchemy?
For two seasons I've shared stories about opera, singer-songwriters, Shakespeare, cities, and remarkable women. This week, I finally understood they're all pointing to the same question:
Why do I care so deeply about music?
An unexpected visit to The Alchemy of Knowledge at Kansas City's Linda Hall Library revealed an answer I never saw coming.
In this deeply personal episode, we journey from medieval alchemists to modern choirs, from Shakespeare to science, and from curiosity to transformation. Along the way, you'll hear  gorgeous choral performances from my own ensembles and discover how ordinary breath becomes extraordinary sound—and why that may be the greatest act of alchemy we know.
Maybe knowledge isn't something we collect.
Maybe it's something that changes us.

What happens when artists realize they don't need permission?
This week on Divas, Ingénues & Vixens, Amity explores the remarkable story of the KC Fringe Festival—where artists are invited not by a jury, but by courage. From the revolutionary beginnings of the Fringe movement in Edinburgh to today's vibrant Kansas City festival, discover why Fringe remains one of the most exciting expressions of artistic freedom.
Festival Coordinator Katie Gilchrist shares the vision behind KC Fringe 2026, beloved singer-songwriter Danielle Ate the Sandwich takes us inside her whimsical new one-woman show The Magic of Grandmas, and founder of KC Canaries, Amanda Bernice, introduces Life of a Chorus Girl, celebrating the women whose artistry shaped generations of performers.
Because every stage has a history… and every artist adds another chapter.
✨ Explore the full festival lineup at KCFringe.org and discover the show that's waiting for you.

What does it feel like to be inside music?
In this special follow-up to our conversation with Sound Mandala creator Tom Mardikes, Amity returns to the Unicorn Theatre to experience immersive sound firsthand—and discovers that the music doesn't simply surround you. It moves over, around, and through you.
From firefly lights in the darkness to harmonies that seem to drift through the air itself, this episode explores curiosity, attention, and the art of listening through the lens of Signal & Soul and Indie Spotlight.
Featuring reflections from a young musician experiencing Sound Mandala for the first time, this isn't just a review—it's an invitation.
And Divas, Ingénues & Vixens listeners get a special discount code: DIVAS5
 
Some experiences can be described.
Others have to be heard.