Divas, Ingénues & Vixens Podcast

ENCORE: Mozart Reels Us In — Le Nozze di Figaro What happens when you hear artists describe their creative choices—and then watch those choices come to life onstage? Fresh from opening night at Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Amity revisits Le Nozze di Figaro with reflections on Ashlyn Brown's irrepressible Cherubino, Ellie Dehn's extraordinary Countess, and the theatrical magic of Mozart. Two perform...

All in a Day's Opera: Le Nozze di Figaro Disguises, desire, misunderstandings, and a whole lot of people hiding behind doors. Just another day in Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro! But beneath the delightful chaos lies an extraordinary world of human emotion, brought to life through Mozart's brilliant music and Lorenzo Da Ponte's storytelling. This week on Divas, Ingénues & Vixens, Amity welcomes tw...

As the days grow shorter and the world feels a little darker, where do we find the light? And what if we could create some of our own? Singer-songwriter Eileen Carey has built an independent career around music that encourages us to keep going, keep growing, and find a little joy along the way. Blending Ohio rock, California pop, and Nashville country into a sound she calls West Coast Country, Eil...

What happens when musicians from around the world come together to share their songs, traditions, and stories? And what happens when the music follows them home? Kansas City singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Miki P. traveled to Jordan for an international folk music exchange through Ethno World, joining musicians from across cultures to learn, collaborate, and perform. In just three days...

A Language of Her Own: Ezgi Karakus What happens when an extraordinary classical cellist decides that one musical language simply isn't enough? Turkish-born, Kansas City-based cellist, composer, and vocalist Ezgi Karakus has built an international career that moves effortlessly between classical music, Turkish folk traditions, jazz, and psychedelic Turkish disco. From performing with Ensemble Ibér...

What happens when the opera singer you were at 22 grows into the blues artist you were always becoming? Lauren Anderson has spent years finding out. From classical voice training and a career in music therapy to Nashville, The Voice and Team Snoop, Lauren’s path has been anything but a straight line. Now she joins Amity for a candid—and often very funny—conversation about what happens when techniq...

Seventy-five episodes. You dream about the thing. You do the thing. And somewhere along the way, you realize the thing has become something bigger than you imagined. For this milestone episode of Divas, Ingénues & Vixens®, Amity sits down with two artists who know something about doing the thing: Joy Donze and Deirdre Lovejoy. This summer, Joy and Dede took two original plays to the Edinburgh...

We think we know Mimì and Musetta. One is tender and quiet. The other enters a room determined to be seen. Ingénue and Vixen—easy. Except these women have never been quite that simple. In this season-opening collaboration with Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Amity sits down with sopranos Gabriella Reyes (Mimì) and Cadie J. Bryan (Musetta) for a conversation about the women at the heart of Puccini's La...

What does it actually take to build a creative life—and keep choosing it before you know exactly where it will lead? In While She’s Still Becoming, six Kansas City singer-songwriters get personal about the part of an artist’s life we don’t always see: the work behind the song, the people who help us believe, the patience to grow at our own pace, and the rest, space, support, and freedom that keep...

Divas, Ingénues & Vixens® — S2E19: A Room with an Open Door Twenty-five years after September 11, Come From Away reminds us that sometimes the story we leave behind begins with the simplest question: What can I offer? In A Room with an Open Door, Amity Bryson explores the extraordinary response of the people of Gander, Newfoundland—and the music, stories, and acts of ordinary kindness that con...

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 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 e...

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...

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 b...

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. Bec...

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, fr...

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...

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. I...

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...

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, thi...

What happens when you travel thousands of miles only to come home seeing your own city differently? In this season finale of the June Welcome Basket, Amity shares unforgettable stories from international choral tours in Italy, Berlin, and France—from singing in the Vatican and performing beneath Renaissance masterpieces to a race across France to sing at the 75th Anniversary of D-Day on Omaha Beac...

What does a neighborhood sound like? As Kansas City welcomes the world for the FIFA World Cup, host Amity Bryson crosses the state line into Strawberry Hill, one of the most historic and vibrant neighborhoods in Kansas City, Kansas. Home to generations of immigrant families, artists, musicians, entrepreneurs, and community builders, Strawberry Hill tells a story that can't be found in a museum or...

What if Shakespeare is less like a textbook... and more like a symphony? This week on Divas, Ingénues & Vixens, we continue our summer "Welcome Basket to Kansas City" with one of the city's most treasured traditions: Shakespeare under the stars. Join me for a conversation with Sidonie Garrett as we explore Macbeth—a story of ambition, prophecy, power, and the dangerous pursuit of greatness. As...

Welcome to Kansas City-the town I love! As the world arrives for a summer of soccer, music, theatre, festivals, and celebration, Divas, Ingénues & Vixens is kicking off a special June series exploring the people, places, and experiences that make Kansas City unforgettable. In this episode, Amity takes listeners on a musical journey through the city with a simple challenge: Plan Your Route. Ins...

What if listening is more than hearing? This week on Divas, Ingénues & Vixens, Amity explores the art of listening—how attention, curiosity, and presence shape the way we experience music, sound, and one another. Inspired by Sound Mandala, an immersive sonic experience coming to Kansas City's Unicorn Theatre, this conversation with creator Tom Mardikes and collaborator Jacob Souders asks a dec...