Madi Diaz at the Raccoon Motel -- November 7.
Monday, November 7, 8 p.m.
Raccoon Motel, 315 East Second Street, Davenport IA
Currently touring in support of her 2022 EP Same History, New Feelings – a work in which, according to Northern Transmissions, "a profound sense of intimacy and camaraderie is expressed through lyrics surrounding heartbreak and great change" – pop-rock and folk singer/songwriter Madi Diaz headlines a November 7 concert at Davenport's Raccoon Motel, with Holler Country adding that the artist's latest "sees a dextrous storyteller honing her craft through an evolving lens."
A Connecticut native who grew up in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, Diaz began piano lessons at age five, switched from piano to guitar while in her teens, and was featured in Rock School, director Don Argott's 2005 documentary about the program. After being accepted to Berklee College of Music, she began working with Kyle Ryan, the Nebraska-raised guitarist who would be her songwriting collaborator during the early years of Diaz's career. The two began their collaboration when a fellow student offered Diaz the chance to record an album in Hawaii, the result being 2007's self-released Skin And Bones. In 2008, she and Ryan continued writing and began playing shows in New York City, where Diaz signed to publisher Cherry Lane Music, and after releasing the 2008 EP Ten Gun Salute, Diaz began touring with The Civil Wars and Landon Pigg. Soon afterward, she was featured in Paste magazine as one of the "Top Ten Buzziest Acts" at SXSW, and had songs featured on ABC Family's Pretty Little Liars and Lifetime's Drop Dead Diva, Army Wives, and Princesses: Long Island.
Recorded in Los Angeles and Charlottesville, Virginia, with John Alagia (a former collaborator with John Mayer and the Dave Matthews Band) serving as producer, Diaz's EP Far from the Things That We Know was released in the fall of 2011, and the recording previewed songs that would be included on her full-length album Plastic Moon, which made its debut the following January. The album went on to reach the top 20 of Billboard's Heatseekers Chart, and led to Diaz appearing as a guest on Last Call with Carson Daly and finding her and co-writer Sarah Siskind's song "The End of the Day" featured on the television series Nashville. The artist's additional accomplishments include releasing another three albums (2012's We Threw Our Hearts in the Fire, 2014's Phantom, and 2021's History of a Feeling) and a pair of EPs (2018's It's Okay to Be Alone and this year's Same History, New Feelings), as well as Diaz Diaz providing the vocals for Dan Romer's track "Help Me Faith" on the soundtrack for the videogame Far Cry 5.
Madi Diaz plays her Davenport engagement on November 7, admission to the 8 p.m. concert is $15, and more information and tickets are available by visiting TheRaccoonMotel.com.
