Adam Kyle

When DC singer-songwriter Adam Kyle saw Joni Mitchell's return to the stage last year, he was surprised to find himself pulled back into performing and recording again. Now with a new EP, Adam uncovers a unique voice and perspective on topics ranging from queer identity to jilted ex lovers to parenthood. He’ll mark the release of the EP with a full-band show at The Pocket on May 2 with support from fellow DC-based singer-songwriters Jane O’Neill and Sabrina Movitz.

Featuring drums by Brian Griffin (Brandi Carlile, The Black Crowes, Lana Del Rey, Richard Marx), title track “A Thousand City Sidewalks” is an upbeat, inspiring folk rock anthem that tells the story of Adam’s life-changing experience seeing Joni Mitchell perform at The Gorge Amphitheater in Washington State last year. “That weekend at The Gorge felt like I got thrown headfirst into a pool of inspiration and creative energy from Joni and Brandi Carlile and Annie Lennox and all the other incredible musicians who were there. This song started coming to me as I was driving our rented RV back to Seattle to fly back home - I knew I had to capture it, so I started humming and singing it into my voice memos, and then finished writing it when I got home.” 

This started a musical re-awakening for Adam, prompting a rich period of songwriting that brought the 5 songs from the EP to life, several of which he co-wrote with his husband Joe Gizzi. “Joe’s incredible gift with language has blown me away since I first met him, and this EP couldn’t have happened without his contributions. He also really pushed me musically, and helped shape the sound of several songs in the project in ways that I hadn’t imagined.” 

While most of the EP has an upbeat rock feel, “A Single Afternoon” is a meditative, melodic track that provides some welcome breathing room. “I originally wrote this song for our daughter – I wanted to convey to her some of the hard things I’ve learned in life, even though I know that she probably can’t really learn them through a song. But then as I’ve been performing and recording it, this song has really become a mantra for me - a reminder of things I still need to learn and come back to every day.” The emotional climax of the album comes in the second verse: 

There’s many things you can’t change
Only fight or embrace
But you are more than a person that things can happen to.
You decide what to say
Where you go and if you stay
But you don’t know if the love that you give will come back to you 
The risk will feel like more than you can handle
Cause love is not a promise, it’s a gamble
So even when you don’t know what you’re doing
Hold the ones worth fighting for and losing

Rounding out the EP are the foot-stomping electric folk number “Such A Fall”, 90s rock throwback “Changing Time”, and “Time For Wasting”, which brings a harder-edged rock vibe and imagines a complicated reunion with a former lover who ghosted years ago. The project’s sound is wide-ranging and diverse, while staying grounded in Adam’s guitar-driven production and incisive songwriting.  

About Adam

Adam Kyle (he/him/his) is a queer indie folk/rock singer-songwriter based in Washington, DC. His sound blends classic and modern influences ranging from Fleetwood Mac to Foo Fighters, Brandi Carlile to boygenius, viewing genre as a reference point, not a limitation. Adam has played frequently in DC and beyond, featuring at the DMV Makes Music Songwriter Showcases, DC9, Madams Organ, Big Bear Cafe, Breaking Sound, Capital Pride, and Rockwood Music Hall in New York City.