EG Kight takes the stage at 9 p.m. on New Year’s Eve at the Tropicana Room at Chattanooga Billiards East, 110 Jordan Dr. Doors open at 8 p.m. There is a $25 cover charge. Champagne and breakfast will be provided.
For details and tickets, visit www.EGKightMusic.com/tour-dates.
Review of Ms. Kight:
After a near-fatal illness sidelined her for a while, Ms. Kight knew she had to find a way to get back on stage.
She had to keep making music, not because that’s what she does, but because that’s who she is. After initially not being able to talk, or walk without help, months after the diagnosis, she was singing again. It was a struggle, but she kept her faith, and didn’t lose hope. And now, many concerts and four years later, she brings her country-flavored southern-fried blues back to the Tropicana Room in Chattanooga on New Year’s Eve, and will be talking about her journey to recovery.
In recent years Ms. Kight has performed at fundraisers in Japan, Germany, and Mexico. She has appeared on the Children’s Miracle Network, and on NPR’s “A Prairie Home Companion.” Throughout her career she’s been nominated for nine blues music awards, twice for Song of the Year, and her songs have appeared on Nick at Nite, ABC Family, and the El Rey Network. And she has licensed five songs for a movie slated for a 2016 release.
As a survivor of Encephalitis, Ms. Kight’s music now comes from a deeper place. In 2011, she released her “Lip Service” album, only months after being hospitalized with the often-fatal disease. She fought her way back to the stage, and has since released “A New Day,” her most inspired work to date.
Ms. Kight’s dedication to her craft, and her latest album, landed her on several “top” lists for 2014: the Top 5 Best Blues Artists, the Roots Music Report’s Top 100 Blues Albums Chart, and the Blues Bytes Top 10 Albums list.
A multi-faceted entertainer, part singer/songwriter, part guitar player, and part storyteller, Ms. Kight discovered another aspect of her creativity several years ago through photography. One of her photographs was featured on Oprah.com, many have won ribbons in the Georgia National Fair, one hangs in a hospital, and two were chosen as some of the best of 2013 for Popular Photography Magazine. And one of her photographs, “Sweet Music Man,” was licensed for use as the cover of a novel about the life and times of Robert Johnson. “Preaching Blues,” written by James Nuttall is now available online.
And in her continuing efforts to raise awareness about Encephalitis, she learned the Johns Hopkins Encephalitis Center is one of the only dedicated centers in the United States that provides expert clinical care for patients with encephalitis. A multidisciplinary group of specialists in neuroinflammation and neuroinfectious disease, neuro-critical care experts, infectious disease physicians, laboratory pathologists, and rehabilitation specialists work to tackle this challenging disease.
According to Ms. Kight, “I've found it frustrating that there's not enough useful information for survivors of this illness. And after being misdiagnosed twice by my own primary doctor, and losing precious time, neither the infectious disease doctor nor the neurologist knew what to do for me after the diagnosis.”
Since there aren’t as many cases of Encephalitis as there are other major illnesses, it’s not been studied as much. Ms. Kight hopes to help fund the research that will provide others stricken with this illness with quicker diagnosis, better options, and more answers than she was given, at the time of diagnosis, and during her recovery. More information can be found at www.EGKightMusic.com/Encephalitis.