I kind of felt like I already knew Madi Diaz, even though we’d never met before, when we connected over Zoom this summer for the conversation in episode 112 of the LSQ podcast. That’s in part because we have many music friends in common, and I’ve heard a lot of great things about her over the years. But it’s even more the case because her songs are so beautifully direct and intimate; they give you a really vivid sense of her inner world, with all of its relatable nuances.  

You can hear that gift on full display on albums like her 2021 LP History of a Feeling, and even more powerfully on her latest one, Weird Faith, which came out earlier this year, and of which a deluxe edition arrives later this month.

In this conversation, we talk about creative experiences that have impacted her since childhood, whether it’s doing laps around her house while listening to her dad play piano, or singing along with Whitney Houston and the Beatles and The Mamas & the Papas as a kid in rural Pennsylvania, or connecting with Patti Griffin’s music during a difficult time in her family life, or learning to burst out of the constraints imposed by a judgmental guitar teacher during adolescence, in particular finding her voice and artistic footing during her recent years living in Nashville. 

Madi heads out on tour with Rainbow Kitten Surprise in early November - get tickets here.