When singer-songwriter Maddie Diaz thinks of Lancaster County, images of winding roads, late nights at Rita’s and concerts at the Chameleon Club come to mind.
Diaz’s family moved to Mount Nebo, a small community in Martick Township, around 1993 or 1994, when Diaz was 7 or 8 years old.
“(Mount Nebo) was like a four-way intersection,” Diaz said, “There was a general store, a lot of cornfields and a lot of Amish horses.”
She spent much of her childhood there, getting lost and struggling to find her way home before Apple Maps and Google Maps were a thing. It’s a very different vibe than Nashville, Tennessee, where Diaz now lives and works as a full-time musician.
Diaz returns to Lancaster County this Wednesday, Sept. 25, performing at WestArt at 7:30 p.m. It was a coincidence that Lancaster was scheduled for Diaz’s fall tour, Diaz said: Her agent booked it without Diaz’s knowledge.
Diaz sometimes misses the quiet of Lancaster.
“It was quiet and very peaceful,” Diaz said, “and ever since I left Lancaster as an adult, I’ve always been looking for a place like that to go back to.”
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“Go out and sing a song”
Life has changed considerably since Diaz last lived in Lancaster.
Diaz was homeschooled for most of her time living in the county, except for one year when she attended Lancaster Mennonite High School, then went on to Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, before moving to Nashville in 2010.
Diaz returned to Lancaster in December 2011 to open for Dashboard Confessional at the Chameleon Club, a show that also featured indie rock group The Front Bottoms.
Her songs have been featured on television shows such as “Pretty Little Liars,” “Army Wives” and “Drop Dead Diva.”
Diaz co-wrote the song “Resentment,” which appears on Kesha’s 2020 album, High Road. Kesha’s recording of the song features backing vocals from Sturgill Simpson and Brian Wilson. Diaz later recorded her own version for her 2021 album, History of a Feeling.
Diaz will tour with pop singer Harry Styles as an opening act in 2022 and as a backing band member in 2023, an experience she likens to “a dream come true.”
“It was a completely different experience than anything I’ve ever had in my life,” Diaz said. “It was so much fun. The journey was wild and the shows were amazing. He’s such an incredible artist to play with onstage, to watch and to follow.”
Diaz says he learned a lot about live performance while on tour with Styles.
“There’s a whole other level to live performance, playing other people’s music, and it was really cool to bring that back into my own world,” Diaz says.
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Homecoming
Diaz is looking to keep things simple on the fall tour.
“For most of my career, I’ve wondered, ‘How much extravagance can I do to move people?'” says Diaz. The answer is simple: She’ll rely on her voice.
Diaz released her sixth studio album, “Weird Faith,” earlier this year, which featured a collaboration with country-pop artist Kacey Musgraves. Diaz supported Musgraves at concerts in the UK and Europe earlier this year.
The majority of the shows will be solo performances by Diaz, but the Lancaster show and other dates will feature Nashville-based Americana artist Keely Connell.
Diaz prefers the stripped-down performance experience.
“It feels intimate in a way,” Diaz says. “It feels like we’re all coming together and singing a song together.”
Diaz isn’t sure if anyone who knew her from her days in Lancaster will come to the concert: Many of her friends and family have moved away; her mother lives in Pottstown in Montgomery County and her father lives in Maryland.
“I’m really excited about the opportunity to play near where I grew up, because I spent so much time getting lost and trying to find my way home,” Diaz said. “It just seems like a fun thing to do.”
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