Kimaya Diggs feat. Jacob Rosazza
Windsor Art Center
Windsor
Jan. 31
When Kimaya Diggs said that she was going to perform her favorite song by Corrine Bailey Raye, I knew exactly which one it would be, because it’s my favorite CBR song as well.
“Like a Star” isn’t a sad song per se – it quite honestly describes the way that the people we love have a unique ability to bring out the worst in us. I’ve always felt a little sad while listening to it, though.
I would generally describe the music that Kimaya Diggs and her spouse Jacob Rosazza performed to a packed room at the Windsor Art Center as sad music. Or, perhaps more accurately, music that explores sadness as an emotion.
I think that’s an important distinction to make, because “sad” music is often about loss – a breakup, the death of a loved one, the end of a friendship. So much of the music that we hear is about sadness as a byproduct of some other event.
Diggs’ music is about sadness itself, as an emotion on its own terms. In fact, she performed a song titled “I’m Sad Again.” That’s what the song is about. Not what caused it, not what one does to get out of it. Just being sad. Diggs was almost apologetic when introducing the song, saying that she feels as though she should deliver uplifting experiences to people who take the time out of their busy schedule to listen to her music.
Here’s the thing : being sad is one of the most uplifting experiences there are. Maybe I say that because I’m a sad person too. I don’t mean that I feel sad or depressed as a negative state of being. I mean that I enjoy the expression and experience of sadness. There’s nothing better than a story that can genuinely make me cry, and I get weepy and sentimental about everything from old memories to cheesy commercials. I seek out stories that affirm my capacity for empathy by sharing sadness.
I suspect that Kimaya is a fellow existentialist; the devil recognizes his own, after all. But more than just vibes, I can feel the wonder about the point of it all in her music. Trying to place oneself in the grand scheme of a seemingly cold, indifferent universe can often feel like an exercise in futility, a reminder about the inevitability of death and the reality that all of this- all of it- will be forgotten someday.
The reality of the end makes everything up to that point so important. If the universe won’t remember, we have to remember. That’s what makes rejection so painful, which Kimaya sings about so beautifully, and Jacob’s late entry on electric guitar elevates so wonderfully, on the song “I Thought You’d Choose Me.” Why am I not the special one? The only one? Why do I have to experience these feelings all alone?
Sadness is a great feeling, because it affirms the totality of our existence, brief as it may be. The dynamic duo of Kimaya and Jacob explores the depths of an emotion that we all need, and frankly, deserve to have.
NEXT
Jamil is taking the rest of the weekend off. See you next week!
