Kristin Diable: She Lost Her Voice for Years. Here's What Brought It Back

Singer-songwriter Kristin Diable joins Only In The Green Room at the New Orleans Jazz Museum during French Quarter Fest — and the conversation goes deep.

We talk about what it really means to lose your creative voice, how traumatic experiences can freeze a songwriter's ability to be vulnerable, and what it took to come back from that and finish her long-awaited album Impossible Things — out now.

Kristin also opens up about leaving New York in her 20s for a writing sabbatical in New Orleans and never leaving, why the camaraderie between New Orleans musicians is unlike anything else in America, how she thinks about being the "parent of her songs," and what it means to choose joy when things are genuinely hard.

Plus: teaching the "dark arts of songwriting" at Loyola University, running her own independent label Speak Easy, why she thinks festivals are the antidote to screen addiction, and a shoutout to Medium Build.

Impossible Things is available now on all streaming platforms. Search Kristen Diable — D-I-A-B-L-E. Buy the vinyl and CDs at kristendiable.com.

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Creators and Guests

Host

Dennis Strazulo

Dennis Strazulo & Tami Larson host backstage conversations with artists in the exclusive confines of green rooms at popular music venues and festivals.🎧

Host

Tami Larson

Dennis Strazulo & Tami Larson host backstage conversations with artists in the exclusive confines of green rooms at popular music venues and festivals.🎧

What is Only In The Green Room?

Welcome to Only In The Green Room - Backstage conversations from popular music venues around the country curated by Mount Tam Media.

Buckle up and listen in, as host Dennis Strazulo and Mount Tam Media founder, Tami Larson, dig up conversations with artists - before and after shows - in the exclusive confines of the green room. Barriers are down with stories abound!

 Welcome to Only in the Green Room

 Hey there, this is Juliana, producer for Only in the Green Room, here to tell you about an opportunity that you don't wanna miss. As you may know, High Sierra Music Festival's coming up July 2nd through the 5th in Grass Valley, California. And if you buy your tickets and enter code GREEN at highsierramusic.com, you'll be entered for a chance to win pit access all four days of the festival.

That's every single show. Plus, and here's the part you don't wanna miss, you will be entered for a chance to sit in with us at one of our interviews that we're doing at the festival. You get to be in the room with us. All you have to do is use code GREEN when you're buying your tickets at highsierramusic.com.

See you there.

 Shay Smargelise Tammy How are you? Oh, so good. So good. It's so good to see you here. Yeah. It's so good to be here. This is like your second home, right? My- Yeah ... spirit animal- Yeah ... New Orleans. I get it. I'm, I r- I mean, this, after this last trip, I do too. I mean, it's just like r- d- different for me. Now I'm like, I, I ch- understand on a deeper level, I think.

Um, so we met up at Grass Valley. We were at Grass Valley last time. We're kind of... This is part two of that. A lot of responsibility. A lot of responsibility putting on producing the festival, period, right? I mean, no doubt about it. What about that compared to the responsibility of preserving the culture of this, uh, festival?

Because I think that seems to be important, too. Are they one in the same? That's the, that's the most important part. Yeah. Yeah. The first time we actually met was right here at The Broadside- Absolutely ... in New Orleans. It, it was. Thanks to Wally Ingram. Yes, thanks to Wally Ingram, and now Only in the Green Room will be set up at, uh, well, we were last year, we were, we were at High Sierra, but now we'll be at the new location.

And, uh, Dennis, how excited are you about the new location? I, I am very excited about the new location. I'm excited to be back here a year later beg- with The Rumble, uh, being our interviews that day, and you walked in while we were interviewing The Rumble, and it was... So it's perfect that we're here just about a year later, right?

I, I love it. But no, I'm exci- the whole, our whole trip, we've been here almost two weeks. Um, and the connection between the, uh, Bay Area, I'll call it, jam band scene, maybe a little to the Grateful Dead scene, but most a little wider than that. Um, and New Orleans has come up in every conversation. And in this conversation, I think it's very direct because the connection between the New Orleans musicians and High Sierra is stark.

It's real. It's growing. Tell us about the genesis of that. I think it's, it's just a like-mindedness and a, and a spirit and a passion for music. You know, the New Orleans has always been, uh, always been a big destination of Bay Area music lovers. Right. And, you know, it goes back, I mean, if you think about the early connections of New Orleans and say, let's say, the Grateful Dead world, it goes back to when the Nevilles opened for the Dead back in the late '80s, early '90s, right?

Right. When they, when the Dead merged in with the Nevilles and embraced them. And I know the Radiators, Harry, who, uh, did monitors for the Dead, was a big fan of the Radiators. Right. So there's... I mean, it just goes so deep, but that's, uh, that, that stands out in my mind as a, as a memory of like, okay, maybe that was something.

And then Bill Graham used to do, uh, the Bayou By The Bay festival out in Shoreline- Right ... where you would do a little mini, you know, the two-day festival, and he'd get New Orleans bands out there. New Orleans has always been a big part of High Sierra culture going back into the first years when the Radiators were part of it, and that's because my- myself, well, I wasn't even involved.

My partner and founder, Roy Carter, was a, a big fan of the Radiators. So that's how I started going to High Sierra. And then when I joined in 1995, it just kinda opened up the floodgates for more New Orleans stuff, and it, it's been that way ever since. We've had, um, well, I don't know, I made a list for Corinne of all the bands that have played at High Sierra- Yeah

who are from New Orleans over the years, and it's kinda mind-blowing from, you know, you name it, from Trombone Shorty to, uh, Astral Project, who is a jazz band with Johnny Vidacovich. Right. And they played Jazz Fest this pa- past weekend, and they were playing when I was in college here in 1977. Right. So they've been together forever and are still playing Jazz Fest.

They've probably played over 40 consecutive Jazz Fests. I mean, th- this is my 49th consecutive Jazz Fest, so- Ooh. That's crazy. Yeah, I, I've missed one weekend- Wow ... in 49 years of coming to Jazz Fest. Uh, uh, uh, here's what's amazing- That's a, I bet that's a record. Well, it's gonna be 50 next year. For, for people that don't live here, maybe.

I think it could be. May. Well, uh, here's a... So really, your first exposure to High Sierra was via the Radiators. That's amazing. So that- Correct. Yeah ... just brings it full circle. Right. Yeah. And- If it wasn't for that, I, I mean, I would've, of course, found out about it- Yeah ... but would I have become a, a partner in the event?

In 1995? I don't know. Yeah. I really can't say. All right, so 2026. Tell us the New Orleans bands that are coming this year in July. So I mean, it just sort of happened organically. I mean, it, it, when you look at the cumulative lineup, we're re- really leaning in deeply, deeply to New Orleans, and it seems to round out the entire lineup really, really well.

I mean, at the top of the lineup with Don Was and doing his Blues for Alla 50th anniversary tribute. Yeah. And Cymande, the, the sort of OG UK funksters from the '70s, and The Word. It, you know, all three of those have connections to the soul and spirit of New Orleans music, right? Yeah. Um, and then, you know, The, The Rumble coming back.

Oh, that's so cool. Doing... They're, they're doing a late night set with Dumpstaphunk, so it's gonna be a whole New Orleans throwdown. Yeah. Both of those bands are gonna do tribute sets. So N- uh, Dumpstaphunk did a Sly Stone tribute at Funk Fest last year. We're bringing that to High Sierra. The Rumble just did a P-Funk tribute the other night, and we're bringing that to High Sierra.

Oh, wow. So that's gonna be fun in addition to their, their sets, to have those tribute sets. We've also got Anders Osborne coming out. So great. Which'll be phenomenal to have him back on- Always ... on campus. And then The Break, Stanton Moore's new trio with Robert Walter and Eddie Roberts, who I saw the other night, and they are just killing.

I mean, it, I don't know if you've seen that trio yet. Yeah. But they're, they're here tonight at 11:00. Are they really? Oh, yeah. Okay, well- If, so if you're here, you gotta go see them. They are just getting after it. It is, it is a phenomenal, phenomenal organ trio. That's amazing. And in case we didn't say where we are, we're at the Broad Side.

Oh, yeah. We- Yeah. I'm not sure we did. Yeah, we did. Oh, we did, okay. Oh, good. Broad Side, New Orleans. That's very important. We've been here for a little while, so I didn't- Yeah. Okay, so yeah. Yeah. Let's keep going with this. The Bayou Rondes Vu. Rondes Vu. Yeah. That's a tough one. Thank you, Jeff Correll, for- Great, great, great event

bringing us, Pam Gerson. Yeah. Jeff does a great job. Shout out to the list. Yes. Yeah, Jeff and Pam, they do a phenomenal job here. Yeah. It's a, it's a beautiful day. They got two stages going indoors and outdoors, and it starts at, like, 2:30 and going all, all the way into, you know, the wee hours of the morning, so.

And this is a new location for the Bayo- Bayou Rondes Vu. Bayou Rondes Vu. Correct. Because it used to be The Crawfest, right? Yeah. Correct. Yeah. So, yeah. Yeah. And it's a great one, and now we have the bands going both on both- Yeah, yeah. We can hear it ... in and out. It's great. We, we got two bands going on- Yeah

right now. Are, are you, uh- We're gonna cut some of this noise out, but- Are, are you recruiting when you're out here? I'm always... I mean- Yeah ... New Orleans is so chock with talent. Yeah. It's mind-blowing. There's a great band on inside right now called Slugger, and they're really talented. It's just, it's, it's mind-blowing how much- Yeah

talent is in New Orleans. So continuing on the- Right ... on the New Orleans lineup, River Ecker, 16-year-old piano, piano phenom who played the Blues Tent at the fairgrounds yesterday- Yeah ... Saturday. Sunday ended first weekend. He, I don't know if you were out there for it, but he killed, he killed it. Yeah. He has such poise- Yeah

and presence, and he's really coming into his voice. His piano playing is brilliant. His band was great, and, you know, everybody roots for that kid because he's just- Yeah ... he's, he's the, the devout student of New Orleans music, and he is next level bringing it to, um, he's gonna b- he's gonna be- Well, he's gonna be-

an amazing ambassador of- He is ... New Orleans music and beyond for, for a g- He is ... a generation. So- I had, I had the pleasure of talking with his mom for a long time, 'cause we were up at, in the green room in the Maple Leaf the other night when they played. And so yeah, she has a lot to think about. Oh, yeah.

And she was preparing herself probably more than River- Well, let's not for- ... because yeah, he's gonna, he is going to be, and now that they're coming to High Sierra, that's just so exciting. Oh, I'm so excited. It, it- You know, Jake has been to High Sierra as- Yeah ... River's dad, and his record producer, and dadager for the moment.

Um, but he's, he's done an amazing job in, in, in working with River and letting River do his own thing and find his own way while guiding him in, in- Yeah ... all the right ways. So props to mom and dad for that- Absolutely ... 'cause he's a, an extraordinary young man. He's an old soul. And let's- He's a great soul

let's shout out, uh, Jake for his, uh, prowess at playing the guitar. I mean, Jake Ecker- Oh. Oh, yeah ... man, he is a badass. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Dirty Dozen- Yeah ... Normal Suspects. Yeah. You know, he's, yeah, he's, he's no slouch. Man. And he- So we had, uh, we interviewed h- him alongside Luther Dickinson the other night when we were at the Maple Leaf, and those two guys just were, like, riffing off each other, which is what they're gonna do in- Yeah

uh, High Sierra. I mean, Luther's coming out with The Word, and Jake will be out with River playing in River's band. But you know at, at High Sierra everything gets- Yeah ... everything gets into the mix, right? So- It's beautiful. And we've got George Porter Jr. coming out to be part of Levo and the Levo All-Stars.

Yeah. So we have so many m- New Orleans musicians- So excited ... in the mix. And, and we've got up and coming bands like Codadosa who was at High Sierra last year, and they'll be out there with us again This year, uh, Anna Moss- Yeah ... and her group, and Handmade Moments, um, the group with Joel Ludford and herself, duo, super creative.

Uh, there's just- There's so many. So, yeah. Do you ever get a chance to check out these Loyola students? 'Cause we, we have our favorite. Oh, yeah. We, we found a favorite. Who's your favorite? Kissing Disease. I haven't seen Kissing Disease- Oh ... but I'm, I'm on my way to Loyola right now to, to speak at Forum with, uh, Rumbles' book- the booking agent and manager, Eric Gerber, and Cota Dosa is gonna be there too.

It, it's their final forum of the program, so it's a- Yeah ... it's a program for all the, uh, folks in the music program there, and the music business program. And so I've spoken up at, at some of the marketing classes and I've been there at Forum before. And this is, uh, Jonathan McHugh's- Yeah ... last session, so Eric Gerber and I and Cota Dosa are gonna be up there today, uh, in just about an hour.

Fantastic. But I will, I will be sure to, to- Check out ... check out Kissing Disease. Kissing Disease. I'm, yeah, I just, I don't even know how to describe, I mean, geez- We ha- we had to pick one, but they're all great. We agree that we have a lot. I have to say. How many did you see? We saw at least- Well, we saw a bunch

half a dozen. Yeah. Um- Yeah, and like some of them, I mean, obviously they were on the sta- same stage. Joy Clark, we interviewed Joy Clark and Kristen Diablo. Oh, so this was at, you saw them at French Quarter Fest- Yeah ... French Quarter Fest ... on their stage. Yes. Gotcha. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And if you ever wanna do a- Yeah, it's a wonderful talent

a full on recruiting, you just go to that stage. Oh, yeah. I mean, every time I'm in New Orleans- Yeah ... you know, when I walk around Jazz Fest, I try and see bands that I've never seen before. Yeah. But- Boy, so much talent Yeah So, so much talent It's left and right- It's unbelievable ... of talent It's unbelievable Um, and so, yeah, so we'll, we're getting this out right away because people need to know.

If they don't have their tickets yet, they need to get the tickets immediately because- Yeah. Oh, yeah ... yeah. I mean, it's- Word is spreading And, you know, it's, it's, it's always people wait for last minute- Yeah ... and that puts promoters on, on a high stress alert when people haven't made their commitment. So if you're thinking about coming out to High Sierra, sure, you can get a little discount by getting in advance, but it, it sure does help with us peace of mind wise to know that we've got a certain audience coming out there.

And we have, you know, single day, two day, two and three day passes, uh, four day passes, packages with hotel rooms, with RVs, whatever it is that you want. But, um, Grass Valley is a- Yeah ... a beautiful community, and super excited about being there 'cause we, because of the, the, the beauty of the fairgrounds and the convenience factor to the Bay Area and the lodging options too.

Right. So it really makes it that much easier for production people, for artists, for vendors- Sure ... for, for staff and- Yeah ... the all important fans, 'cause without the fans- Yeah ... there is no festival. Exactly. And by, and by the way, easy as all that is gonna be, the music and the sessions and everything that happens there is worth whatever it is, whatever it takes to get there.

Yeah, you guys go- Absolutely. Yeah ... and it's kind of an if you know you know kind of thing- Oh, yeah ... with High Sierra because there is, it's not just a, you know, music festival where it's about this one on this stage and this one on this stage. There are so many other opportunities for collaborations and these play shops that I set up that are one of a kind performances, like the, you know, the, the Rumble doing this, the, well, the Rumble doing the P-Funk thing.

And, um, Lebo does a set that's called 50 Years in the Rearview where he curates a set from music from 50 years ago. So this year it'll be 1976. We've got Steely Dead that are gonna be- Yes ... there doing, uh, the 50th anniversary of the Royal Scam album from start to finish, so that's gonna be- Oh, wow ... super exciting.

We're just now hearing about this. And you got Pink Talking Fish and Steely Dan. You put those guys together at night, right? Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Exactly. That's gonna be one of our late nights. That's a mashup night. And how about, how about kickball? Kickball, Sunrise Kickball. Right? I mean, if you, if you, if you happen to play through, then you get to, to se- step into some legend of High Sierra with, uh, Sunrise Kickball, which is just one of the, the more-

uh, hilarious e- escapades you've ever experienced and participated in in your life. Yeah. It's great. Yeah. So we're so excited, and let's not forget that we, we planned on doing this because we, we interviewed a lot of artists who have either played at High Sierra or are going to, and it just, everyone, even here in New Orleans when we're sitting in one of the, you know, a great venue like Maple Leaf, "Luther Dickinson, which is usually your favorite festival?

What's your favorite festival?" He said, "Hands down, High Sierra." Win. So, um- I don't even think we had to say, "What's your favorite festival?" We, we don't even- We've mentioned it. Yeah. And he said, like others, "It's my favorite festival in the country." Right. So... We don't even have to say, "What is your favorite?"

Part of the reason, High Sierra Music Festival. Yeah, talk about that. Talk about that. It's my favorite festival in America. I love High Sierra. Right. Part of the reason why I think it is for musicians, I, I've always said High Sierra is a musician's festival. Yeah. Right? So we, we, we book it, we curate it to have artists play more than once, with the exception of the, the headliners.

But the reason why we do that is because it gives artists a chance to land for a couple of days, and they get to mingle with their fellow musicians. Y- normally when they're on the road, they're just hitting and running, and they're crisscrossing and, and in the middle of the night like- Right ... two ships passing, and so they don't get to land and connect.

At High Sierra it's, it's a time for, it's a fertile time for them to, to further their bond and their connection, and get to play together, right? Yeah. Come sit in on our set. Yeah. And that's how it, it, that's how High Sierra has sort of grown and built its reputation, was all organically. You know? Yeah. It, it, it just, we build the container and then everyone fills it in with the best of what they bring to the, to it, right?

So, and we also have a really nice artist liaison program where we take very, very good care of the artist. It's almost like personal concierge service. We have an amazing artist liaison, uh, crew. Right. And they take great pride in really, um, looking after the musicians, and the musicians feel really valued.

It's really important. Yeah. And so when you feel really valued, and you're fed really well by our amazing caterers- Mm ... they put out, and they, they, it just makes their performances all that much better, and the, and it raises the whole- And they wanna be there. They just want to be there They want to be there.

That's it. And thank you- All right ... to you for keeping this going, because last year we weren't sure. Yeah. Right? Thank you. Yeah. And, uh, Dave has really done an incredible job. He went out and found the right people. Um, without you, High Sierra would've probably ended last year. Yeah. This year's- Too important and special of an event- Yeah

to so many people. Beautiful. Yeah. Myself Yeah Included. Yeah ... included, that it couldn't let it go away. Yeah. So we're- And so- Uh, I think the new venue will really help resuscitate it, and then we have a path forward for the future. Beautiful. Absolutely. Beautiful. Right on. All right. I love it. We shall talk.

Anything else? Wanna talk? You can keep talking. That's it. I'm out. Yeah. All right, so no, we gotta go teach. Yeah. Oh, wait. Oh, that's right. Yeah. Oh, yeah. Oh my gosh, yeah. All right. Thank you. Thank you, Dave. Thank you. High Sierra this year, I have a feeling is going to be one of the most special years. I just do because of the new location.

It's the inaugural event of High Sierra in their move, and that's something you don't wanna miss. You do not wanna miss the first time to be in such an epic venue. I look forward to, like, packing to go there. We can never give up on this festival, ever, because this festival is also a work of art. Die on it