Madi Diaz Tells It Like It Is

Nashville's secret weapon (and Harry Styles' bandmate) levels up with an LP full of folk-pop gold

- ANGIE MARTOCCIO

At this point in her career, Madi Diaz is realistic about life on the road. “I’m 37 years old, and this shit is heavy,” the Nashville songwriter says with a laugh. “I’m walking through the airport and I’m carrying a lot of pedals and cables. I’m shoving my guitar in the bathroom stall.” By the time she gets to the check-in counter, she’s dreading the task of talking an airline employee into letting her bring her gear on board. “I’m just not a good fighter,” she adds. “I’m stubborn, but I don’t have the oomph in me anymore.”

Maybe that’s true when it comes to luggage, but it’s definitely not applicable to Diaz’s music. Just ask Harry Styles, who brought her out as an opening act for his Love on Tour shows in 2022 — and liked her so much he asked her to join his backing band. Other fans of her incredibly relatable folk pop include Angel Olsen, Muna, and Waxahatchee (all of whom collaborated with her on re-recordings of her excellent 2021 LP, History of a Feeling), and Kesha, who recorded a song she worked on in 2019. By all accounts, having the oomph is Diaz’s thing.

It’s an unseasonably toasty afternoon in October, and Diaz is sitting in the lobby of Manhattan’s Ace Hotel, wearing a tank top under a button-down blouse. She says she’s utterly sleep-deprived (she looks alert) and that her bangs look like Edward Scissorhands attacked them (they look lovely). “You can tell how well I’m doing in my actual life based on how many fucking horoscope podcasts and apps I have on my phone,” she jokes. “If I have more than two, it’s not good.”