As a licensed music therapist,  Kyshona Armstrong enjoyed a career using the power of song to help stroke victims learn to speak again, at-risk youth realize that their lives have worth and the incarcerated that redemption is possible. Her techniques revolved around the development of therapeutic mantras specific to her patients’ personal stories. “I was there to remind my patients that they have a story to tell and that it matters,” she says. Most would consider her career in music therapy a marriage of talent and purpose. So, when Armstrong let her music therapy license expire, it was not in dereliction of her life’s duty, but to serve others in a different capacity. Today, she’s a singer-songwriter based out of Nashville and she goes only by Kyshona, and even if the mantras are now her own, her goal remains the same. “My mission is to be a voice and a vessel for those who feel forgotten,” she says. Her songs combine the blues and soul music of her Baptist upbringing with lyrics that call for self-love, forgiveness and compassion. She brought her musical healing to Sarasota in October, opening Fogartyville’s season with a solo performance that was more revelation than entertainment. In spite of the soothing sounds of her strums on the acoustic guitar and a dynamic voice that carries all the weight of her spirituality, it was in between songs where her real gift shone. “Most of my show is storytelling that goes hand in hand with my songs,” she says, using her faith and the wisdom of her experiences to let the audience know that she sees them and that they are not alone. “It’s like I’m still doing music therapy.”