our native daughters

Biography

Our Native Daughters is a supergroup formed in 2019 comprising four accomplished Black female banjo players and singer-songwriters: Rhiannon Giddens, Amythyst Kiah, Leyla McCalla, and Allison Russell. The group was conceived by Rhiannon Giddens, who brought together three other prominent Black roots artists to create a collaborative project centered on reclaiming the Black string band tradition and amplifying the voices and experiences of Black women in American music. The ensemble came together in 2018 in a Louisiana studio to write and record their debut album, which was released on the Smithsonian Folkways label in February 2019.

Their debut album, Songs of Our Native Daughters, represents a groundbreaking work in Americana and folk music that addresses historical and contemporary issues affecting Black women, including slavery, racism, sexism, and colonialism. The album features 13 songs, with 11 written by the group's members, alongside covers and songs drawing from poetry. Co-produced by Giddens and multi-instrumentalist Dirk Powell, the project revives the Black string band tradition while simultaneously functioning as a work of protest music. The album was named one of the best albums of 2019 by NPR and earned the group a nomination for Duo/Group of the Year at the 2020 Americana Awards. A documentary film titled Songs of Our Native Daughters aired on the Smithsonian Channel in February 2020.

Beyond their musical achievements, Our Native Daughters holds particular significance as a platform for Black women musicians to reclaim their rightful place in an American art form—the banjo—that has historically been stripped of its Black roots and misappropriated. The group's work directly confronts the erasure of Black contributions to string band music and challenges the false narrative that positioned the banjo as exclusively associated with white male minstrel performers in blackface during the latter 19th century.

Fun Facts

• The group's name was selected by Rhiannon Giddens in reference to James Baldwin's 1955 book, connecting their work to a legacy of Black literary and cultural resistance.
• All four members count the banjo among their instruments, collectively reclaiming their rightful place in an indigenous American art form that has historically denied the blackness at its roots—the banjo was originally used exclusively by Black musicians before being appropriated and associated with white minstrel performers in blackface during the latter 1800s.
• The album's creation was deeply collaborative and emotionally significant; Giddens wrote in the liner notes that 'there were things we had been waiting to say our whole lives in our art, and to be able to say them in the presence of our sisters-in-song was sweet indeed.'
• Rhiannon Giddens, the group's founder, received a MacArthur Fellowship 'genius grant' in 2017 and the Steve Martin Prize for Excellence in Bluegrass and Banjo, recognizing her exceptional contributions to folk and country music as an African American artist.

Musical Connections

Mentors/Influences

• Joe Thompson - Legendary old-time fiddler who served as collective mentor to Rhiannon Giddens and her collaborators, helping preserve the Black string band tradition (Mentorship of Carolina Chocolate Drops and influence on Our Native Daughters members) [Early 2000s onwards]

Key Collaborators

• Rhiannon Giddens - Founding member, vocalist, and banjo player; conceived the group and co-produced the album (Songs of Our Native Daughters (2019)) [2018-present]
• Amythyst Kiah - Vocalist and 5-string banjo player; neo-folk singer-songwriter and group member (Songs of Our Native Daughters (2019), including lead vocals on 'Black Myself') [2018-present]
• Leyla McCalla - Vocalist, cellist, and tenor banjo player; formerly of the Grammy-winning Carolina Chocolate Drops (Songs of Our Native Daughters (2019)) [2018-present]
• Allison Russell - Vocalist and multi-instrumentalist (5-string banjo, guitar, ukulele, clarinet); founding member of Birds of Chicago (Songs of Our Native Daughters (2019)) [2018-present]
• Dirk Powell - Producer and multi-instrumentalist who co-produced the album with Giddens (Songs of Our Native Daughters (2019)) [2018-2019]

External Links

• Spotify
• Wikipedia