Rhiannon Giddens

Biography

Rhiannon Giddens (born February 21, 1977) is an American singer, multi‑instrumentalist, songwriter, and composer from Greensboro, North Carolina, whose work bridges folk, old‑time, country, blues, and classical traditions.[1][6] Raised in a racially mixed family in Greensboro, she grew up singing along to R&B groups like the Manhattans and reading activist writers such as Audre Lorde before pursuing classical voice at the Oberlin Conservatory, where she trained as an opera singer.[1][5][6] After college she returned to North Carolina, became active in the contra‑dance community, and immersed herself in Celtic and Scottish song, simultaneously discovering the African roots of the banjo and old‑time string‑band music, an historical thread that would become central to her artistic mission.[1][6]

In the mid‑2000s Giddens co‑founded Sankofa Strings and then the Carolina Chocolate Drops, a Black string band dedicated to reviving and re‑centering African American contributions to old‑time and country music; as the group’s lead singer, fiddler, and banjoist, she helped win a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Folk Album for their 2010 release "Genuine Negro Jig".[1][6][7] While working with the Drops she also appeared in Celtic projects and began a solo career that accelerated after producer T Bone Burnett featured her in the all‑star project "Lost on the River: The New Basement Tapes" in 2014, leading to her Nonesuch debut "Tomorrow Is My Turn" (2015), followed by "Freedom Highway" (2017), collaborations with Italian multi‑instrumentalist Francesco Turrisi including "There Is No Other" (2019) and the Grammy‑winning "They’re Calling Me Home" (2021), and the more mainstream‑leaning "You’re the One" (2023).[1][2] Alongside her recordings she has acted (notably in the TV series "Nashville"), written for ballet and film, and co‑composed the opera "Omar" with Michael Abels, which won the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for Music.[1][3]

Giddens’s musical style is rooted in banjo and fiddle‑driven string‑band traditions yet inflected by her operatic training, resulting in an agile soprano and interpretive approach that moves fluidly between spirituals, protest songs, country standards, and original compositions.[1][6] A two‑time Grammy winner and MacArthur "Genius" grant recipient, she has become a leading public historian of American music, using concerts, essays, and educational projects to highlight how Black and Indigenous musicians shaped genres often perceived as "white," and to challenge the racial labels attached to folk, country, and bluegrass.[1][3][6] Since 2020 she has served as artistic director of Yo‑Yo Ma’s Silkroad ensemble and was named musical director of the 2023 Ojai Music Festival, further cementing her legacy as both a virtuosic performer and a cultural leader committed to re‑telling the story of American music from the ground up.[1][2][3]

Fun Facts

• Before becoming known as a roots musician, Rhiannon Giddens trained as a classical soprano and studied opera at the Oberlin Conservatory.[5][6]
• She describes herself as an "armchair historian" and has devoted significant time to researching the African origins of the banjo and the hidden Black histories behind American folk and country music.[1][6]
• In 2016 she became the first American to be named Folk Singer of the Year at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards and the first woman and first person of color to receive the Steve Martin Prize for Excellence in Banjo and Bluegrass.[1]
• Giddens lives in Ireland and has said that the MacArthur "Genius" grant allowed her to step off the constant tour cycle and devote more time to long‑form creative projects such as opera and musical theater.[3][6]

Associated Acts

• Carolina Chocolate Drops - original (2005-04–present)
• Sankofa Strings (2005–present)
• Our Native Daughters
• The New Basement Tapes
• The Giddens Sisters
• Nashville Cast

Musical Connections

Mentors/Influences

• T Bone Burnett - Producer who championed her transition from band member to widely recognized solo artist, showcasing her on a high‑profile collaborative project and producing her debut solo album. ("Lost on the River: The New Basement Tapes" project and the album "Tomorrow Is My Turn") [c. 2013–2015]
• Joe Thompson - Elder African American fiddler of the Piedmont old‑time tradition whose repertoire and mentorship were formative for the Carolina Chocolate Drops. (Informal apprenticeship and shared performances that shaped the Chocolate Drops’ repertoire) [mid‑2000s (Carolina Chocolate Drops formative years)]
• Oberlin Conservatory voice faculty - Classical voice and opera teachers who trained her as a soprano and provided her foundational technique. (Undergraduate opera studies at Oberlin Conservatory) [late 1990s–early 2000s]

Key Collaborators

• Dom Flemons - Co‑founder of Sankofa Strings and the Carolina Chocolate Drops; bandmate in a Black string‑band revival focused on old‑time and country music. (Sankofa Strings recordings; Carolina Chocolate Drops albums including "Genuine Negro Jig") [mid‑2000s–early 2010s[1]]
• Justin Robinson - Fiddler and co‑founding member of the Carolina Chocolate Drops. (Carolina Chocolate Drops recordings and tours including "Genuine Negro Jig") [mid‑2000s–early 2010s[1]]
• Francesco Turrisi - Italian multi‑instrumentalist and close musical partner in cross‑cultural folk projects blending Mediterranean, early music, and American roots. (Albums "There Is No Other" (2019) and "They’re Calling Me Home" (2021)) [late 2010s–present[1][2]]
• Michael Abels - Co‑composer on the opera "Omar," merging Giddens’s roots sensibility with Abels’s orchestral and film‑music background. (Opera "Omar" (Pulitzer Prize for Music, 2023)) [c. 2018–2023[1][3]]
• The New Basement Tapes ensemble (Elvis Costello, Marcus Mumford, Jim James, Taylor Goldsmith, et al.) - Collaborators on a project completing and recording unfinished Bob Dylan lyrics. (Album "Lost on the River: The New Basement Tapes") [c. 2014[1]]
• Carolina Chocolate Drops - Grammy‑winning band she co‑founded, where she served as lead singer, fiddle player, and banjoist. (Albums including "Genuine Negro Jig" and extensive touring) [c. 2005–mid‑2010s[1][7]]
• Our Native Daughters (Allison Russell, Leyla McCalla, Amythyst Kiah) - Quartet of Black women banjo players creating music from narratives of historic Black womanhood and survival. (Group projects under the name Our Native Daughters) [late 2010s–2020s[2]]
• Silkroad Ensemble - Cross‑cultural music collective for which she serves as artistic director and performer. (Silkroad programs and tours under her artistic leadership) [2020–present[2][3]]

Artists Influenced

• Allison Russell - Folk and Americana artist whose work on Black history, banjo, and storytelling has intersected with and been amplified by collaboration with Giddens in Our Native Daughters. (Our Native Daughters recordings and Russell’s subsequent solo work in a similar historical‑storytelling vein) [late 2010s–2020s]
• Amythyst Kiah - Roots musician and fellow banjoist whose profile in Americana and Black string‑band traditions has risen in parallel with, and in dialogue with, Giddens’s reclamation of these styles. (Our Native Daughters material and later solo projects engaging with similar histories) [late 2010s–2020s]
• Emerging Black string‑band and old‑time musicians - Giddens’s scholarship and visibility around African American roots of old‑time, country, and bluegrass have inspired a new cohort of Black banjoists and fiddlers to enter and reshape these scenes. (Influence reflected across new Americana and old‑time releases and festival lineups citing her as a model) [2010s–2020s[3][6]]

Discography

Albums

Top Tracks

1. Forever Young - From NBC's Parenthood
2. Mountain Banjo
3. Mountain Hymn
4. Moonlight
5. Marching Jaybird
6. At the Purchaser's Option (Freedom Highway)
7. Wayfaring Stranger (with Francesco Turrisi) (there is no Other (with Francesco Turrisi) [Deluxe Version])
8. Old Corn Liquor (Sinners (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack))
9. Just the Two of Us (feat. Sxip Shirey)
10. Quasheba, Quasheba (Songs of Our Native Daughters)

External Links

• Spotify
• Wikipedia
• MusicBrainz

Tags: #americana, #bluegrass, #blues