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We have around 45 most liked photos of Rhiannon Giddens with the thumbnails listed below. Click on any of them to view the full image along with its caption, like count, and a button to download the photo.

Rhiannon Giddens Instagram - I woke up yesterday morning to new music from @beyonce, featuring none other than my banjo and viola playing throughout. On the heels of her SUPER BOWL commercial album announcement, her single “Texas Hold ‘Em” is the first off her new country-inspired record, #actii. The beginning is a solo riff on my minstrel banjo - and my only hope is that it might lead a few more intrepid folks into the exciting history of the banjo. I used to say many times as soon as Beyonce puts the banjo on a track my job is done. Well, I didn’t expect the banjo to be mine, and I know darn well my job isn’t done, but today is a pretty good day. Listen now, on repeat. 🤠🪕🐝
Rhiannon Giddens Instagram - So this morning i got ready to receive an honorary doctorate from Duke University. I have been very plainspoken about my ambivalence around accolades, but I always strive to go where I am led and to acknowledge that somebody, somewhere, wanted to give me an honor (in this instance, someone from community who had advocated for me) and it’s respectful to accept and be in place, and represent. I learned last night that the commencement speaker was Jerry Seinfield and I didnt give it much thought. When i attend these kinds of events I struggle to understand my place in them; feeling more akin to the musicians playing beautifully, (and unfortunately mostly beautifully ignored), during the reception, than the honorees expected to give a speech. I have decided in general to take the experiences as they come and look for the spiritual reason I have been led there. In this instance it was a wonderful connection and conversation with my faculty sponsor, Sophia Enriquez, about the role Mexicans play in the creation of country music, and other deep topics. I look very much forward to furthering our association! So this morning I was sitting on the platform next to Sophia after recieving my hood and as Seinfield was led to the platform I noticed the protest beginning; pretty soon substantial numbers of students with P@lest1n1@n flags stood up and left their seats, and chanting accompanied their departure. I felt distraught and uncertain because clearly there is a bigger story here that I didn’t know - I have been deep in the act of music in place and in tradition this week and just haven’t been aware. And it makes me think about the differing ways we try to make the world a better place and how they can’t be the same for everyone; how the work of resistance, activism, and change is multifaceted and how it’s going to take all of us to make a dent in this crazy mess. (cont’d)
Rhiannon Giddens Instagram - February 7 Titus Kaphar Titus Kaphar is a fantastic visual artist who uses his medium to center African American subjects in historical contexts - so many times I have seen a piece of work and go OMG that’s freaking brilliant, who did that? And it’s him. From a recent Times article: “Mr. Kaphar, 42, has a profound connection to the forgotten, from the slaves owned by the founding fathers to the ubiquity of African-Americans in the criminal justice system, including his own father. The recipient of a recent MacArthur “genius” award, the artist is challenging racism in a body of strong work that has entered the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the Brooklyn Museum and the Yale University Art Gallery, and was recently featured at the National Portrait Gallery. Mr. Kaphar is known for appropriating images from American and European art in order to subvert them, cutting them into his canvases to pull back the velvet curtain of history. He wields materials like tar, wire, gold leaf and nails to unearth the past’s inconvenient truths, and to shine a restorative light on those residing in the shadows.” He’s also bringing the next generation up with him, founding an arts incubator in the center of New Haven, CT. Check out his work - it’s stunning and thought-provoking...and unflinching, too. See below, Behind the Myth of Benevolence, 2014
Rhiannon Giddens Instagram - Wow this was an amazing thing to see in my daily paper! It was a delight to speak to Janay Kingsberry and she did a wonderful job ❤️ @washingtonpost link in stories
Rhiannon Giddens Instagram - My GRAMMY story from 2010. Back in 2010, the Carolina Chocolate Drops (at that time the original trio, myself, Dom Flemons, and Justin Robinson) were up for a Best Folk Music GRAMMY. It felt like a big deal to us even though I was (and still am) conflicted about the ‘industry’ part of the music industry - but after years of championing homegrown fiddle and banjo music from the Carolinas this felt like the big leagues! We were working class musicians at that time - I remember when Dom used to drive and I would be literally making CDs in the back seat as we went from gig to gig. We were making enough money to live, but barely - and we were young and healthy and lucky. People might not know this, but it’s expensive to go to the GRAMMYs - if you are nominated, you pay for your flight, hotel, hair makeup, dress, food, what have you, yourself. All nominees receive a plus one to the ceremony and after party, and for a lot of non-mainstream folks, win or lose, it’s a moment of a lifetime. I have lots of feels about awards for art, as I’ve mentioned before, but I get the need to celebrate an artform, and a lot of good people are trying to make things better. So we decided to go - I had a nursing toddler by the time the Grammy nomination came, and I brought her and her dad Mike as my plus one. It was a surreal experience - i bought my gown from somewhere, did my own hair and makeup, and we found a holiday inn in the less glitzy part of Los Angeles. We got a car to drop us off at the red carpet interview spot, and I remember clearly that absolutely zero press was interested in us 😂. I liked to say we were old time music spies that day. We filed into the afternoon ceremony, where 99 percent of the categories go and looked nervously in the program for where our category was. It was parked in the middle of the list, so we settled in for a wait. My daughter Aoife would occasionally want to nurse so i went to the restroom the first couple of times and then just gave up and nursed her in the auditorium - it was dark and i had a shawl on for just that purpose, and strapless gowns for the nursing win! (cont.)
Rhiannon Giddens Instagram - Well what a blast at @jazzfest New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival!!! Such a fun time in the blues tent, and had an unexpected audience member for some of the set 😎
Rhiannon Giddens Instagram - Well what a blast at @jazzfest New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival!!! Such a fun time in the blues tent, and had an unexpected audience member for some of the set 😎
Rhiannon Giddens Instagram - I wrote a little thing for @guardian - I wish I could have included more but there was a 800 word limit - so no mention of the commercial side of Bristol, or the white supremacy-laden early folk movement, or of say, Leslie Riddle and DeFord Bailey - but with help from my banjo brain trust (amazing minds who have done a ton of research on the banjo), I figured out a way to make every word count for the thing I know best - black string band music and the world BEFORE commerical country. And that’s the world you rarely see mentioned when people talk about Black folk in country music. Anyway, check it out. Link in stories!
Rhiannon Giddens Instagram - So a commenter dropped this photo in one of my posts and I love it so much - wish I had a higher res version of it but you get the gist. When my children were babies I took them on the road; their dad was an incredible ally in this, driving and being involved daily in the workings of the Carolina Chocolate Drops; once the eldest was school age and the youngest one was weaned however, it was time for them to settle down and I became the more usual traveling musician sans children. This picture shows a moment where I was on the road with the youngest on my own (we could not afford nannies ever), and the baby sitter for the day that the venue had brought in couldn’t handle my baby. I heard him crying and I just couldn’t take it so I put him on my back and turned down the monitor so I could finish soundchecking. After the pandemic I was one of the lucky ones that had a ton of work; it felt like I was traveling every other day. There was a moment last year, however, where my children, particularly the one on my back there, who is eleven now, let me know in no uncertain terms that I was gone too much. So I listened and took some projects (book, long form composition, etc) that would keep me home more. I love touring but I love my children more. So I am out there with my touring family as much as I can- and when I’m not out there I’m home, cooking, writing, scrubbing the floor, and being here when my kids get home. I’m very fortunate and grateful for the opportunities I have been given; and I do my best to center humanity in my life, always. p.s. and o my he was the most amazing baby chunk ever
Rhiannon Giddens Instagram - I will be posting black history/excellence posts again for sure. Just wanted to report back on my little corner of the GRAMMYs, which happened yesterday. I was nominated for Best American Roots Performance, for the recording of “The Ballad of Sally Anne”, a heartbreaking song about a lynching, which I recorded in Ireland with Francesco Turrisi and Ben Rawlins, and was finished by Ebonie Smith, for Fiona Prine’s Oh Boy Records. It was written by Alice Randall, who has been working in Nashville for over 40 years, writing anthems for black women while there weren’t many of us allowed into the establishment to sing them. That was our win; the trophy itself went to someone else and that’s fine by me! There’s room for us all. I took Alice as my date and we had a ball dropping nuggets of knowledge all down the red carpet, with my banjo in tow 🙂 (yes the 1858-replica banjo that graced the album of the year with its deep funky sounds... ) For me, being involved in this deeply cultural music is more than a career, it’s more than an album, it’s more than a single. It’s a mission to show how beautiful Americans can actually be together; it’s proof that we are more alike than we are different, and it’s a study in how we do not need a hyphen; if anything, American history itself needs a hyphen. We are America; America is us. And the groundwork that the folks before us laid, like Linda Martell yes, but also Lil Hardin, and Libba Cotten, and Joe Thompson, and Ray Charles; and folks laying all the groundwork right NOW, like Rissi Palmer, and Dena Ross Jennings, and Angela Wellman, and so many others, educating and welcoming and doing all the active things you do to build real community. It takes time; it takes humility; it takes interest in other people and other people’s success. For me, saying their names, all of them, makes me feel grounded. For me, acknowledging that I would not be here without them, makes me feel stronger. The rising tide lifts all boats.
Rhiannon Giddens Instagram - I will be posting black history/excellence posts again for sure. Just wanted to report back on my little corner of the GRAMMYs, which happened yesterday. I was nominated for Best American Roots Performance, for the recording of “The Ballad of Sally Anne”, a heartbreaking song about a lynching, which I recorded in Ireland with Francesco Turrisi and Ben Rawlins, and was finished by Ebonie Smith, for Fiona Prine’s Oh Boy Records. It was written by Alice Randall, who has been working in Nashville for over 40 years, writing anthems for black women while there weren’t many of us allowed into the establishment to sing them. That was our win; the trophy itself went to someone else and that’s fine by me! There’s room for us all. I took Alice as my date and we had a ball dropping nuggets of knowledge all down the red carpet, with my banjo in tow 🙂 (yes the 1858-replica banjo that graced the album of the year with its deep funky sounds... ) For me, being involved in this deeply cultural music is more than a career, it’s more than an album, it’s more than a single. It’s a mission to show how beautiful Americans can actually be together; it’s proof that we are more alike than we are different, and it’s a study in how we do not need a hyphen; if anything, American history itself needs a hyphen. We are America; America is us. And the groundwork that the folks before us laid, like Linda Martell yes, but also Lil Hardin, and Libba Cotten, and Joe Thompson, and Ray Charles; and folks laying all the groundwork right NOW, like Rissi Palmer, and Dena Ross Jennings, and Angela Wellman, and so many others, educating and welcoming and doing all the active things you do to build real community. It takes time; it takes humility; it takes interest in other people and other people’s success. For me, saying their names, all of them, makes me feel grounded. For me, acknowledging that I would not be here without them, makes me feel stronger. The rising tide lifts all boats.
Rhiannon Giddens Instagram - I will be posting black history/excellence posts again for sure. Just wanted to report back on my little corner of the GRAMMYs, which happened yesterday. I was nominated for Best American Roots Performance, for the recording of “The Ballad of Sally Anne”, a heartbreaking song about a lynching, which I recorded in Ireland with Francesco Turrisi and Ben Rawlins, and was finished by Ebonie Smith, for Fiona Prine’s Oh Boy Records. It was written by Alice Randall, who has been working in Nashville for over 40 years, writing anthems for black women while there weren’t many of us allowed into the establishment to sing them. That was our win; the trophy itself went to someone else and that’s fine by me! There’s room for us all. I took Alice as my date and we had a ball dropping nuggets of knowledge all down the red carpet, with my banjo in tow 🙂 (yes the 1858-replica banjo that graced the album of the year with its deep funky sounds... ) For me, being involved in this deeply cultural music is more than a career, it’s more than an album, it’s more than a single. It’s a mission to show how beautiful Americans can actually be together; it’s proof that we are more alike than we are different, and it’s a study in how we do not need a hyphen; if anything, American history itself needs a hyphen. We are America; America is us. And the groundwork that the folks before us laid, like Linda Martell yes, but also Lil Hardin, and Libba Cotten, and Joe Thompson, and Ray Charles; and folks laying all the groundwork right NOW, like Rissi Palmer, and Dena Ross Jennings, and Angela Wellman, and so many others, educating and welcoming and doing all the active things you do to build real community. It takes time; it takes humility; it takes interest in other people and other people’s success. For me, saying their names, all of them, makes me feel grounded. For me, acknowledging that I would not be here without them, makes me feel stronger. The rising tide lifts all boats.
Rhiannon Giddens Instagram - I will be posting black history/excellence posts again for sure. Just wanted to report back on my little corner of the GRAMMYs, which happened yesterday. I was nominated for Best American Roots Performance, for the recording of “The Ballad of Sally Anne”, a heartbreaking song about a lynching, which I recorded in Ireland with Francesco Turrisi and Ben Rawlins, and was finished by Ebonie Smith, for Fiona Prine’s Oh Boy Records. It was written by Alice Randall, who has been working in Nashville for over 40 years, writing anthems for black women while there weren’t many of us allowed into the establishment to sing them. That was our win; the trophy itself went to someone else and that’s fine by me! There’s room for us all. I took Alice as my date and we had a ball dropping nuggets of knowledge all down the red carpet, with my banjo in tow 🙂 (yes the 1858-replica banjo that graced the album of the year with its deep funky sounds... ) For me, being involved in this deeply cultural music is more than a career, it’s more than an album, it’s more than a single. It’s a mission to show how beautiful Americans can actually be together; it’s proof that we are more alike than we are different, and it’s a study in how we do not need a hyphen; if anything, American history itself needs a hyphen. We are America; America is us. And the groundwork that the folks before us laid, like Linda Martell yes, but also Lil Hardin, and Libba Cotten, and Joe Thompson, and Ray Charles; and folks laying all the groundwork right NOW, like Rissi Palmer, and Dena Ross Jennings, and Angela Wellman, and so many others, educating and welcoming and doing all the active things you do to build real community. It takes time; it takes humility; it takes interest in other people and other people’s success. For me, saying their names, all of them, makes me feel grounded. For me, acknowledging that I would not be here without them, makes me feel stronger. The rising tide lifts all boats.
Rhiannon Giddens Instagram - I will be posting black history/excellence posts again for sure. Just wanted to report back on my little corner of the GRAMMYs, which happened yesterday. I was nominated for Best American Roots Performance, for the recording of “The Ballad of Sally Anne”, a heartbreaking song about a lynching, which I recorded in Ireland with Francesco Turrisi and Ben Rawlins, and was finished by Ebonie Smith, for Fiona Prine’s Oh Boy Records. It was written by Alice Randall, who has been working in Nashville for over 40 years, writing anthems for black women while there weren’t many of us allowed into the establishment to sing them. That was our win; the trophy itself went to someone else and that’s fine by me! There’s room for us all. I took Alice as my date and we had a ball dropping nuggets of knowledge all down the red carpet, with my banjo in tow 🙂 (yes the 1858-replica banjo that graced the album of the year with its deep funky sounds... ) For me, being involved in this deeply cultural music is more than a career, it’s more than an album, it’s more than a single. It’s a mission to show how beautiful Americans can actually be together; it’s proof that we are more alike than we are different, and it’s a study in how we do not need a hyphen; if anything, American history itself needs a hyphen. We are America; America is us. And the groundwork that the folks before us laid, like Linda Martell yes, but also Lil Hardin, and Libba Cotten, and Joe Thompson, and Ray Charles; and folks laying all the groundwork right NOW, like Rissi Palmer, and Dena Ross Jennings, and Angela Wellman, and so many others, educating and welcoming and doing all the active things you do to build real community. It takes time; it takes humility; it takes interest in other people and other people’s success. For me, saying their names, all of them, makes me feel grounded. For me, acknowledging that I would not be here without them, makes me feel stronger. The rising tide lifts all boats.
Rhiannon Giddens Instagram - I will be posting black history/excellence posts again for sure. Just wanted to report back on my little corner of the GRAMMYs, which happened yesterday. I was nominated for Best American Roots Performance, for the recording of “The Ballad of Sally Anne”, a heartbreaking song about a lynching, which I recorded in Ireland with Francesco Turrisi and Ben Rawlins, and was finished by Ebonie Smith, for Fiona Prine’s Oh Boy Records. It was written by Alice Randall, who has been working in Nashville for over 40 years, writing anthems for black women while there weren’t many of us allowed into the establishment to sing them. That was our win; the trophy itself went to someone else and that’s fine by me! There’s room for us all. I took Alice as my date and we had a ball dropping nuggets of knowledge all down the red carpet, with my banjo in tow 🙂 (yes the 1858-replica banjo that graced the album of the year with its deep funky sounds... ) For me, being involved in this deeply cultural music is more than a career, it’s more than an album, it’s more than a single. It’s a mission to show how beautiful Americans can actually be together; it’s proof that we are more alike than we are different, and it’s a study in how we do not need a hyphen; if anything, American history itself needs a hyphen. We are America; America is us. And the groundwork that the folks before us laid, like Linda Martell yes, but also Lil Hardin, and Libba Cotten, and Joe Thompson, and Ray Charles; and folks laying all the groundwork right NOW, like Rissi Palmer, and Dena Ross Jennings, and Angela Wellman, and so many others, educating and welcoming and doing all the active things you do to build real community. It takes time; it takes humility; it takes interest in other people and other people’s success. For me, saying their names, all of them, makes me feel grounded. For me, acknowledging that I would not be here without them, makes me feel stronger. The rising tide lifts all boats.
Rhiannon Giddens Instagram - I will be posting black history/excellence posts again for sure. Just wanted to report back on my little corner of the GRAMMYs, which happened yesterday. I was nominated for Best American Roots Performance, for the recording of “The Ballad of Sally Anne”, a heartbreaking song about a lynching, which I recorded in Ireland with Francesco Turrisi and Ben Rawlins, and was finished by Ebonie Smith, for Fiona Prine’s Oh Boy Records. It was written by Alice Randall, who has been working in Nashville for over 40 years, writing anthems for black women while there weren’t many of us allowed into the establishment to sing them. That was our win; the trophy itself went to someone else and that’s fine by me! There’s room for us all. I took Alice as my date and we had a ball dropping nuggets of knowledge all down the red carpet, with my banjo in tow 🙂 (yes the 1858-replica banjo that graced the album of the year with its deep funky sounds... ) For me, being involved in this deeply cultural music is more than a career, it’s more than an album, it’s more than a single. It’s a mission to show how beautiful Americans can actually be together; it’s proof that we are more alike than we are different, and it’s a study in how we do not need a hyphen; if anything, American history itself needs a hyphen. We are America; America is us. And the groundwork that the folks before us laid, like Linda Martell yes, but also Lil Hardin, and Libba Cotten, and Joe Thompson, and Ray Charles; and folks laying all the groundwork right NOW, like Rissi Palmer, and Dena Ross Jennings, and Angela Wellman, and so many others, educating and welcoming and doing all the active things you do to build real community. It takes time; it takes humility; it takes interest in other people and other people’s success. For me, saying their names, all of them, makes me feel grounded. For me, acknowledging that I would not be here without them, makes me feel stronger. The rising tide lifts all boats.
Rhiannon Giddens Instagram - Working on a project that is centered on place at the moment and it’s making me think alot about what’s going on in the world. This is a peaceful water place in North Carolina, and it reminded me how much of North Carolina I am, body and soul. Even though I have chosen to live in another land, NC will always own the majority of my soul, and I am at peace with that. Sitting by the water, listening to the birds, feeling the spirits of generations of folks who have sat right in this spot to enjoy the air, the water, and the wildlife, even in the midst of so much adversity and hard times, connects me in a deep and soulful way to my ancestors and my history. Its a privilege to have the space and the place. Thinking about what is happening right now in G@z@ is heartbreaking on so many levels and has been for months, just as Oct 7 was heartbreaking. Humanity has lost, and is continuing to lose, in this conflict, as thousands of fellow souls have their lives taken from them by empire. As I sit on this land that was once occupied by Native community, and then owned by a Native individual who was then pushed off of it, and then owned by Gaels who themselves had been subjugated in their own homeland, who then themselves participated in subjugation by owning enslaved African people taken from their own homeland, and thinking about the fact that it’s still in private hands today, made me think about the complicated layers that are present in any conflict, and the inability to solve anything that doesn’t center generosity, community, humanity, and a different and older way of looking at the gift of mother earth. I have no answers. I just grieve. photo by @karencoxphotography
Rhiannon Giddens Instagram - I couldn’t have said any of this article any better. It’s a REALLY great breakdown of some of the history that #CowboyCarter rests on - thank you @teenvogue for your scholarship and journalism! Link in stories! p.s. and that’s Dena Ross Jennings, who was Black Banjo Renaissance #21 :)
Rhiannon Giddens Instagram - I couldn’t have said any of this article any better. It’s a REALLY great breakdown of some of the history that #CowboyCarter rests on - thank you @teenvogue for your scholarship and journalism! Link in stories! p.s. and that’s Dena Ross Jennings, who was Black Banjo Renaissance #21 :)
Rhiannon Giddens Instagram - Loving Day was yesterday - but here’s my post today. Being mixed is a super power - it brings challenges like everything else but it also allows you to see on both sides of the fence, and then knock the fence over, stomp on it, and kick it out of the way. thanks mom and dad! i love you to bits.
Rhiannon Giddens Instagram - February 10 Tracy Chapman // @tracychapmanonline It figures that one of the years I decide not to go to the GRAMMYS is the year they KILL it. Look, I know when to criticize, and I know when to praise. And it’s praise time for the whoever produced the afternoon ceremony AND the nighttime awards. Not that they care what I think lol but it’s so nice to see a wonderful singer songwriter that we have all admired, who opened the door for so many, to be invited back to the stage to sing one of her many beautiful songs (and in some fierce jeans, to boot - after my own heart!). @allisonrussellmusic, @sistastrings, @thebrandyclark, @brandicarlile, @jonimitchell...the list goes on and on. Much, much love to the folks changing the industry from the inside. And @lukecombs - thanks for covering it and making it all possible. Ok! Here it is- the clip you’ve all seen but I’m gonna post it again because...WHY NOT. It’s beautiful. Watch it again at the link in stories!
Rhiannon Giddens Instagram - Feb 11: Black Banjo Renaissance Post #1 Joe Thompson and the Carolina Chocolate Drops I’d like to focus this week on what I’m calling the current Black Banjo Rennaisance- historians like Kristina Gaddy putting out beautiful books about early black banjo history, young folks like Jake Blount releasing black banjo music, and in general the profile of the banjo getting a more nuanced view. Taj Mahal, Earl White, Otis Taylor, Etta Baker, Sule Greg Wilson, the Ebony Hillbillies - these are among the folks keeping the legacy of the banjo in black hands alive in the years before 2005, but when the Black Banjo Gathering happened in that year it kickstarted a slowburning but new resurgence in black banjo playing. One of the things that happened there was the meeting of the young people who eventually became the Carolina Chocolate Drops, and their connection to elder Joe Thompson. The original CCD was: me, Justin Robinson, and Dom Flemons. Justin and Dom have both gone on to do many wonderful things highlighting African American contributions in music and foodways, and i’ll feature them later in the week. But it all started with Joe. This from my essay for Oxford American some time ago: “Joe Thompson was the last in his family’s line of community musicians. He learned the fiddle from his father, and his brother learned the banjo from an uncle; as soon as they were old enough, they took over the family band and played for the local square dances—the black and the white. They were part of a dying tradition: musicians from the community playing functional music for social dances, not to make a living but because that’s simply what they did. They were also among the last living links to a vast black string band tradition that used to be spread all over the South and other parts of the U.S. but had slowly disappeared until very few were left. And they were swallowed up by the wider societal notion that fiddle and banjo music was strictly a white preserve. [cont.]
Rhiannon Giddens Instagram - Feb 11: Black Banjo Renaissance Post #1 Joe Thompson and the Carolina Chocolate Drops I’d like to focus this week on what I’m calling the current Black Banjo Rennaisance- historians like Kristina Gaddy putting out beautiful books about early black banjo history, young folks like Jake Blount releasing black banjo music, and in general the profile of the banjo getting a more nuanced view. Taj Mahal, Earl White, Otis Taylor, Etta Baker, Sule Greg Wilson, the Ebony Hillbillies - these are among the folks keeping the legacy of the banjo in black hands alive in the years before 2005, but when the Black Banjo Gathering happened in that year it kickstarted a slowburning but new resurgence in black banjo playing. One of the things that happened there was the meeting of the young people who eventually became the Carolina Chocolate Drops, and their connection to elder Joe Thompson. The original CCD was: me, Justin Robinson, and Dom Flemons. Justin and Dom have both gone on to do many wonderful things highlighting African American contributions in music and foodways, and i’ll feature them later in the week. But it all started with Joe. This from my essay for Oxford American some time ago: “Joe Thompson was the last in his family’s line of community musicians. He learned the fiddle from his father, and his brother learned the banjo from an uncle; as soon as they were old enough, they took over the family band and played for the local square dances—the black and the white. They were part of a dying tradition: musicians from the community playing functional music for social dances, not to make a living but because that’s simply what they did. They were also among the last living links to a vast black string band tradition that used to be spread all over the South and other parts of the U.S. but had slowly disappeared until very few were left. And they were swallowed up by the wider societal notion that fiddle and banjo music was strictly a white preserve. [cont.]
Rhiannon Giddens Instagram - Crochet, biscuits (some of my highest yet!) and dyed eggs…a happy Easter indeed.
Rhiannon Giddens Instagram - Crochet, biscuits (some of my highest yet!) and dyed eggs…a happy Easter indeed.
Rhiannon Giddens Instagram - Crochet, biscuits (some of my highest yet!) and dyed eggs…a happy Easter indeed.
Rhiannon Giddens Instagram - It’s been twenty-five years since the @CountryMusicHOF put out the incredible boxed set “From Where I Stand: The Black Experience in Country Music”, loaded with wonderfully written context and a mixture of well-known and scarcely heard recordings. We are getting a bit better at talking about the African American co-creation of country music and absorbing the idea of a creolized culture of the South rather than pockets of white and black that only met in violence. It’s not so much of a surprise anymore that there is a common American musical language that lies at the heart of so many different genres. The most beautiful thing to me about the Black country renaissance is that its stars, who are finally starting to get the recognition they deserve, are truly using country music the way that, to me, it was born to be used. Their music reflects and highlights a cultural viewpoint that has been traditionally suppressed, shows the best of the American narrative, and, in the end, tells the important stories of now, for the generations of tomorrow. “From Where I Stand” has returned as an expanded and updated box set (along with a free-to-access online experience). I’m pleased to have contributed liner notes to the new box set and to have some of my songs included. Learn more at the link in my bio.
Rhiannon Giddens Instagram - It’s been twenty-five years since the @CountryMusicHOF put out the incredible boxed set “From Where I Stand: The Black Experience in Country Music”, loaded with wonderfully written context and a mixture of well-known and scarcely heard recordings. We are getting a bit better at talking about the African American co-creation of country music and absorbing the idea of a creolized culture of the South rather than pockets of white and black that only met in violence. It’s not so much of a surprise anymore that there is a common American musical language that lies at the heart of so many different genres. The most beautiful thing to me about the Black country renaissance is that its stars, who are finally starting to get the recognition they deserve, are truly using country music the way that, to me, it was born to be used. Their music reflects and highlights a cultural viewpoint that has been traditionally suppressed, shows the best of the American narrative, and, in the end, tells the important stories of now, for the generations of tomorrow. “From Where I Stand” has returned as an expanded and updated box set (along with a free-to-access online experience). I’m pleased to have contributed liner notes to the new box set and to have some of my songs included. Learn more at the link in my bio.
Rhiannon Giddens Instagram - Congratulations to all the wonderful artists nominated for Grammys, those who weren’t nominated, those who won, and those who have yet to win. I was honored to represent @nonesuchrecords and @redlightmgmt in my catagories, and delight in the fact that the music world will be chattering about some mighty fine people, including my sister in spirit @allisonrussellmusic, twitter friend @jasonisbell, and so many others. Since I first posted a Grammy win story, i thought I’d post a Grammy lose story today :). Some years ago I was nominated for my first solo record Tomorrow is My Turn, and I was there with my team and long time friend and colleague @dirkpowellofficial. I was all dolled up in gown and professional hair and makeup and feeling very very hollow inside. Those who know me know that while I like wearing fun fancy clothes sometimes, the whole red carpet thing drives me nuts because i hate posing for photos, especially for photographers who are waiting for the real celebrities lol. But I’m a team player! I know that industry awards are also helpful for labels, managers, and everybody who is working behind the scenes. I have always been blessed in who I work with and am grateful for all of them on my road, and so I dress up and go smile. But this day for some reason was really hard. Not because I didn’t win, but I guess I was just feeling the disconnect with why I actually play and sing music. I was really feeling the weirdness of being essentially a banjo playing folk singer walking around in a gown and missing my function. Dirk and I had brought our instruments (just in case) and after the daytime ceremony, I was like - Dirk let’s just set up somewhere and jam!!! Dirk was there for it and so we got our fiddle and banjo, sat outside some pizza joint, and played some tunes. God it felt so good! Nobody paid us any mind, no cameras came, no articles are written about the two folks playing old time music at the GRAMMYs, but as we played we noticed this young boy who was selling candy bars wander by. (Cont.)
Rhiannon Giddens Instagram - Feb 14 Black Banjo Renaissance #3 Taj Mahal // @tajmahalblues The one of a kind Taj Mahal has been before his time for a lonnnnnng time - talking about the history of the banjo and exploring and incorporating Caribbean, African and other influences into his blues for years. He’s a scholar of the blues and a mentor for the up-and-coming- he was uncle to the Carolina Chocolate Drops when they started and has remained a guiding star for those of us wanting to stay real, stay true, and stay authentic to the heart of our culture. Play on, Taj! More at the links in stories.
Rhiannon Giddens Instagram - When Justin, Dom and I started going down to play with Joe Thompson we had no idea what was starting- but every year that passes I’m more and more grateful to have been part of an apprenticeship that connects me to generations of music makers from my community. It wasn’t just the tunes we learned from Joe, it was his stories, his vibe, and the way he related to this music. Now we feel it’s important to create moments where we sit and play his tunes and tell our stories of playing with him- it’s not about money, it’s not about the exact notes, it’s about passing on what we learned from him. Justin and I had our very first Joe Jam a couple of days ago on the wall in front of Wilson library on the campus of Chapel Hill as a finish to my residency there, and it will hopefully be the first of many. ❤️❤️❤️ Photo by Megan Frestedt
Rhiannon Giddens Instagram - When Justin, Dom and I started going down to play with Joe Thompson we had no idea what was starting- but every year that passes I’m more and more grateful to have been part of an apprenticeship that connects me to generations of music makers from my community. It wasn’t just the tunes we learned from Joe, it was his stories, his vibe, and the way he related to this music. Now we feel it’s important to create moments where we sit and play his tunes and tell our stories of playing with him- it’s not about money, it’s not about the exact notes, it’s about passing on what we learned from him. Justin and I had our very first Joe Jam a couple of days ago on the wall in front of Wilson library on the campus of Chapel Hill as a finish to my residency there, and it will hopefully be the first of many. ❤️❤️❤️ Photo by Megan Frestedt
Rhiannon Giddens Instagram - Feb 16 Black Banjo Renaissance #5 The Banjo Research Community I am merely a reporter and public historian, and I absolutely NEED the academics, researchers, and all around geniuses who have been doing the amazing excavation of the true history of the banjo for years now. I’m gonna lay down my top five favorite sources for the work I do - this community is tight-knit, and they support each other and check each other’s work. It’s beautiful and I’m grateful for them all. The OG: Dena Epstein, with Sinful Tunes and Spirituals: Black Folk Music to the Civil War This book completely shook up the banjo research world - Dena Epstein was a librarian who painstakingly and over the course of years tracked down primary source references to banjo-type instruments in the hands of black people; this was during a time when very few people believed that the banjo had anything to do with Afro-Caribbean culture. We all stand on her shoulders! The NewG Kristina Gaddy, with Well of Souls: Uncovering the Banjo’s Hidden History This recent publication took my breath away - Kristina has found new sources, reframed old ones, and in general talks about what I always new in my heart - that the banjo, far from just a dance instrument, was in fact a spiritual and cultural center for African-diasporic peoples during the time of slavery. Phil Jamison, with Hoedowns, Reels, and Frolics: Roots and Branches of Southern Appalachian Dance Phil blew my mind years ago when he told this little black girl dance caller that African Americans have been doing it for years, and in fact most likely invented the iconic square dance calling style we all associate with mountain dance today. The whole book is a treasure. (Cont.)
Rhiannon Giddens Instagram - Feb 16 Black Banjo Renaissance #5 The Banjo Research Community I am merely a reporter and public historian, and I absolutely NEED the academics, researchers, and all around geniuses who have been doing the amazing excavation of the true history of the banjo for years now. I’m gonna lay down my top five favorite sources for the work I do - this community is tight-knit, and they support each other and check each other’s work. It’s beautiful and I’m grateful for them all. The OG: Dena Epstein, with Sinful Tunes and Spirituals: Black Folk Music to the Civil War This book completely shook up the banjo research world - Dena Epstein was a librarian who painstakingly and over the course of years tracked down primary source references to banjo-type instruments in the hands of black people; this was during a time when very few people believed that the banjo had anything to do with Afro-Caribbean culture. We all stand on her shoulders! The NewG Kristina Gaddy, with Well of Souls: Uncovering the Banjo’s Hidden History This recent publication took my breath away - Kristina has found new sources, reframed old ones, and in general talks about what I always new in my heart - that the banjo, far from just a dance instrument, was in fact a spiritual and cultural center for African-diasporic peoples during the time of slavery. Phil Jamison, with Hoedowns, Reels, and Frolics: Roots and Branches of Southern Appalachian Dance Phil blew my mind years ago when he told this little black girl dance caller that African Americans have been doing it for years, and in fact most likely invented the iconic square dance calling style we all associate with mountain dance today. The whole book is a treasure. (Cont.)
Rhiannon Giddens Instagram - Feb 16 Black Banjo Renaissance #5 The Banjo Research Community I am merely a reporter and public historian, and I absolutely NEED the academics, researchers, and all around geniuses who have been doing the amazing excavation of the true history of the banjo for years now. I’m gonna lay down my top five favorite sources for the work I do - this community is tight-knit, and they support each other and check each other’s work. It’s beautiful and I’m grateful for them all. The OG: Dena Epstein, with Sinful Tunes and Spirituals: Black Folk Music to the Civil War This book completely shook up the banjo research world - Dena Epstein was a librarian who painstakingly and over the course of years tracked down primary source references to banjo-type instruments in the hands of black people; this was during a time when very few people believed that the banjo had anything to do with Afro-Caribbean culture. We all stand on her shoulders! The NewG Kristina Gaddy, with Well of Souls: Uncovering the Banjo’s Hidden History This recent publication took my breath away - Kristina has found new sources, reframed old ones, and in general talks about what I always new in my heart - that the banjo, far from just a dance instrument, was in fact a spiritual and cultural center for African-diasporic peoples during the time of slavery. Phil Jamison, with Hoedowns, Reels, and Frolics: Roots and Branches of Southern Appalachian Dance Phil blew my mind years ago when he told this little black girl dance caller that African Americans have been doing it for years, and in fact most likely invented the iconic square dance calling style we all associate with mountain dance today. The whole book is a treasure. (Cont.)
Rhiannon Giddens Instagram - Feb 16 Black Banjo Renaissance #5 The Banjo Research Community I am merely a reporter and public historian, and I absolutely NEED the academics, researchers, and all around geniuses who have been doing the amazing excavation of the true history of the banjo for years now. I’m gonna lay down my top five favorite sources for the work I do - this community is tight-knit, and they support each other and check each other’s work. It’s beautiful and I’m grateful for them all. The OG: Dena Epstein, with Sinful Tunes and Spirituals: Black Folk Music to the Civil War This book completely shook up the banjo research world - Dena Epstein was a librarian who painstakingly and over the course of years tracked down primary source references to banjo-type instruments in the hands of black people; this was during a time when very few people believed that the banjo had anything to do with Afro-Caribbean culture. We all stand on her shoulders! The NewG Kristina Gaddy, with Well of Souls: Uncovering the Banjo’s Hidden History This recent publication took my breath away - Kristina has found new sources, reframed old ones, and in general talks about what I always new in my heart - that the banjo, far from just a dance instrument, was in fact a spiritual and cultural center for African-diasporic peoples during the time of slavery. Phil Jamison, with Hoedowns, Reels, and Frolics: Roots and Branches of Southern Appalachian Dance Phil blew my mind years ago when he told this little black girl dance caller that African Americans have been doing it for years, and in fact most likely invented the iconic square dance calling style we all associate with mountain dance today. The whole book is a treasure. (Cont.)
Rhiannon Giddens Instagram - Feb 16 Black Banjo Renaissance #5 The Banjo Research Community I am merely a reporter and public historian, and I absolutely NEED the academics, researchers, and all around geniuses who have been doing the amazing excavation of the true history of the banjo for years now. I’m gonna lay down my top five favorite sources for the work I do - this community is tight-knit, and they support each other and check each other’s work. It’s beautiful and I’m grateful for them all. The OG: Dena Epstein, with Sinful Tunes and Spirituals: Black Folk Music to the Civil War This book completely shook up the banjo research world - Dena Epstein was a librarian who painstakingly and over the course of years tracked down primary source references to banjo-type instruments in the hands of black people; this was during a time when very few people believed that the banjo had anything to do with Afro-Caribbean culture. We all stand on her shoulders! The NewG Kristina Gaddy, with Well of Souls: Uncovering the Banjo’s Hidden History This recent publication took my breath away - Kristina has found new sources, reframed old ones, and in general talks about what I always new in my heart - that the banjo, far from just a dance instrument, was in fact a spiritual and cultural center for African-diasporic peoples during the time of slavery. Phil Jamison, with Hoedowns, Reels, and Frolics: Roots and Branches of Southern Appalachian Dance Phil blew my mind years ago when he told this little black girl dance caller that African Americans have been doing it for years, and in fact most likely invented the iconic square dance calling style we all associate with mountain dance today. The whole book is a treasure. (Cont.)
Rhiannon Giddens Instagram - Feb 18 Black Banjo Renaissance #7 Leyla McCalla // @leylacello Leyla, a classically trained cellist who is also a beautiful 4-string banjo player and guitarist, has been part of both the Carolina Chocolate Drops and Our Native Daughters. Her solo work since has been at once grounded in her Haitian heritage and also far reaching in sound world and artistic creativity. Her first record was a combination of Haitian songs and a spare, beautiful setting of a cycle of Langston Hughes poetry, and her subsequent records have continued to excavate the cultural connections between Haiti, her home of Louisiana, and the larger questions of the role of art within the body politic.
Rhiannon Giddens Instagram - My last day as an Artist-In-Residence as part of the Southern Futures project in conjunction with @carolinaperformingarts at @uncchapelhill, in Wilson Library, doing primary source research. The whole team has been absolutely incredible and I will value this collaboration for years to come. ❤️❤️❤️❤️
Rhiannon Giddens Instagram - Ok now that the shock has worn off (just kidding, it probably never will)- I just have to say a humongous thank you to the @pulitzerprizes committee for recognizing this piece - and for giving the remarkable story of Omar ibn Said more light. This is cultural work, it’s heavy work, it energizing work, its spirit work. It’s an honor and a privilege to be a part of it. This is what art is for - to make emotional connections to stories other than my own, and I am grateful to have been given these words and this music to shephard, and to have had as wonderful of a collaborator as @_michaelabels. From the minute Zeyba Rahman suggested Omar’s story to Nigel Redden and Nicole Taney of @spoletofestivalusa (thanks for thinking of this banjo player, Nicole!), and they decided to take a chance with this story, the journey has been incredible and the community their vision made possible, invincible; Mena Hanna (@instantmena) who took over the stewardship of Omar (and Spoleto!) with passion; the absolutely remarkable Kaneza Schaal (@kanezaschaal), Christopher Myers and their unbelievable team of creative souls who make the audiences sigh in awe; all of the co-commissioners; Spoleto, @uncchapelhill Southern Futures, @laopera, @bostonlyricopera, @sfopera, @lyricopera who bet on this unique story; - the original workshop/premiere cast and all of the singers, dancers, musicians, and conductors who have planted their remarkable flags into this work so far- and Jamez McCorkle (@operabear) above all, who has given Omar the most remarkable life I could ever imagine.
Rhiannon Giddens Instagram - Ok now that the shock has worn off (just kidding, it probably never will)- I just have to say a humongous thank you to the @pulitzerprizes committee for recognizing this piece - and for giving the remarkable story of Omar ibn Said more light. This is cultural work, it’s heavy work, it energizing work, its spirit work. It’s an honor and a privilege to be a part of it. This is what art is for - to make emotional connections to stories other than my own, and I am grateful to have been given these words and this music to shephard, and to have had as wonderful of a collaborator as @_michaelabels. From the minute Zeyba Rahman suggested Omar’s story to Nigel Redden and Nicole Taney of @spoletofestivalusa (thanks for thinking of this banjo player, Nicole!), and they decided to take a chance with this story, the journey has been incredible and the community their vision made possible, invincible; Mena Hanna (@instantmena) who took over the stewardship of Omar (and Spoleto!) with passion; the absolutely remarkable Kaneza Schaal (@kanezaschaal), Christopher Myers and their unbelievable team of creative souls who make the audiences sigh in awe; all of the co-commissioners; Spoleto, @uncchapelhill Southern Futures, @laopera, @bostonlyricopera, @sfopera, @lyricopera who bet on this unique story; - the original workshop/premiere cast and all of the singers, dancers, musicians, and conductors who have planted their remarkable flags into this work so far- and Jamez McCorkle (@operabear) above all, who has given Omar the most remarkable life I could ever imagine.
Rhiannon Giddens Instagram - Ok now that the shock has worn off (just kidding, it probably never will)- I just have to say a humongous thank you to the @pulitzerprizes committee for recognizing this piece - and for giving the remarkable story of Omar ibn Said more light. This is cultural work, it’s heavy work, it energizing work, its spirit work. It’s an honor and a privilege to be a part of it. This is what art is for - to make emotional connections to stories other than my own, and I am grateful to have been given these words and this music to shephard, and to have had as wonderful of a collaborator as @_michaelabels. From the minute Zeyba Rahman suggested Omar’s story to Nigel Redden and Nicole Taney of @spoletofestivalusa (thanks for thinking of this banjo player, Nicole!), and they decided to take a chance with this story, the journey has been incredible and the community their vision made possible, invincible; Mena Hanna (@instantmena) who took over the stewardship of Omar (and Spoleto!) with passion; the absolutely remarkable Kaneza Schaal (@kanezaschaal), Christopher Myers and their unbelievable team of creative souls who make the audiences sigh in awe; all of the co-commissioners; Spoleto, @uncchapelhill Southern Futures, @laopera, @bostonlyricopera, @sfopera, @lyricopera who bet on this unique story; - the original workshop/premiere cast and all of the singers, dancers, musicians, and conductors who have planted their remarkable flags into this work so far- and Jamez McCorkle (@operabear) above all, who has given Omar the most remarkable life I could ever imagine.
Rhiannon Giddens Instagram - Ok now that the shock has worn off (just kidding, it probably never will)- I just have to say a humongous thank you to the @pulitzerprizes committee for recognizing this piece - and for giving the remarkable story of Omar ibn Said more light. This is cultural work, it’s heavy work, it energizing work, its spirit work. It’s an honor and a privilege to be a part of it. This is what art is for - to make emotional connections to stories other than my own, and I am grateful to have been given these words and this music to shephard, and to have had as wonderful of a collaborator as @_michaelabels. From the minute Zeyba Rahman suggested Omar’s story to Nigel Redden and Nicole Taney of @spoletofestivalusa (thanks for thinking of this banjo player, Nicole!), and they decided to take a chance with this story, the journey has been incredible and the community their vision made possible, invincible; Mena Hanna (@instantmena) who took over the stewardship of Omar (and Spoleto!) with passion; the absolutely remarkable Kaneza Schaal (@kanezaschaal), Christopher Myers and their unbelievable team of creative souls who make the audiences sigh in awe; all of the co-commissioners; Spoleto, @uncchapelhill Southern Futures, @laopera, @bostonlyricopera, @sfopera, @lyricopera who bet on this unique story; - the original workshop/premiere cast and all of the singers, dancers, musicians, and conductors who have planted their remarkable flags into this work so far- and Jamez McCorkle (@operabear) above all, who has given Omar the most remarkable life I could ever imagine.
Rhiannon Giddens Instagram - Last year I spent three days in North Carolina with fellow @chocolatedrops member Justin Robinson (@countrygentlemancooks) to record ‘What Did the Blackbird Say to the Crow,’ an album of North Carolina fiddle and banjo music, which is now coming out April 18 on Nonesuch Records. We recorded outside at Joe Thompson’s house and Etta Baker’s house - you can hear the wheat in the wind and two different broods of cicadas, which had not emerged simultaneously since 1803. With the assaults on reality going on in the world today, we wanted to offer another kind of record, like walking back onto a gravel or dirt road while a stampede goes the other way. With the cicada choir, this record could’ve only happened at a certain time in the last 120 years. We doubled down on place, time, realness, and old-fashioned front porch music. It’s a reminder that another way exists, with music made for your community’s enjoyment and for dancing–not solely for commercial purposes. We’re going on tour this Spring and Summer with a bigger all-acoustic band called Rhiannon Giddens & The Old-Time Revue. Fan pre-sale for the tour begins tomorrow at 11am local time - go to rhiannongiddens.com/tour now to receive the pre-sale code. Pre-save/Pre-order ‘What Did the Blackbird Say to the Crow’ at the link in bio. Photography by @karencoxphotography #RhiannonGiddens #JustinRobinson #WhatDidTheBlackbirdSayToTheCrow #CarolinaChocolateDrops #JoeThompson #EttaBaker #Banjo #Fiddle #Nonesuch #NonesuchRecords
Rhiannon Giddens - 23.4K Likes - I woke up yesterday morning to new music from @beyonce, featuring none other than my banjo and viola playing throughout. On the heels of her SUPER BOWL commercial album announcement, her single “Texas Hold ‘Em” is the first off her new country-inspired record, #actii. The beginning is a solo riff on my minstrel banjo - and my only hope is that it might lead a few more intrepid folks into the exciting history of the banjo. I used to say many times as soon as Beyonce puts the banjo on a track my job is done. Well, I didn’t expect the banjo to be mine, and I know darn well my job isn’t done, but today is a pretty good day. Listen now, on repeat. 🤠🪕🐝

23.4K Likes – Rhiannon Giddens Instagram

Caption : I woke up yesterday morning to new music from @beyonce, featuring none other than my banjo and viola playing throughout. On the heels of her SUPER BOWL commercial album announcement, her single “Texas Hold ‘Em” is the first off her new country-inspired record, #actii. The beginning is a solo riff on my minstrel banjo – and my only hope is that it might lead a few more intrepid folks into the exciting history of the banjo. I used to say many times as soon as Beyonce puts the banjo on a track my job is done. Well, I didn’t expect the banjo to be mine, and I know darn well my job isn’t done, but today is a pretty good day. Listen now, on repeat. 🤠🪕🐝
Likes : 23389Rhiannon Giddens - 14.2K Likes - So this morning i got ready to receive an honorary doctorate from Duke University. I have been very plainspoken about my ambivalence around accolades, but I always strive to go where I am led and to acknowledge that somebody, somewhere, wanted to give me an honor (in this instance, someone from community who had advocated for me) and it’s respectful to accept and be in place, and represent. I learned last night that the commencement speaker was Jerry Seinfield and I didnt give it much thought. When i attend these kinds of events I struggle to understand my place in them; feeling more akin to the musicians playing beautifully, (and unfortunately mostly beautifully ignored), during the reception, than the honorees expected to give a speech. I have decided in general to take the experiences as they come and look for the spiritual reason I have been led there. In this instance it was a wonderful connection and conversation with my faculty sponsor, Sophia Enriquez, about the role Mexicans play in the creation of country music, and other deep topics. I look very much forward to furthering our association! So this morning I was sitting on the platform next to Sophia after recieving my hood and as Seinfield was led to the platform I noticed the protest beginning; pretty soon substantial numbers of students with P@lest1n1@n flags stood up and left their seats, and chanting accompanied their departure. I felt distraught and uncertain because clearly there is a bigger story here that I didn’t know - I have been deep in the act of music in place and in tradition this week and just haven’t been aware. And it makes me think about the differing ways we try to make the world a better place and how they can’t be the same for everyone; how the work of resistance, activism, and change is multifaceted and how it’s going to take all of us to make a dent in this crazy mess. (cont’d)

14.2K Likes – Rhiannon Giddens Instagram

Caption : So this morning i got ready to receive an honorary doctorate from Duke University. I have been very plainspoken about my ambivalence around accolades, but I always strive to go where I am led and to acknowledge that somebody, somewhere, wanted to give me an honor (in this instance, someone from community who had advocated for me) and it’s respectful to accept and be in place, and represent. I learned last night that the commencement speaker was Jerry Seinfield and I didnt give it much thought. When i attend these kinds of events I struggle to understand my place in them; feeling more akin to the musicians playing beautifully, (and unfortunately mostly beautifully ignored), during the reception, than the honorees expected to give a speech. I have decided in general to take the experiences as they come and look for the spiritual reason I have been led there. In this instance it was a wonderful connection and conversation with my faculty sponsor, Sophia Enriquez, about the role Mexicans play in the creation of country music, and other deep topics. I look very much forward to furthering our association! So this morning I was sitting on the platform next to Sophia after recieving my hood and as Seinfield was led to the platform I noticed the protest beginning; pretty soon substantial numbers of students with P@lest1n1@n flags stood up and left their seats, and chanting accompanied their departure. I felt distraught and uncertain because clearly there is a bigger story here that I didn’t know – I have been deep in the act of music in place and in tradition this week and just haven’t been aware. And it makes me think about the differing ways we try to make the world a better place and how they can’t be the same for everyone; how the work of resistance, activism, and change is multifaceted and how it’s going to take all of us to make a dent in this crazy mess. (cont’d)
Likes : 14241Rhiannon Giddens - 12.7K Likes - February 7 Titus Kaphar Titus Kaphar is a fantastic visual artist who uses his medium to center African American subjects in historical contexts - so many times I have seen a piece of work and go OMG that’s freaking brilliant, who did that? And it’s him. From a recent Times article: “Mr. Kaphar, 42, has a profound connection to the forgotten, from the slaves owned by the founding fathers to the ubiquity of African-Americans in the criminal justice system, including his own father. The recipient of a recent MacArthur “genius” award, the artist is challenging racism in a body of strong work that has entered the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the Brooklyn Museum and the Yale University Art Gallery, and was recently featured at the National Portrait Gallery. Mr. Kaphar is known for appropriating images from American and European art in order to subvert them, cutting them into his canvases to pull back the velvet curtain of history. He wields materials like tar, wire, gold leaf and nails to unearth the past’s inconvenient truths, and to shine a restorative light on those residing in the shadows.” He’s also bringing the next generation up with him, founding an arts incubator in the center of New Haven, CT. Check out his work - it’s stunning and thought-provoking...and unflinching, too. See below, Behind the Myth of Benevolence, 2014

12.7K Likes – Rhiannon Giddens Instagram

Caption : February 7 Titus Kaphar Titus Kaphar is a fantastic visual artist who uses his medium to center African American subjects in historical contexts – so many times I have seen a piece of work and go OMG that’s freaking brilliant, who did that? And it’s him. From a recent Times article: “Mr. Kaphar, 42, has a profound connection to the forgotten, from the slaves owned by the founding fathers to the ubiquity of African-Americans in the criminal justice system, including his own father. The recipient of a recent MacArthur “genius” award, the artist is challenging racism in a body of strong work that has entered the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the Brooklyn Museum and the Yale University Art Gallery, and was recently featured at the National Portrait Gallery. Mr. Kaphar is known for appropriating images from American and European art in order to subvert them, cutting them into his canvases to pull back the velvet curtain of history. He wields materials like tar, wire, gold leaf and nails to unearth the past’s inconvenient truths, and to shine a restorative light on those residing in the shadows.” He’s also bringing the next generation up with him, founding an arts incubator in the center of New Haven, CT. Check out his work – it’s stunning and thought-provoking…and unflinching, too. See below, Behind the Myth of Benevolence, 2014
Likes : 12709Rhiannon Giddens - 10.5K Likes - Wow this was an amazing thing to see in my daily paper! It was a delight to speak to Janay Kingsberry and she did a wonderful job ❤️ @washingtonpost link in stories

10.5K Likes – Rhiannon Giddens Instagram

Caption : Wow this was an amazing thing to see in my daily paper! It was a delight to speak to Janay Kingsberry and she did a wonderful job ❤️ @washingtonpost link in stories
Likes : 10494Rhiannon Giddens - 10.4K Likes - My GRAMMY story from 2010. Back in 2010, the Carolina Chocolate Drops (at that time the original trio, myself, Dom Flemons, and Justin Robinson) were up for a Best Folk Music GRAMMY. It felt like a big deal to us even though I was (and still am) conflicted about the ‘industry’ part of the music industry - but after years of championing homegrown fiddle and banjo music from the Carolinas this felt like the big leagues! We were working class musicians at that time - I remember when Dom used to drive and I would be literally making CDs in the back seat as we went from gig to gig. We were making enough money to live, but barely - and we were young and healthy and lucky. People might not know this, but it’s expensive to go to the GRAMMYs - if you are nominated, you pay for your flight, hotel, hair makeup, dress, food, what have you, yourself. All nominees receive a plus one to the ceremony and after party, and for a lot of non-mainstream folks, win or lose, it’s a moment of a lifetime. I have lots of feels about awards for art, as I’ve mentioned before, but I get the need to celebrate an artform, and a lot of good people are trying to make things better. So we decided to go - I had a nursing toddler by the time the Grammy nomination came, and I brought her and her dad Mike as my plus one. It was a surreal experience - i bought my gown from somewhere, did my own hair and makeup, and we found a holiday inn in the less glitzy part of Los Angeles. We got a car to drop us off at the red carpet interview spot, and I remember clearly that absolutely zero press was interested in us 😂. I liked to say we were old time music spies that day. We filed into the afternoon ceremony, where 99 percent of the categories go and looked nervously in the program for where our category was. It was parked in the middle of the list, so we settled in for a wait. My daughter Aoife would occasionally want to nurse so i went to the restroom the first couple of times and then just gave up and nursed her in the auditorium - it was dark and i had a shawl on for just that purpose, and strapless gowns for the nursing win! (cont.)

10.4K Likes – Rhiannon Giddens Instagram

Caption : My GRAMMY story from 2010. Back in 2010, the Carolina Chocolate Drops (at that time the original trio, myself, Dom Flemons, and Justin Robinson) were up for a Best Folk Music GRAMMY. It felt like a big deal to us even though I was (and still am) conflicted about the ‘industry’ part of the music industry – but after years of championing homegrown fiddle and banjo music from the Carolinas this felt like the big leagues! We were working class musicians at that time – I remember when Dom used to drive and I would be literally making CDs in the back seat as we went from gig to gig. We were making enough money to live, but barely – and we were young and healthy and lucky. People might not know this, but it’s expensive to go to the GRAMMYs – if you are nominated, you pay for your flight, hotel, hair makeup, dress, food, what have you, yourself. All nominees receive a plus one to the ceremony and after party, and for a lot of non-mainstream folks, win or lose, it’s a moment of a lifetime. I have lots of feels about awards for art, as I’ve mentioned before, but I get the need to celebrate an artform, and a lot of good people are trying to make things better. So we decided to go – I had a nursing toddler by the time the Grammy nomination came, and I brought her and her dad Mike as my plus one. It was a surreal experience – i bought my gown from somewhere, did my own hair and makeup, and we found a holiday inn in the less glitzy part of Los Angeles. We got a car to drop us off at the red carpet interview spot, and I remember clearly that absolutely zero press was interested in us 😂. I liked to say we were old time music spies that day. We filed into the afternoon ceremony, where 99 percent of the categories go and looked nervously in the program for where our category was. It was parked in the middle of the list, so we settled in for a wait. My daughter Aoife would occasionally want to nurse so i went to the restroom the first couple of times and then just gave up and nursed her in the auditorium – it was dark and i had a shawl on for just that purpose, and strapless gowns for the nursing win! (cont.)
Likes : 10382Rhiannon Giddens - 9K Likes - Well what a blast at @jazzfest New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival!!! Such a fun time in the blues tent, and had an unexpected audience member for some of the set 😎

9K Likes – Rhiannon Giddens Instagram

Caption : Well what a blast at @jazzfest New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival!!! Such a fun time in the blues tent, and had an unexpected audience member for some of the set 😎
Likes : 8958Rhiannon Giddens - 9K Likes - Well what a blast at @jazzfest New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival!!! Such a fun time in the blues tent, and had an unexpected audience member for some of the set 😎

9K Likes – Rhiannon Giddens Instagram

Caption : Well what a blast at @jazzfest New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival!!! Such a fun time in the blues tent, and had an unexpected audience member for some of the set 😎
Likes : 8958Rhiannon Giddens - 8.7K Likes - I wrote a little thing for @guardian - I wish I could have included more but there was a 800 word limit - so no mention of the commercial side of Bristol, or the white supremacy-laden early folk movement, or of say, Leslie Riddle and DeFord Bailey - but with help from my banjo brain trust (amazing minds who have done a ton of research on the banjo), I figured out a way to make every word count for the thing I know best - black string band music and the world BEFORE commerical country. And that’s the world you rarely see mentioned when people talk about Black folk in country music. Anyway, check it out. Link in stories!

8.7K Likes – Rhiannon Giddens Instagram

Caption : I wrote a little thing for @guardian – I wish I could have included more but there was a 800 word limit – so no mention of the commercial side of Bristol, or the white supremacy-laden early folk movement, or of say, Leslie Riddle and DeFord Bailey – but with help from my banjo brain trust (amazing minds who have done a ton of research on the banjo), I figured out a way to make every word count for the thing I know best – black string band music and the world BEFORE commerical country. And that’s the world you rarely see mentioned when people talk about Black folk in country music. Anyway, check it out. Link in stories!
Likes : 8726Rhiannon Giddens - 8.2K Likes - So a commenter dropped this photo in one of my posts and I love it so much - wish I had a higher res version of it but you get the gist. When my children were babies I took them on the road; their dad was an incredible ally in this, driving and being involved daily in the workings of the Carolina Chocolate Drops; once the eldest was school age and the youngest one was weaned however, it was time for them to settle down and I became the more usual traveling musician sans children. This picture shows a moment where I was on the road with the youngest on my own (we could not afford nannies ever), and the baby sitter for the day that the venue had brought in couldn’t handle my baby. I heard him crying and I just couldn’t take it so I put him on my back and turned down the monitor so I could finish soundchecking. After the pandemic I was one of the lucky ones that had a ton of work; it felt like I was traveling every other day. There was a moment last year, however, where my children, particularly the one on my back there, who is eleven now, let me know in no uncertain terms that I was gone too much. So I listened and took some projects (book, long form composition, etc) that would keep me home more. I love touring but I love my children more. So I am out there with my touring family as much as I can- and when I’m not out there I’m home, cooking, writing, scrubbing the floor, and being here when my kids get home. I’m very fortunate and grateful for the opportunities I have been given; and I do my best to center humanity in my life, always. p.s. and o my he was the most amazing baby chunk ever

8.2K Likes – Rhiannon Giddens Instagram

Caption : So a commenter dropped this photo in one of my posts and I love it so much – wish I had a higher res version of it but you get the gist. When my children were babies I took them on the road; their dad was an incredible ally in this, driving and being involved daily in the workings of the Carolina Chocolate Drops; once the eldest was school age and the youngest one was weaned however, it was time for them to settle down and I became the more usual traveling musician sans children. This picture shows a moment where I was on the road with the youngest on my own (we could not afford nannies ever), and the baby sitter for the day that the venue had brought in couldn’t handle my baby. I heard him crying and I just couldn’t take it so I put him on my back and turned down the monitor so I could finish soundchecking. After the pandemic I was one of the lucky ones that had a ton of work; it felt like I was traveling every other day. There was a moment last year, however, where my children, particularly the one on my back there, who is eleven now, let me know in no uncertain terms that I was gone too much. So I listened and took some projects (book, long form composition, etc) that would keep me home more. I love touring but I love my children more. So I am out there with my touring family as much as I can- and when I’m not out there I’m home, cooking, writing, scrubbing the floor, and being here when my kids get home. I’m very fortunate and grateful for the opportunities I have been given; and I do my best to center humanity in my life, always. p.s. and o my he was the most amazing baby chunk ever
Likes : 8179Rhiannon Giddens - 8.1K Likes - I will be posting black history/excellence posts again for sure. Just wanted to report back on my little corner of the GRAMMYs, which happened yesterday. I was nominated for Best American Roots Performance, for the recording of “The Ballad of Sally Anne”, a heartbreaking song about a lynching, which I recorded in Ireland with Francesco Turrisi and Ben Rawlins, and was finished by Ebonie Smith, for Fiona Prine’s Oh Boy Records. It was written by Alice Randall, who has been working in Nashville for over 40 years, writing anthems for black women while there weren’t many of us allowed into the establishment to sing them. That was our win; the trophy itself went to someone else and that’s fine by me! There’s room for us all. I took Alice as my date and we had a ball dropping nuggets of knowledge all down the red carpet, with my banjo in tow 🙂 (yes the 1858-replica banjo that graced the album of the year with its deep funky sounds... ) For me, being involved in this deeply cultural music is more than a career, it’s more than an album, it’s more than a single. It’s a mission to show how beautiful Americans can actually be together; it’s proof that we are more alike than we are different, and it’s a study in how we do not need a hyphen; if anything, American history itself needs a hyphen. We are America; America is us. And the groundwork that the folks before us laid, like Linda Martell yes, but also Lil Hardin, and Libba Cotten, and Joe Thompson, and Ray Charles; and folks laying all the groundwork right NOW, like Rissi Palmer, and Dena Ross Jennings, and Angela Wellman, and so many others, educating and welcoming and doing all the active things you do to build real community. It takes time; it takes humility; it takes interest in other people and other people’s success. For me, saying their names, all of them, makes me feel grounded. For me, acknowledging that I would not be here without them, makes me feel stronger. The rising tide lifts all boats.

8.1K Likes – Rhiannon Giddens Instagram

Caption : I will be posting black history/excellence posts again for sure. Just wanted to report back on my little corner of the GRAMMYs, which happened yesterday. I was nominated for Best American Roots Performance, for the recording of “The Ballad of Sally Anne”, a heartbreaking song about a lynching, which I recorded in Ireland with Francesco Turrisi and Ben Rawlins, and was finished by Ebonie Smith, for Fiona Prine’s Oh Boy Records. It was written by Alice Randall, who has been working in Nashville for over 40 years, writing anthems for black women while there weren’t many of us allowed into the establishment to sing them. That was our win; the trophy itself went to someone else and that’s fine by me! There’s room for us all. I took Alice as my date and we had a ball dropping nuggets of knowledge all down the red carpet, with my banjo in tow 🙂 (yes the 1858-replica banjo that graced the album of the year with its deep funky sounds… ) For me, being involved in this deeply cultural music is more than a career, it’s more than an album, it’s more than a single. It’s a mission to show how beautiful Americans can actually be together; it’s proof that we are more alike than we are different, and it’s a study in how we do not need a hyphen; if anything, American history itself needs a hyphen. We are America; America is us. And the groundwork that the folks before us laid, like Linda Martell yes, but also Lil Hardin, and Libba Cotten, and Joe Thompson, and Ray Charles; and folks laying all the groundwork right NOW, like Rissi Palmer, and Dena Ross Jennings, and Angela Wellman, and so many others, educating and welcoming and doing all the active things you do to build real community. It takes time; it takes humility; it takes interest in other people and other people’s success. For me, saying their names, all of them, makes me feel grounded. For me, acknowledging that I would not be here without them, makes me feel stronger. The rising tide lifts all boats.
Likes : 8107Rhiannon Giddens - 8.1K Likes - I will be posting black history/excellence posts again for sure. Just wanted to report back on my little corner of the GRAMMYs, which happened yesterday. I was nominated for Best American Roots Performance, for the recording of “The Ballad of Sally Anne”, a heartbreaking song about a lynching, which I recorded in Ireland with Francesco Turrisi and Ben Rawlins, and was finished by Ebonie Smith, for Fiona Prine’s Oh Boy Records. It was written by Alice Randall, who has been working in Nashville for over 40 years, writing anthems for black women while there weren’t many of us allowed into the establishment to sing them. That was our win; the trophy itself went to someone else and that’s fine by me! There’s room for us all. I took Alice as my date and we had a ball dropping nuggets of knowledge all down the red carpet, with my banjo in tow 🙂 (yes the 1858-replica banjo that graced the album of the year with its deep funky sounds... ) For me, being involved in this deeply cultural music is more than a career, it’s more than an album, it’s more than a single. It’s a mission to show how beautiful Americans can actually be together; it’s proof that we are more alike than we are different, and it’s a study in how we do not need a hyphen; if anything, American history itself needs a hyphen. We are America; America is us. And the groundwork that the folks before us laid, like Linda Martell yes, but also Lil Hardin, and Libba Cotten, and Joe Thompson, and Ray Charles; and folks laying all the groundwork right NOW, like Rissi Palmer, and Dena Ross Jennings, and Angela Wellman, and so many others, educating and welcoming and doing all the active things you do to build real community. It takes time; it takes humility; it takes interest in other people and other people’s success. For me, saying their names, all of them, makes me feel grounded. For me, acknowledging that I would not be here without them, makes me feel stronger. The rising tide lifts all boats.

8.1K Likes – Rhiannon Giddens Instagram

Caption : I will be posting black history/excellence posts again for sure. Just wanted to report back on my little corner of the GRAMMYs, which happened yesterday. I was nominated for Best American Roots Performance, for the recording of “The Ballad of Sally Anne”, a heartbreaking song about a lynching, which I recorded in Ireland with Francesco Turrisi and Ben Rawlins, and was finished by Ebonie Smith, for Fiona Prine’s Oh Boy Records. It was written by Alice Randall, who has been working in Nashville for over 40 years, writing anthems for black women while there weren’t many of us allowed into the establishment to sing them. That was our win; the trophy itself went to someone else and that’s fine by me! There’s room for us all. I took Alice as my date and we had a ball dropping nuggets of knowledge all down the red carpet, with my banjo in tow 🙂 (yes the 1858-replica banjo that graced the album of the year with its deep funky sounds… ) For me, being involved in this deeply cultural music is more than a career, it’s more than an album, it’s more than a single. It’s a mission to show how beautiful Americans can actually be together; it’s proof that we are more alike than we are different, and it’s a study in how we do not need a hyphen; if anything, American history itself needs a hyphen. We are America; America is us. And the groundwork that the folks before us laid, like Linda Martell yes, but also Lil Hardin, and Libba Cotten, and Joe Thompson, and Ray Charles; and folks laying all the groundwork right NOW, like Rissi Palmer, and Dena Ross Jennings, and Angela Wellman, and so many others, educating and welcoming and doing all the active things you do to build real community. It takes time; it takes humility; it takes interest in other people and other people’s success. For me, saying their names, all of them, makes me feel grounded. For me, acknowledging that I would not be here without them, makes me feel stronger. The rising tide lifts all boats.
Likes : 8107Rhiannon Giddens - 8.1K Likes - I will be posting black history/excellence posts again for sure. Just wanted to report back on my little corner of the GRAMMYs, which happened yesterday. I was nominated for Best American Roots Performance, for the recording of “The Ballad of Sally Anne”, a heartbreaking song about a lynching, which I recorded in Ireland with Francesco Turrisi and Ben Rawlins, and was finished by Ebonie Smith, for Fiona Prine’s Oh Boy Records. It was written by Alice Randall, who has been working in Nashville for over 40 years, writing anthems for black women while there weren’t many of us allowed into the establishment to sing them. That was our win; the trophy itself went to someone else and that’s fine by me! There’s room for us all. I took Alice as my date and we had a ball dropping nuggets of knowledge all down the red carpet, with my banjo in tow 🙂 (yes the 1858-replica banjo that graced the album of the year with its deep funky sounds... ) For me, being involved in this deeply cultural music is more than a career, it’s more than an album, it’s more than a single. It’s a mission to show how beautiful Americans can actually be together; it’s proof that we are more alike than we are different, and it’s a study in how we do not need a hyphen; if anything, American history itself needs a hyphen. We are America; America is us. And the groundwork that the folks before us laid, like Linda Martell yes, but also Lil Hardin, and Libba Cotten, and Joe Thompson, and Ray Charles; and folks laying all the groundwork right NOW, like Rissi Palmer, and Dena Ross Jennings, and Angela Wellman, and so many others, educating and welcoming and doing all the active things you do to build real community. It takes time; it takes humility; it takes interest in other people and other people’s success. For me, saying their names, all of them, makes me feel grounded. For me, acknowledging that I would not be here without them, makes me feel stronger. The rising tide lifts all boats.

8.1K Likes – Rhiannon Giddens Instagram

Caption : I will be posting black history/excellence posts again for sure. Just wanted to report back on my little corner of the GRAMMYs, which happened yesterday. I was nominated for Best American Roots Performance, for the recording of “The Ballad of Sally Anne”, a heartbreaking song about a lynching, which I recorded in Ireland with Francesco Turrisi and Ben Rawlins, and was finished by Ebonie Smith, for Fiona Prine’s Oh Boy Records. It was written by Alice Randall, who has been working in Nashville for over 40 years, writing anthems for black women while there weren’t many of us allowed into the establishment to sing them. That was our win; the trophy itself went to someone else and that’s fine by me! There’s room for us all. I took Alice as my date and we had a ball dropping nuggets of knowledge all down the red carpet, with my banjo in tow 🙂 (yes the 1858-replica banjo that graced the album of the year with its deep funky sounds… ) For me, being involved in this deeply cultural music is more than a career, it’s more than an album, it’s more than a single. It’s a mission to show how beautiful Americans can actually be together; it’s proof that we are more alike than we are different, and it’s a study in how we do not need a hyphen; if anything, American history itself needs a hyphen. We are America; America is us. And the groundwork that the folks before us laid, like Linda Martell yes, but also Lil Hardin, and Libba Cotten, and Joe Thompson, and Ray Charles; and folks laying all the groundwork right NOW, like Rissi Palmer, and Dena Ross Jennings, and Angela Wellman, and so many others, educating and welcoming and doing all the active things you do to build real community. It takes time; it takes humility; it takes interest in other people and other people’s success. For me, saying their names, all of them, makes me feel grounded. For me, acknowledging that I would not be here without them, makes me feel stronger. The rising tide lifts all boats.
Likes : 8107Rhiannon Giddens - 8.1K Likes - I will be posting black history/excellence posts again for sure. Just wanted to report back on my little corner of the GRAMMYs, which happened yesterday. I was nominated for Best American Roots Performance, for the recording of “The Ballad of Sally Anne”, a heartbreaking song about a lynching, which I recorded in Ireland with Francesco Turrisi and Ben Rawlins, and was finished by Ebonie Smith, for Fiona Prine’s Oh Boy Records. It was written by Alice Randall, who has been working in Nashville for over 40 years, writing anthems for black women while there weren’t many of us allowed into the establishment to sing them. That was our win; the trophy itself went to someone else and that’s fine by me! There’s room for us all. I took Alice as my date and we had a ball dropping nuggets of knowledge all down the red carpet, with my banjo in tow 🙂 (yes the 1858-replica banjo that graced the album of the year with its deep funky sounds... ) For me, being involved in this deeply cultural music is more than a career, it’s more than an album, it’s more than a single. It’s a mission to show how beautiful Americans can actually be together; it’s proof that we are more alike than we are different, and it’s a study in how we do not need a hyphen; if anything, American history itself needs a hyphen. We are America; America is us. And the groundwork that the folks before us laid, like Linda Martell yes, but also Lil Hardin, and Libba Cotten, and Joe Thompson, and Ray Charles; and folks laying all the groundwork right NOW, like Rissi Palmer, and Dena Ross Jennings, and Angela Wellman, and so many others, educating and welcoming and doing all the active things you do to build real community. It takes time; it takes humility; it takes interest in other people and other people’s success. For me, saying their names, all of them, makes me feel grounded. For me, acknowledging that I would not be here without them, makes me feel stronger. The rising tide lifts all boats.

8.1K Likes – Rhiannon Giddens Instagram

Caption : I will be posting black history/excellence posts again for sure. Just wanted to report back on my little corner of the GRAMMYs, which happened yesterday. I was nominated for Best American Roots Performance, for the recording of “The Ballad of Sally Anne”, a heartbreaking song about a lynching, which I recorded in Ireland with Francesco Turrisi and Ben Rawlins, and was finished by Ebonie Smith, for Fiona Prine’s Oh Boy Records. It was written by Alice Randall, who has been working in Nashville for over 40 years, writing anthems for black women while there weren’t many of us allowed into the establishment to sing them. That was our win; the trophy itself went to someone else and that’s fine by me! There’s room for us all. I took Alice as my date and we had a ball dropping nuggets of knowledge all down the red carpet, with my banjo in tow 🙂 (yes the 1858-replica banjo that graced the album of the year with its deep funky sounds… ) For me, being involved in this deeply cultural music is more than a career, it’s more than an album, it’s more than a single. It’s a mission to show how beautiful Americans can actually be together; it’s proof that we are more alike than we are different, and it’s a study in how we do not need a hyphen; if anything, American history itself needs a hyphen. We are America; America is us. And the groundwork that the folks before us laid, like Linda Martell yes, but also Lil Hardin, and Libba Cotten, and Joe Thompson, and Ray Charles; and folks laying all the groundwork right NOW, like Rissi Palmer, and Dena Ross Jennings, and Angela Wellman, and so many others, educating and welcoming and doing all the active things you do to build real community. It takes time; it takes humility; it takes interest in other people and other people’s success. For me, saying their names, all of them, makes me feel grounded. For me, acknowledging that I would not be here without them, makes me feel stronger. The rising tide lifts all boats.
Likes : 8107Rhiannon Giddens - 8.1K Likes - I will be posting black history/excellence posts again for sure. Just wanted to report back on my little corner of the GRAMMYs, which happened yesterday. I was nominated for Best American Roots Performance, for the recording of “The Ballad of Sally Anne”, a heartbreaking song about a lynching, which I recorded in Ireland with Francesco Turrisi and Ben Rawlins, and was finished by Ebonie Smith, for Fiona Prine’s Oh Boy Records. It was written by Alice Randall, who has been working in Nashville for over 40 years, writing anthems for black women while there weren’t many of us allowed into the establishment to sing them. That was our win; the trophy itself went to someone else and that’s fine by me! There’s room for us all. I took Alice as my date and we had a ball dropping nuggets of knowledge all down the red carpet, with my banjo in tow 🙂 (yes the 1858-replica banjo that graced the album of the year with its deep funky sounds... ) For me, being involved in this deeply cultural music is more than a career, it’s more than an album, it’s more than a single. It’s a mission to show how beautiful Americans can actually be together; it’s proof that we are more alike than we are different, and it’s a study in how we do not need a hyphen; if anything, American history itself needs a hyphen. We are America; America is us. And the groundwork that the folks before us laid, like Linda Martell yes, but also Lil Hardin, and Libba Cotten, and Joe Thompson, and Ray Charles; and folks laying all the groundwork right NOW, like Rissi Palmer, and Dena Ross Jennings, and Angela Wellman, and so many others, educating and welcoming and doing all the active things you do to build real community. It takes time; it takes humility; it takes interest in other people and other people’s success. For me, saying their names, all of them, makes me feel grounded. For me, acknowledging that I would not be here without them, makes me feel stronger. The rising tide lifts all boats.

8.1K Likes – Rhiannon Giddens Instagram

Caption : I will be posting black history/excellence posts again for sure. Just wanted to report back on my little corner of the GRAMMYs, which happened yesterday. I was nominated for Best American Roots Performance, for the recording of “The Ballad of Sally Anne”, a heartbreaking song about a lynching, which I recorded in Ireland with Francesco Turrisi and Ben Rawlins, and was finished by Ebonie Smith, for Fiona Prine’s Oh Boy Records. It was written by Alice Randall, who has been working in Nashville for over 40 years, writing anthems for black women while there weren’t many of us allowed into the establishment to sing them. That was our win; the trophy itself went to someone else and that’s fine by me! There’s room for us all. I took Alice as my date and we had a ball dropping nuggets of knowledge all down the red carpet, with my banjo in tow 🙂 (yes the 1858-replica banjo that graced the album of the year with its deep funky sounds… ) For me, being involved in this deeply cultural music is more than a career, it’s more than an album, it’s more than a single. It’s a mission to show how beautiful Americans can actually be together; it’s proof that we are more alike than we are different, and it’s a study in how we do not need a hyphen; if anything, American history itself needs a hyphen. We are America; America is us. And the groundwork that the folks before us laid, like Linda Martell yes, but also Lil Hardin, and Libba Cotten, and Joe Thompson, and Ray Charles; and folks laying all the groundwork right NOW, like Rissi Palmer, and Dena Ross Jennings, and Angela Wellman, and so many others, educating and welcoming and doing all the active things you do to build real community. It takes time; it takes humility; it takes interest in other people and other people’s success. For me, saying their names, all of them, makes me feel grounded. For me, acknowledging that I would not be here without them, makes me feel stronger. The rising tide lifts all boats.
Likes : 8107Rhiannon Giddens - 8.1K Likes - I will be posting black history/excellence posts again for sure. Just wanted to report back on my little corner of the GRAMMYs, which happened yesterday. I was nominated for Best American Roots Performance, for the recording of “The Ballad of Sally Anne”, a heartbreaking song about a lynching, which I recorded in Ireland with Francesco Turrisi and Ben Rawlins, and was finished by Ebonie Smith, for Fiona Prine’s Oh Boy Records. It was written by Alice Randall, who has been working in Nashville for over 40 years, writing anthems for black women while there weren’t many of us allowed into the establishment to sing them. That was our win; the trophy itself went to someone else and that’s fine by me! There’s room for us all. I took Alice as my date and we had a ball dropping nuggets of knowledge all down the red carpet, with my banjo in tow 🙂 (yes the 1858-replica banjo that graced the album of the year with its deep funky sounds... ) For me, being involved in this deeply cultural music is more than a career, it’s more than an album, it’s more than a single. It’s a mission to show how beautiful Americans can actually be together; it’s proof that we are more alike than we are different, and it’s a study in how we do not need a hyphen; if anything, American history itself needs a hyphen. We are America; America is us. And the groundwork that the folks before us laid, like Linda Martell yes, but also Lil Hardin, and Libba Cotten, and Joe Thompson, and Ray Charles; and folks laying all the groundwork right NOW, like Rissi Palmer, and Dena Ross Jennings, and Angela Wellman, and so many others, educating and welcoming and doing all the active things you do to build real community. It takes time; it takes humility; it takes interest in other people and other people’s success. For me, saying their names, all of them, makes me feel grounded. For me, acknowledging that I would not be here without them, makes me feel stronger. The rising tide lifts all boats.

8.1K Likes – Rhiannon Giddens Instagram

Caption : I will be posting black history/excellence posts again for sure. Just wanted to report back on my little corner of the GRAMMYs, which happened yesterday. I was nominated for Best American Roots Performance, for the recording of “The Ballad of Sally Anne”, a heartbreaking song about a lynching, which I recorded in Ireland with Francesco Turrisi and Ben Rawlins, and was finished by Ebonie Smith, for Fiona Prine’s Oh Boy Records. It was written by Alice Randall, who has been working in Nashville for over 40 years, writing anthems for black women while there weren’t many of us allowed into the establishment to sing them. That was our win; the trophy itself went to someone else and that’s fine by me! There’s room for us all. I took Alice as my date and we had a ball dropping nuggets of knowledge all down the red carpet, with my banjo in tow 🙂 (yes the 1858-replica banjo that graced the album of the year with its deep funky sounds… ) For me, being involved in this deeply cultural music is more than a career, it’s more than an album, it’s more than a single. It’s a mission to show how beautiful Americans can actually be together; it’s proof that we are more alike than we are different, and it’s a study in how we do not need a hyphen; if anything, American history itself needs a hyphen. We are America; America is us. And the groundwork that the folks before us laid, like Linda Martell yes, but also Lil Hardin, and Libba Cotten, and Joe Thompson, and Ray Charles; and folks laying all the groundwork right NOW, like Rissi Palmer, and Dena Ross Jennings, and Angela Wellman, and so many others, educating and welcoming and doing all the active things you do to build real community. It takes time; it takes humility; it takes interest in other people and other people’s success. For me, saying their names, all of them, makes me feel grounded. For me, acknowledging that I would not be here without them, makes me feel stronger. The rising tide lifts all boats.
Likes : 8107Rhiannon Giddens - 8.1K Likes - I will be posting black history/excellence posts again for sure. Just wanted to report back on my little corner of the GRAMMYs, which happened yesterday. I was nominated for Best American Roots Performance, for the recording of “The Ballad of Sally Anne”, a heartbreaking song about a lynching, which I recorded in Ireland with Francesco Turrisi and Ben Rawlins, and was finished by Ebonie Smith, for Fiona Prine’s Oh Boy Records. It was written by Alice Randall, who has been working in Nashville for over 40 years, writing anthems for black women while there weren’t many of us allowed into the establishment to sing them. That was our win; the trophy itself went to someone else and that’s fine by me! There’s room for us all. I took Alice as my date and we had a ball dropping nuggets of knowledge all down the red carpet, with my banjo in tow 🙂 (yes the 1858-replica banjo that graced the album of the year with its deep funky sounds... ) For me, being involved in this deeply cultural music is more than a career, it’s more than an album, it’s more than a single. It’s a mission to show how beautiful Americans can actually be together; it’s proof that we are more alike than we are different, and it’s a study in how we do not need a hyphen; if anything, American history itself needs a hyphen. We are America; America is us. And the groundwork that the folks before us laid, like Linda Martell yes, but also Lil Hardin, and Libba Cotten, and Joe Thompson, and Ray Charles; and folks laying all the groundwork right NOW, like Rissi Palmer, and Dena Ross Jennings, and Angela Wellman, and so many others, educating and welcoming and doing all the active things you do to build real community. It takes time; it takes humility; it takes interest in other people and other people’s success. For me, saying their names, all of them, makes me feel grounded. For me, acknowledging that I would not be here without them, makes me feel stronger. The rising tide lifts all boats.

8.1K Likes – Rhiannon Giddens Instagram

Caption : I will be posting black history/excellence posts again for sure. Just wanted to report back on my little corner of the GRAMMYs, which happened yesterday. I was nominated for Best American Roots Performance, for the recording of “The Ballad of Sally Anne”, a heartbreaking song about a lynching, which I recorded in Ireland with Francesco Turrisi and Ben Rawlins, and was finished by Ebonie Smith, for Fiona Prine’s Oh Boy Records. It was written by Alice Randall, who has been working in Nashville for over 40 years, writing anthems for black women while there weren’t many of us allowed into the establishment to sing them. That was our win; the trophy itself went to someone else and that’s fine by me! There’s room for us all. I took Alice as my date and we had a ball dropping nuggets of knowledge all down the red carpet, with my banjo in tow 🙂 (yes the 1858-replica banjo that graced the album of the year with its deep funky sounds… ) For me, being involved in this deeply cultural music is more than a career, it’s more than an album, it’s more than a single. It’s a mission to show how beautiful Americans can actually be together; it’s proof that we are more alike than we are different, and it’s a study in how we do not need a hyphen; if anything, American history itself needs a hyphen. We are America; America is us. And the groundwork that the folks before us laid, like Linda Martell yes, but also Lil Hardin, and Libba Cotten, and Joe Thompson, and Ray Charles; and folks laying all the groundwork right NOW, like Rissi Palmer, and Dena Ross Jennings, and Angela Wellman, and so many others, educating and welcoming and doing all the active things you do to build real community. It takes time; it takes humility; it takes interest in other people and other people’s success. For me, saying their names, all of them, makes me feel grounded. For me, acknowledging that I would not be here without them, makes me feel stronger. The rising tide lifts all boats.
Likes : 8107Rhiannon Giddens - 7.7K Likes - Working on a project that is centered on place at the moment and it’s making me think alot about what’s going on in the world. This is a peaceful water place in North Carolina, and it reminded me how much of North Carolina I am, body and soul. Even though I have chosen to live in another land, NC will always own the majority of my soul, and I am at peace with that. Sitting by the water, listening to the birds, feeling the spirits of generations of folks who have sat right in this spot to enjoy the air, the water, and the wildlife, even in the midst of so much adversity and hard times, connects me in a deep and soulful way to my ancestors and my history. Its a privilege to have the space and the place. Thinking about what is happening right now in G@z@ is heartbreaking on so many levels and has been for months, just as Oct 7 was heartbreaking. Humanity has lost, and is continuing to lose, in this conflict, as thousands of fellow souls have their lives taken from them by empire. As I sit on this land that was once occupied by Native community, and then owned by a Native individual who was then pushed off of it, and then owned by Gaels who themselves had been subjugated in their own homeland, who then themselves participated in subjugation by owning enslaved African people taken from their own homeland, and thinking about the fact that it’s still in private hands today, made me think about the complicated layers that are present in any conflict, and the inability to solve anything that doesn’t center generosity, community, humanity, and a different and older way of looking at the gift of mother earth. I have no answers. I just grieve. photo by @karencoxphotography

7.7K Likes – Rhiannon Giddens Instagram

Caption : Working on a project that is centered on place at the moment and it’s making me think alot about what’s going on in the world. This is a peaceful water place in North Carolina, and it reminded me how much of North Carolina I am, body and soul. Even though I have chosen to live in another land, NC will always own the majority of my soul, and I am at peace with that. Sitting by the water, listening to the birds, feeling the spirits of generations of folks who have sat right in this spot to enjoy the air, the water, and the wildlife, even in the midst of so much adversity and hard times, connects me in a deep and soulful way to my ancestors and my history. Its a privilege to have the space and the place. Thinking about what is happening right now in G@z@ is heartbreaking on so many levels and has been for months, just as Oct 7 was heartbreaking. Humanity has lost, and is continuing to lose, in this conflict, as thousands of fellow souls have their lives taken from them by empire. As I sit on this land that was once occupied by Native community, and then owned by a Native individual who was then pushed off of it, and then owned by Gaels who themselves had been subjugated in their own homeland, who then themselves participated in subjugation by owning enslaved African people taken from their own homeland, and thinking about the fact that it’s still in private hands today, made me think about the complicated layers that are present in any conflict, and the inability to solve anything that doesn’t center generosity, community, humanity, and a different and older way of looking at the gift of mother earth. I have no answers. I just grieve. photo by @karencoxphotography
Likes : 7706Rhiannon Giddens - 7.1K Likes - I couldn’t have said any of this article any better. It’s a REALLY great breakdown of some of the history that #CowboyCarter rests on - thank you @teenvogue for your scholarship and journalism! Link in stories! p.s. and that’s Dena Ross Jennings, who was Black Banjo Renaissance #21 :)

7.1K Likes – Rhiannon Giddens Instagram

Caption : I couldn’t have said any of this article any better. It’s a REALLY great breakdown of some of the history that #CowboyCarter rests on – thank you @teenvogue for your scholarship and journalism! Link in stories! p.s. and that’s Dena Ross Jennings, who was Black Banjo Renaissance #21 🙂
Likes : 7066Rhiannon Giddens - 7.1K Likes - I couldn’t have said any of this article any better. It’s a REALLY great breakdown of some of the history that #CowboyCarter rests on - thank you @teenvogue for your scholarship and journalism! Link in stories! p.s. and that’s Dena Ross Jennings, who was Black Banjo Renaissance #21 :)

7.1K Likes – Rhiannon Giddens Instagram

Caption : I couldn’t have said any of this article any better. It’s a REALLY great breakdown of some of the history that #CowboyCarter rests on – thank you @teenvogue for your scholarship and journalism! Link in stories! p.s. and that’s Dena Ross Jennings, who was Black Banjo Renaissance #21 🙂
Likes : 7066Rhiannon Giddens - 6.9K Likes - Loving Day was yesterday - but here’s my post today. Being mixed is a super power - it brings challenges like everything else but it also allows you to see on both sides of the fence, and then knock the fence over, stomp on it, and kick it out of the way. thanks mom and dad! i love you to bits.

6.9K Likes – Rhiannon Giddens Instagram

Caption : Loving Day was yesterday – but here’s my post today. Being mixed is a super power – it brings challenges like everything else but it also allows you to see on both sides of the fence, and then knock the fence over, stomp on it, and kick it out of the way. thanks mom and dad! i love you to bits.
Likes : 6855Rhiannon Giddens - 6.8K Likes - February 10 Tracy Chapman // @tracychapmanonline It figures that one of the years I decide not to go to the GRAMMYS is the year they KILL it. Look, I know when to criticize, and I know when to praise. And it’s praise time for the whoever produced the afternoon ceremony AND the nighttime awards. Not that they care what I think lol but it’s so nice to see a wonderful singer songwriter that we have all admired, who opened the door for so many, to be invited back to the stage to sing one of her many beautiful songs (and in some fierce jeans, to boot - after my own heart!). @allisonrussellmusic, @sistastrings, @thebrandyclark, @brandicarlile, @jonimitchell...the list goes on and on. Much, much love to the folks changing the industry from the inside. And @lukecombs - thanks for covering it and making it all possible. Ok! Here it is- the clip you’ve all seen but I’m gonna post it again because...WHY NOT. It’s beautiful. Watch it again at the link in stories!

6.8K Likes – Rhiannon Giddens Instagram

Caption : February 10 Tracy Chapman // @tracychapmanonline It figures that one of the years I decide not to go to the GRAMMYS is the year they KILL it. Look, I know when to criticize, and I know when to praise. And it’s praise time for the whoever produced the afternoon ceremony AND the nighttime awards. Not that they care what I think lol but it’s so nice to see a wonderful singer songwriter that we have all admired, who opened the door for so many, to be invited back to the stage to sing one of her many beautiful songs (and in some fierce jeans, to boot – after my own heart!). @allisonrussellmusic, @sistastrings, @thebrandyclark, @brandicarlile, @jonimitchell…the list goes on and on. Much, much love to the folks changing the industry from the inside. And @lukecombs – thanks for covering it and making it all possible. Ok! Here it is- the clip you’ve all seen but I’m gonna post it again because…WHY NOT. It’s beautiful. Watch it again at the link in stories!
Likes : 6816Rhiannon Giddens - 6.5K Likes - Feb 11: Black Banjo Renaissance Post #1 Joe Thompson and the Carolina Chocolate Drops I’d like to focus this week on what I’m calling the current Black Banjo Rennaisance- historians like Kristina Gaddy putting out beautiful books about early black banjo history, young folks like Jake Blount releasing black banjo music, and in general the profile of the banjo getting a more nuanced view. Taj Mahal, Earl White, Otis Taylor, Etta Baker, Sule Greg Wilson, the Ebony Hillbillies - these are among the folks keeping the legacy of the banjo in black hands alive in the years before 2005, but when the Black Banjo Gathering happened in that year it kickstarted a slowburning but new resurgence in black banjo playing. One of the things that happened there was the meeting of the young people who eventually became the Carolina Chocolate Drops, and their connection to elder Joe Thompson. The original CCD was: me, Justin Robinson, and Dom Flemons. Justin and Dom have both gone on to do many wonderful things highlighting African American contributions in music and foodways, and i’ll feature them later in the week. But it all started with Joe. This from my essay for Oxford American some time ago: “Joe Thompson was the last in his family’s line of community musicians. He learned the fiddle from his father, and his brother learned the banjo from an uncle; as soon as they were old enough, they took over the family band and played for the local square dances—the black and the white. They were part of a dying tradition: musicians from the community playing functional music for social dances, not to make a living but because that’s simply what they did. They were also among the last living links to a vast black string band tradition that used to be spread all over the South and other parts of the U.S. but had slowly disappeared until very few were left. And they were swallowed up by the wider societal notion that fiddle and banjo music was strictly a white preserve. [cont.]

6.5K Likes – Rhiannon Giddens Instagram

Caption : Feb 11: Black Banjo Renaissance Post #1 Joe Thompson and the Carolina Chocolate Drops I’d like to focus this week on what I’m calling the current Black Banjo Rennaisance- historians like Kristina Gaddy putting out beautiful books about early black banjo history, young folks like Jake Blount releasing black banjo music, and in general the profile of the banjo getting a more nuanced view. Taj Mahal, Earl White, Otis Taylor, Etta Baker, Sule Greg Wilson, the Ebony Hillbillies – these are among the folks keeping the legacy of the banjo in black hands alive in the years before 2005, but when the Black Banjo Gathering happened in that year it kickstarted a slowburning but new resurgence in black banjo playing. One of the things that happened there was the meeting of the young people who eventually became the Carolina Chocolate Drops, and their connection to elder Joe Thompson. The original CCD was: me, Justin Robinson, and Dom Flemons. Justin and Dom have both gone on to do many wonderful things highlighting African American contributions in music and foodways, and i’ll feature them later in the week. But it all started with Joe. This from my essay for Oxford American some time ago: “Joe Thompson was the last in his family’s line of community musicians. He learned the fiddle from his father, and his brother learned the banjo from an uncle; as soon as they were old enough, they took over the family band and played for the local square dances—the black and the white. They were part of a dying tradition: musicians from the community playing functional music for social dances, not to make a living but because that’s simply what they did. They were also among the last living links to a vast black string band tradition that used to be spread all over the South and other parts of the U.S. but had slowly disappeared until very few were left. And they were swallowed up by the wider societal notion that fiddle and banjo music was strictly a white preserve. [cont.]
Likes : 6511Rhiannon Giddens - 6.5K Likes - Feb 11: Black Banjo Renaissance Post #1 Joe Thompson and the Carolina Chocolate Drops I’d like to focus this week on what I’m calling the current Black Banjo Rennaisance- historians like Kristina Gaddy putting out beautiful books about early black banjo history, young folks like Jake Blount releasing black banjo music, and in general the profile of the banjo getting a more nuanced view. Taj Mahal, Earl White, Otis Taylor, Etta Baker, Sule Greg Wilson, the Ebony Hillbillies - these are among the folks keeping the legacy of the banjo in black hands alive in the years before 2005, but when the Black Banjo Gathering happened in that year it kickstarted a slowburning but new resurgence in black banjo playing. One of the things that happened there was the meeting of the young people who eventually became the Carolina Chocolate Drops, and their connection to elder Joe Thompson. The original CCD was: me, Justin Robinson, and Dom Flemons. Justin and Dom have both gone on to do many wonderful things highlighting African American contributions in music and foodways, and i’ll feature them later in the week. But it all started with Joe. This from my essay for Oxford American some time ago: “Joe Thompson was the last in his family’s line of community musicians. He learned the fiddle from his father, and his brother learned the banjo from an uncle; as soon as they were old enough, they took over the family band and played for the local square dances—the black and the white. They were part of a dying tradition: musicians from the community playing functional music for social dances, not to make a living but because that’s simply what they did. They were also among the last living links to a vast black string band tradition that used to be spread all over the South and other parts of the U.S. but had slowly disappeared until very few were left. And they were swallowed up by the wider societal notion that fiddle and banjo music was strictly a white preserve. [cont.]

6.5K Likes – Rhiannon Giddens Instagram

Caption : Feb 11: Black Banjo Renaissance Post #1 Joe Thompson and the Carolina Chocolate Drops I’d like to focus this week on what I’m calling the current Black Banjo Rennaisance- historians like Kristina Gaddy putting out beautiful books about early black banjo history, young folks like Jake Blount releasing black banjo music, and in general the profile of the banjo getting a more nuanced view. Taj Mahal, Earl White, Otis Taylor, Etta Baker, Sule Greg Wilson, the Ebony Hillbillies – these are among the folks keeping the legacy of the banjo in black hands alive in the years before 2005, but when the Black Banjo Gathering happened in that year it kickstarted a slowburning but new resurgence in black banjo playing. One of the things that happened there was the meeting of the young people who eventually became the Carolina Chocolate Drops, and their connection to elder Joe Thompson. The original CCD was: me, Justin Robinson, and Dom Flemons. Justin and Dom have both gone on to do many wonderful things highlighting African American contributions in music and foodways, and i’ll feature them later in the week. But it all started with Joe. This from my essay for Oxford American some time ago: “Joe Thompson was the last in his family’s line of community musicians. He learned the fiddle from his father, and his brother learned the banjo from an uncle; as soon as they were old enough, they took over the family band and played for the local square dances—the black and the white. They were part of a dying tradition: musicians from the community playing functional music for social dances, not to make a living but because that’s simply what they did. They were also among the last living links to a vast black string band tradition that used to be spread all over the South and other parts of the U.S. but had slowly disappeared until very few were left. And they were swallowed up by the wider societal notion that fiddle and banjo music was strictly a white preserve. [cont.]
Likes : 6511Rhiannon Giddens - 6.1K Likes - Crochet, biscuits (some of my highest yet!) and dyed eggs…a happy Easter indeed.

6.1K Likes – Rhiannon Giddens Instagram

Caption : Crochet, biscuits (some of my highest yet!) and dyed eggs…a happy Easter indeed.
Likes : 6135Rhiannon Giddens - 6.1K Likes - Crochet, biscuits (some of my highest yet!) and dyed eggs…a happy Easter indeed.

6.1K Likes – Rhiannon Giddens Instagram

Caption : Crochet, biscuits (some of my highest yet!) and dyed eggs…a happy Easter indeed.
Likes : 6135Rhiannon Giddens - 6.1K Likes - Crochet, biscuits (some of my highest yet!) and dyed eggs…a happy Easter indeed.

6.1K Likes – Rhiannon Giddens Instagram

Caption : Crochet, biscuits (some of my highest yet!) and dyed eggs…a happy Easter indeed.
Likes : 6135Rhiannon Giddens - 5.7K Likes - It’s been twenty-five years since the @CountryMusicHOF put out the incredible boxed set “From Where I Stand: The Black Experience in Country Music”, loaded with wonderfully written context and a mixture of well-known and scarcely heard recordings. We are getting a bit better at talking about the African American co-creation of country music and absorbing the idea of a creolized culture of the South rather than pockets of white and black that only met in violence. It’s not so much of a surprise anymore that there is a common American musical language that lies at the heart of so many different genres. The most beautiful thing to me about the Black country renaissance is that its stars, who are finally starting to get the recognition they deserve, are truly using country music the way that, to me, it was born to be used. Their music reflects and highlights a cultural viewpoint that has been traditionally suppressed, shows the best of the American narrative, and, in the end, tells the important stories of now, for the generations of tomorrow. “From Where I Stand” has returned as an expanded and updated box set (along with a free-to-access online experience). I’m pleased to have contributed liner notes to the new box set and to have some of my songs included. Learn more at the link in my bio.

5.7K Likes – Rhiannon Giddens Instagram

Caption : It’s been twenty-five years since the @CountryMusicHOF put out the incredible boxed set “From Where I Stand: The Black Experience in Country Music”, loaded with wonderfully written context and a mixture of well-known and scarcely heard recordings. We are getting a bit better at talking about the African American co-creation of country music and absorbing the idea of a creolized culture of the South rather than pockets of white and black that only met in violence. It’s not so much of a surprise anymore that there is a common American musical language that lies at the heart of so many different genres. The most beautiful thing to me about the Black country renaissance is that its stars, who are finally starting to get the recognition they deserve, are truly using country music the way that, to me, it was born to be used. Their music reflects and highlights a cultural viewpoint that has been traditionally suppressed, shows the best of the American narrative, and, in the end, tells the important stories of now, for the generations of tomorrow. “From Where I Stand” has returned as an expanded and updated box set (along with a free-to-access online experience). I’m pleased to have contributed liner notes to the new box set and to have some of my songs included. Learn more at the link in my bio.
Likes : 5733Rhiannon Giddens - 5.7K Likes - It’s been twenty-five years since the @CountryMusicHOF put out the incredible boxed set “From Where I Stand: The Black Experience in Country Music”, loaded with wonderfully written context and a mixture of well-known and scarcely heard recordings. We are getting a bit better at talking about the African American co-creation of country music and absorbing the idea of a creolized culture of the South rather than pockets of white and black that only met in violence. It’s not so much of a surprise anymore that there is a common American musical language that lies at the heart of so many different genres. The most beautiful thing to me about the Black country renaissance is that its stars, who are finally starting to get the recognition they deserve, are truly using country music the way that, to me, it was born to be used. Their music reflects and highlights a cultural viewpoint that has been traditionally suppressed, shows the best of the American narrative, and, in the end, tells the important stories of now, for the generations of tomorrow. “From Where I Stand” has returned as an expanded and updated box set (along with a free-to-access online experience). I’m pleased to have contributed liner notes to the new box set and to have some of my songs included. Learn more at the link in my bio.

5.7K Likes – Rhiannon Giddens Instagram

Caption : It’s been twenty-five years since the @CountryMusicHOF put out the incredible boxed set “From Where I Stand: The Black Experience in Country Music”, loaded with wonderfully written context and a mixture of well-known and scarcely heard recordings. We are getting a bit better at talking about the African American co-creation of country music and absorbing the idea of a creolized culture of the South rather than pockets of white and black that only met in violence. It’s not so much of a surprise anymore that there is a common American musical language that lies at the heart of so many different genres. The most beautiful thing to me about the Black country renaissance is that its stars, who are finally starting to get the recognition they deserve, are truly using country music the way that, to me, it was born to be used. Their music reflects and highlights a cultural viewpoint that has been traditionally suppressed, shows the best of the American narrative, and, in the end, tells the important stories of now, for the generations of tomorrow. “From Where I Stand” has returned as an expanded and updated box set (along with a free-to-access online experience). I’m pleased to have contributed liner notes to the new box set and to have some of my songs included. Learn more at the link in my bio.
Likes : 5733Rhiannon Giddens - 5.5K Likes - Congratulations to all the wonderful artists nominated for Grammys, those who weren’t nominated, those who won, and those who have yet to win. I was honored to represent @nonesuchrecords and @redlightmgmt in my catagories, and delight in the fact that the music world will be chattering about some mighty fine people, including my sister in spirit @allisonrussellmusic, twitter friend @jasonisbell, and so many others. Since I first posted a Grammy win story, i thought I’d post a Grammy lose story today :). Some years ago I was nominated for my first solo record Tomorrow is My Turn, and I was there with my team and long time friend and colleague @dirkpowellofficial. I was all dolled up in gown and professional hair and makeup and feeling very very hollow inside. Those who know me know that while I like wearing fun fancy clothes sometimes, the whole red carpet thing drives me nuts because i hate posing for photos, especially for photographers who are waiting for the real celebrities lol. But I’m a team player! I know that industry awards are also helpful for labels, managers, and everybody who is working behind the scenes. I have always been blessed in who I work with and am grateful for all of them on my road, and so I dress up and go smile. But this day for some reason was really hard. Not because I didn’t win, but I guess I was just feeling the disconnect with why I actually play and sing music. I was really feeling the weirdness of being essentially a banjo playing folk singer walking around in a gown and missing my function. Dirk and I had brought our instruments (just in case) and after the daytime ceremony, I was like - Dirk let’s just set up somewhere and jam!!! Dirk was there for it and so we got our fiddle and banjo, sat outside some pizza joint, and played some tunes. God it felt so good! Nobody paid us any mind, no cameras came, no articles are written about the two folks playing old time music at the GRAMMYs, but as we played we noticed this young boy who was selling candy bars wander by. (Cont.)

5.5K Likes – Rhiannon Giddens Instagram

Caption : Congratulations to all the wonderful artists nominated for Grammys, those who weren’t nominated, those who won, and those who have yet to win. I was honored to represent @nonesuchrecords and @redlightmgmt in my catagories, and delight in the fact that the music world will be chattering about some mighty fine people, including my sister in spirit @allisonrussellmusic, twitter friend @jasonisbell, and so many others. Since I first posted a Grammy win story, i thought I’d post a Grammy lose story today :). Some years ago I was nominated for my first solo record Tomorrow is My Turn, and I was there with my team and long time friend and colleague @dirkpowellofficial. I was all dolled up in gown and professional hair and makeup and feeling very very hollow inside. Those who know me know that while I like wearing fun fancy clothes sometimes, the whole red carpet thing drives me nuts because i hate posing for photos, especially for photographers who are waiting for the real celebrities lol. But I’m a team player! I know that industry awards are also helpful for labels, managers, and everybody who is working behind the scenes. I have always been blessed in who I work with and am grateful for all of them on my road, and so I dress up and go smile. But this day for some reason was really hard. Not because I didn’t win, but I guess I was just feeling the disconnect with why I actually play and sing music. I was really feeling the weirdness of being essentially a banjo playing folk singer walking around in a gown and missing my function. Dirk and I had brought our instruments (just in case) and after the daytime ceremony, I was like – Dirk let’s just set up somewhere and jam!!! Dirk was there for it and so we got our fiddle and banjo, sat outside some pizza joint, and played some tunes. God it felt so good! Nobody paid us any mind, no cameras came, no articles are written about the two folks playing old time music at the GRAMMYs, but as we played we noticed this young boy who was selling candy bars wander by. (Cont.)
Likes : 5528Rhiannon Giddens - 5.4K Likes - Feb 14 Black Banjo Renaissance #3 Taj Mahal // @tajmahalblues The one of a kind Taj Mahal has been before his time for a lonnnnnng time - talking about the history of the banjo and exploring and incorporating Caribbean, African and other influences into his blues for years. He’s a scholar of the blues and a mentor for the up-and-coming- he was uncle to the Carolina Chocolate Drops when they started and has remained a guiding star for those of us wanting to stay real, stay true, and stay authentic to the heart of our culture. Play on, Taj! More at the links in stories.

5.4K Likes – Rhiannon Giddens Instagram

Caption : Feb 14 Black Banjo Renaissance #3 Taj Mahal // @tajmahalblues The one of a kind Taj Mahal has been before his time for a lonnnnnng time – talking about the history of the banjo and exploring and incorporating Caribbean, African and other influences into his blues for years. He’s a scholar of the blues and a mentor for the up-and-coming- he was uncle to the Carolina Chocolate Drops when they started and has remained a guiding star for those of us wanting to stay real, stay true, and stay authentic to the heart of our culture. Play on, Taj! More at the links in stories.
Likes : 5401Rhiannon Giddens - 5.2K Likes - When Justin, Dom and I started going down to play with Joe Thompson we had no idea what was starting- but every year that passes I’m more and more grateful to have been part of an apprenticeship that connects me to generations of music makers from my community. It wasn’t just the tunes we learned from Joe, it was his stories, his vibe, and the way he related to this music. Now we feel it’s important to create moments where we sit and play his tunes and tell our stories of playing with him- it’s not about money, it’s not about the exact notes, it’s about passing on what we learned from him. Justin and I had our very first Joe Jam a couple of days ago on the wall in front of Wilson library on the campus of Chapel Hill as a finish to my residency there, and it will hopefully be the first of many. ❤️❤️❤️ Photo by Megan Frestedt

5.2K Likes – Rhiannon Giddens Instagram

Caption : When Justin, Dom and I started going down to play with Joe Thompson we had no idea what was starting- but every year that passes I’m more and more grateful to have been part of an apprenticeship that connects me to generations of music makers from my community. It wasn’t just the tunes we learned from Joe, it was his stories, his vibe, and the way he related to this music. Now we feel it’s important to create moments where we sit and play his tunes and tell our stories of playing with him- it’s not about money, it’s not about the exact notes, it’s about passing on what we learned from him. Justin and I had our very first Joe Jam a couple of days ago on the wall in front of Wilson library on the campus of Chapel Hill as a finish to my residency there, and it will hopefully be the first of many. ❤️❤️❤️ Photo by Megan Frestedt
Likes : 5242Rhiannon Giddens - 5.2K Likes - When Justin, Dom and I started going down to play with Joe Thompson we had no idea what was starting- but every year that passes I’m more and more grateful to have been part of an apprenticeship that connects me to generations of music makers from my community. It wasn’t just the tunes we learned from Joe, it was his stories, his vibe, and the way he related to this music. Now we feel it’s important to create moments where we sit and play his tunes and tell our stories of playing with him- it’s not about money, it’s not about the exact notes, it’s about passing on what we learned from him. Justin and I had our very first Joe Jam a couple of days ago on the wall in front of Wilson library on the campus of Chapel Hill as a finish to my residency there, and it will hopefully be the first of many. ❤️❤️❤️ Photo by Megan Frestedt

5.2K Likes – Rhiannon Giddens Instagram

Caption : When Justin, Dom and I started going down to play with Joe Thompson we had no idea what was starting- but every year that passes I’m more and more grateful to have been part of an apprenticeship that connects me to generations of music makers from my community. It wasn’t just the tunes we learned from Joe, it was his stories, his vibe, and the way he related to this music. Now we feel it’s important to create moments where we sit and play his tunes and tell our stories of playing with him- it’s not about money, it’s not about the exact notes, it’s about passing on what we learned from him. Justin and I had our very first Joe Jam a couple of days ago on the wall in front of Wilson library on the campus of Chapel Hill as a finish to my residency there, and it will hopefully be the first of many. ❤️❤️❤️ Photo by Megan Frestedt
Likes : 5242Rhiannon Giddens - 5.2K Likes - Feb 16 Black Banjo Renaissance #5 The Banjo Research Community I am merely a reporter and public historian, and I absolutely NEED the academics, researchers, and all around geniuses who have been doing the amazing excavation of the true history of the banjo for years now. I’m gonna lay down my top five favorite sources for the work I do - this community is tight-knit, and they support each other and check each other’s work. It’s beautiful and I’m grateful for them all. The OG: Dena Epstein, with Sinful Tunes and Spirituals: Black Folk Music to the Civil War This book completely shook up the banjo research world - Dena Epstein was a librarian who painstakingly and over the course of years tracked down primary source references to banjo-type instruments in the hands of black people; this was during a time when very few people believed that the banjo had anything to do with Afro-Caribbean culture. We all stand on her shoulders! The NewG Kristina Gaddy, with Well of Souls: Uncovering the Banjo’s Hidden History This recent publication took my breath away - Kristina has found new sources, reframed old ones, and in general talks about what I always new in my heart - that the banjo, far from just a dance instrument, was in fact a spiritual and cultural center for African-diasporic peoples during the time of slavery. Phil Jamison, with Hoedowns, Reels, and Frolics: Roots and Branches of Southern Appalachian Dance Phil blew my mind years ago when he told this little black girl dance caller that African Americans have been doing it for years, and in fact most likely invented the iconic square dance calling style we all associate with mountain dance today. The whole book is a treasure. (Cont.)

5.2K Likes – Rhiannon Giddens Instagram

Caption : Feb 16 Black Banjo Renaissance #5 The Banjo Research Community I am merely a reporter and public historian, and I absolutely NEED the academics, researchers, and all around geniuses who have been doing the amazing excavation of the true history of the banjo for years now. I’m gonna lay down my top five favorite sources for the work I do – this community is tight-knit, and they support each other and check each other’s work. It’s beautiful and I’m grateful for them all. The OG: Dena Epstein, with Sinful Tunes and Spirituals: Black Folk Music to the Civil War This book completely shook up the banjo research world – Dena Epstein was a librarian who painstakingly and over the course of years tracked down primary source references to banjo-type instruments in the hands of black people; this was during a time when very few people believed that the banjo had anything to do with Afro-Caribbean culture. We all stand on her shoulders! The NewG Kristina Gaddy, with Well of Souls: Uncovering the Banjo’s Hidden History This recent publication took my breath away – Kristina has found new sources, reframed old ones, and in general talks about what I always new in my heart – that the banjo, far from just a dance instrument, was in fact a spiritual and cultural center for African-diasporic peoples during the time of slavery. Phil Jamison, with Hoedowns, Reels, and Frolics: Roots and Branches of Southern Appalachian Dance Phil blew my mind years ago when he told this little black girl dance caller that African Americans have been doing it for years, and in fact most likely invented the iconic square dance calling style we all associate with mountain dance today. The whole book is a treasure. (Cont.)
Likes : 5194Rhiannon Giddens - 5.2K Likes - Feb 16 Black Banjo Renaissance #5 The Banjo Research Community I am merely a reporter and public historian, and I absolutely NEED the academics, researchers, and all around geniuses who have been doing the amazing excavation of the true history of the banjo for years now. I’m gonna lay down my top five favorite sources for the work I do - this community is tight-knit, and they support each other and check each other’s work. It’s beautiful and I’m grateful for them all. The OG: Dena Epstein, with Sinful Tunes and Spirituals: Black Folk Music to the Civil War This book completely shook up the banjo research world - Dena Epstein was a librarian who painstakingly and over the course of years tracked down primary source references to banjo-type instruments in the hands of black people; this was during a time when very few people believed that the banjo had anything to do with Afro-Caribbean culture. We all stand on her shoulders! The NewG Kristina Gaddy, with Well of Souls: Uncovering the Banjo’s Hidden History This recent publication took my breath away - Kristina has found new sources, reframed old ones, and in general talks about what I always new in my heart - that the banjo, far from just a dance instrument, was in fact a spiritual and cultural center for African-diasporic peoples during the time of slavery. Phil Jamison, with Hoedowns, Reels, and Frolics: Roots and Branches of Southern Appalachian Dance Phil blew my mind years ago when he told this little black girl dance caller that African Americans have been doing it for years, and in fact most likely invented the iconic square dance calling style we all associate with mountain dance today. The whole book is a treasure. (Cont.)

5.2K Likes – Rhiannon Giddens Instagram

Caption : Feb 16 Black Banjo Renaissance #5 The Banjo Research Community I am merely a reporter and public historian, and I absolutely NEED the academics, researchers, and all around geniuses who have been doing the amazing excavation of the true history of the banjo for years now. I’m gonna lay down my top five favorite sources for the work I do – this community is tight-knit, and they support each other and check each other’s work. It’s beautiful and I’m grateful for them all. The OG: Dena Epstein, with Sinful Tunes and Spirituals: Black Folk Music to the Civil War This book completely shook up the banjo research world – Dena Epstein was a librarian who painstakingly and over the course of years tracked down primary source references to banjo-type instruments in the hands of black people; this was during a time when very few people believed that the banjo had anything to do with Afro-Caribbean culture. We all stand on her shoulders! The NewG Kristina Gaddy, with Well of Souls: Uncovering the Banjo’s Hidden History This recent publication took my breath away – Kristina has found new sources, reframed old ones, and in general talks about what I always new in my heart – that the banjo, far from just a dance instrument, was in fact a spiritual and cultural center for African-diasporic peoples during the time of slavery. Phil Jamison, with Hoedowns, Reels, and Frolics: Roots and Branches of Southern Appalachian Dance Phil blew my mind years ago when he told this little black girl dance caller that African Americans have been doing it for years, and in fact most likely invented the iconic square dance calling style we all associate with mountain dance today. The whole book is a treasure. (Cont.)
Likes : 5194Rhiannon Giddens - 5.2K Likes - Feb 16 Black Banjo Renaissance #5 The Banjo Research Community I am merely a reporter and public historian, and I absolutely NEED the academics, researchers, and all around geniuses who have been doing the amazing excavation of the true history of the banjo for years now. I’m gonna lay down my top five favorite sources for the work I do - this community is tight-knit, and they support each other and check each other’s work. It’s beautiful and I’m grateful for them all. The OG: Dena Epstein, with Sinful Tunes and Spirituals: Black Folk Music to the Civil War This book completely shook up the banjo research world - Dena Epstein was a librarian who painstakingly and over the course of years tracked down primary source references to banjo-type instruments in the hands of black people; this was during a time when very few people believed that the banjo had anything to do with Afro-Caribbean culture. We all stand on her shoulders! The NewG Kristina Gaddy, with Well of Souls: Uncovering the Banjo’s Hidden History This recent publication took my breath away - Kristina has found new sources, reframed old ones, and in general talks about what I always new in my heart - that the banjo, far from just a dance instrument, was in fact a spiritual and cultural center for African-diasporic peoples during the time of slavery. Phil Jamison, with Hoedowns, Reels, and Frolics: Roots and Branches of Southern Appalachian Dance Phil blew my mind years ago when he told this little black girl dance caller that African Americans have been doing it for years, and in fact most likely invented the iconic square dance calling style we all associate with mountain dance today. The whole book is a treasure. (Cont.)

5.2K Likes – Rhiannon Giddens Instagram

Caption : Feb 16 Black Banjo Renaissance #5 The Banjo Research Community I am merely a reporter and public historian, and I absolutely NEED the academics, researchers, and all around geniuses who have been doing the amazing excavation of the true history of the banjo for years now. I’m gonna lay down my top five favorite sources for the work I do – this community is tight-knit, and they support each other and check each other’s work. It’s beautiful and I’m grateful for them all. The OG: Dena Epstein, with Sinful Tunes and Spirituals: Black Folk Music to the Civil War This book completely shook up the banjo research world – Dena Epstein was a librarian who painstakingly and over the course of years tracked down primary source references to banjo-type instruments in the hands of black people; this was during a time when very few people believed that the banjo had anything to do with Afro-Caribbean culture. We all stand on her shoulders! The NewG Kristina Gaddy, with Well of Souls: Uncovering the Banjo’s Hidden History This recent publication took my breath away – Kristina has found new sources, reframed old ones, and in general talks about what I always new in my heart – that the banjo, far from just a dance instrument, was in fact a spiritual and cultural center for African-diasporic peoples during the time of slavery. Phil Jamison, with Hoedowns, Reels, and Frolics: Roots and Branches of Southern Appalachian Dance Phil blew my mind years ago when he told this little black girl dance caller that African Americans have been doing it for years, and in fact most likely invented the iconic square dance calling style we all associate with mountain dance today. The whole book is a treasure. (Cont.)
Likes : 5194Rhiannon Giddens - 5.2K Likes - Feb 16 Black Banjo Renaissance #5 The Banjo Research Community I am merely a reporter and public historian, and I absolutely NEED the academics, researchers, and all around geniuses who have been doing the amazing excavation of the true history of the banjo for years now. I’m gonna lay down my top five favorite sources for the work I do - this community is tight-knit, and they support each other and check each other’s work. It’s beautiful and I’m grateful for them all. The OG: Dena Epstein, with Sinful Tunes and Spirituals: Black Folk Music to the Civil War This book completely shook up the banjo research world - Dena Epstein was a librarian who painstakingly and over the course of years tracked down primary source references to banjo-type instruments in the hands of black people; this was during a time when very few people believed that the banjo had anything to do with Afro-Caribbean culture. We all stand on her shoulders! The NewG Kristina Gaddy, with Well of Souls: Uncovering the Banjo’s Hidden History This recent publication took my breath away - Kristina has found new sources, reframed old ones, and in general talks about what I always new in my heart - that the banjo, far from just a dance instrument, was in fact a spiritual and cultural center for African-diasporic peoples during the time of slavery. Phil Jamison, with Hoedowns, Reels, and Frolics: Roots and Branches of Southern Appalachian Dance Phil blew my mind years ago when he told this little black girl dance caller that African Americans have been doing it for years, and in fact most likely invented the iconic square dance calling style we all associate with mountain dance today. The whole book is a treasure. (Cont.)

5.2K Likes – Rhiannon Giddens Instagram

Caption : Feb 16 Black Banjo Renaissance #5 The Banjo Research Community I am merely a reporter and public historian, and I absolutely NEED the academics, researchers, and all around geniuses who have been doing the amazing excavation of the true history of the banjo for years now. I’m gonna lay down my top five favorite sources for the work I do – this community is tight-knit, and they support each other and check each other’s work. It’s beautiful and I’m grateful for them all. The OG: Dena Epstein, with Sinful Tunes and Spirituals: Black Folk Music to the Civil War This book completely shook up the banjo research world – Dena Epstein was a librarian who painstakingly and over the course of years tracked down primary source references to banjo-type instruments in the hands of black people; this was during a time when very few people believed that the banjo had anything to do with Afro-Caribbean culture. We all stand on her shoulders! The NewG Kristina Gaddy, with Well of Souls: Uncovering the Banjo’s Hidden History This recent publication took my breath away – Kristina has found new sources, reframed old ones, and in general talks about what I always new in my heart – that the banjo, far from just a dance instrument, was in fact a spiritual and cultural center for African-diasporic peoples during the time of slavery. Phil Jamison, with Hoedowns, Reels, and Frolics: Roots and Branches of Southern Appalachian Dance Phil blew my mind years ago when he told this little black girl dance caller that African Americans have been doing it for years, and in fact most likely invented the iconic square dance calling style we all associate with mountain dance today. The whole book is a treasure. (Cont.)
Likes : 5194Rhiannon Giddens - 5.2K Likes - Feb 16 Black Banjo Renaissance #5 The Banjo Research Community I am merely a reporter and public historian, and I absolutely NEED the academics, researchers, and all around geniuses who have been doing the amazing excavation of the true history of the banjo for years now. I’m gonna lay down my top five favorite sources for the work I do - this community is tight-knit, and they support each other and check each other’s work. It’s beautiful and I’m grateful for them all. The OG: Dena Epstein, with Sinful Tunes and Spirituals: Black Folk Music to the Civil War This book completely shook up the banjo research world - Dena Epstein was a librarian who painstakingly and over the course of years tracked down primary source references to banjo-type instruments in the hands of black people; this was during a time when very few people believed that the banjo had anything to do with Afro-Caribbean culture. We all stand on her shoulders! The NewG Kristina Gaddy, with Well of Souls: Uncovering the Banjo’s Hidden History This recent publication took my breath away - Kristina has found new sources, reframed old ones, and in general talks about what I always new in my heart - that the banjo, far from just a dance instrument, was in fact a spiritual and cultural center for African-diasporic peoples during the time of slavery. Phil Jamison, with Hoedowns, Reels, and Frolics: Roots and Branches of Southern Appalachian Dance Phil blew my mind years ago when he told this little black girl dance caller that African Americans have been doing it for years, and in fact most likely invented the iconic square dance calling style we all associate with mountain dance today. The whole book is a treasure. (Cont.)

5.2K Likes – Rhiannon Giddens Instagram

Caption : Feb 16 Black Banjo Renaissance #5 The Banjo Research Community I am merely a reporter and public historian, and I absolutely NEED the academics, researchers, and all around geniuses who have been doing the amazing excavation of the true history of the banjo for years now. I’m gonna lay down my top five favorite sources for the work I do – this community is tight-knit, and they support each other and check each other’s work. It’s beautiful and I’m grateful for them all. The OG: Dena Epstein, with Sinful Tunes and Spirituals: Black Folk Music to the Civil War This book completely shook up the banjo research world – Dena Epstein was a librarian who painstakingly and over the course of years tracked down primary source references to banjo-type instruments in the hands of black people; this was during a time when very few people believed that the banjo had anything to do with Afro-Caribbean culture. We all stand on her shoulders! The NewG Kristina Gaddy, with Well of Souls: Uncovering the Banjo’s Hidden History This recent publication took my breath away – Kristina has found new sources, reframed old ones, and in general talks about what I always new in my heart – that the banjo, far from just a dance instrument, was in fact a spiritual and cultural center for African-diasporic peoples during the time of slavery. Phil Jamison, with Hoedowns, Reels, and Frolics: Roots and Branches of Southern Appalachian Dance Phil blew my mind years ago when he told this little black girl dance caller that African Americans have been doing it for years, and in fact most likely invented the iconic square dance calling style we all associate with mountain dance today. The whole book is a treasure. (Cont.)
Likes : 5194Rhiannon Giddens - 5.1K Likes - Feb 18 Black Banjo Renaissance #7 Leyla McCalla // @leylacello Leyla, a classically trained cellist who is also a beautiful 4-string banjo player and guitarist, has been part of both the Carolina Chocolate Drops and Our Native Daughters. Her solo work since has been at once grounded in her Haitian heritage and also far reaching in sound world and artistic creativity. Her first record was a combination of Haitian songs and a spare, beautiful setting of a cycle of Langston Hughes poetry, and her subsequent records have continued to excavate the cultural connections between Haiti, her home of Louisiana, and the larger questions of the role of art within the body politic.

5.1K Likes – Rhiannon Giddens Instagram

Caption : Feb 18 Black Banjo Renaissance #7 Leyla McCalla // @leylacello Leyla, a classically trained cellist who is also a beautiful 4-string banjo player and guitarist, has been part of both the Carolina Chocolate Drops and Our Native Daughters. Her solo work since has been at once grounded in her Haitian heritage and also far reaching in sound world and artistic creativity. Her first record was a combination of Haitian songs and a spare, beautiful setting of a cycle of Langston Hughes poetry, and her subsequent records have continued to excavate the cultural connections between Haiti, her home of Louisiana, and the larger questions of the role of art within the body politic.
Likes : 5115Rhiannon Giddens - 4.9K Likes - My last day as an Artist-In-Residence as part of the Southern Futures project in conjunction with @carolinaperformingarts at @uncchapelhill, in Wilson Library, doing primary source research. The whole team has been absolutely incredible and I will value this collaboration for years to come. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

4.9K Likes – Rhiannon Giddens Instagram

Caption : My last day as an Artist-In-Residence as part of the Southern Futures project in conjunction with @carolinaperformingarts at @uncchapelhill, in Wilson Library, doing primary source research. The whole team has been absolutely incredible and I will value this collaboration for years to come. ❤️❤️❤️❤️
Likes : 4889Rhiannon Giddens - 4.6K Likes - Ok now that the shock has worn off (just kidding, it probably never will)- I just have to say a humongous thank you to the @pulitzerprizes committee for recognizing this piece - and for giving the remarkable story of Omar ibn Said more light. This is cultural work, it’s heavy work, it energizing work, its spirit work. It’s an honor and a privilege to be a part of it. This is what art is for - to make emotional connections to stories other than my own, and I am grateful to have been given these words and this music to shephard, and to have had as wonderful of a collaborator as @_michaelabels. From the minute Zeyba Rahman suggested Omar’s story to Nigel Redden and Nicole Taney of @spoletofestivalusa (thanks for thinking of this banjo player, Nicole!), and they decided to take a chance with this story, the journey has been incredible and the community their vision made possible, invincible; Mena Hanna (@instantmena) who took over the stewardship of Omar (and Spoleto!) with passion; the absolutely remarkable Kaneza Schaal (@kanezaschaal), Christopher Myers and their unbelievable team of creative souls who make the audiences sigh in awe; all of the co-commissioners; Spoleto, @uncchapelhill Southern Futures, @laopera, @bostonlyricopera, @sfopera, @lyricopera who bet on this unique story; - the original workshop/premiere cast and all of the singers, dancers, musicians, and conductors who have planted their remarkable flags into this work so far- and Jamez McCorkle (@operabear) above all, who has given Omar the most remarkable life I could ever imagine.

4.6K Likes – Rhiannon Giddens Instagram

Caption : Ok now that the shock has worn off (just kidding, it probably never will)- I just have to say a humongous thank you to the @pulitzerprizes committee for recognizing this piece – and for giving the remarkable story of Omar ibn Said more light. This is cultural work, it’s heavy work, it energizing work, its spirit work. It’s an honor and a privilege to be a part of it. This is what art is for – to make emotional connections to stories other than my own, and I am grateful to have been given these words and this music to shephard, and to have had as wonderful of a collaborator as @_michaelabels. From the minute Zeyba Rahman suggested Omar’s story to Nigel Redden and Nicole Taney of @spoletofestivalusa (thanks for thinking of this banjo player, Nicole!), and they decided to take a chance with this story, the journey has been incredible and the community their vision made possible, invincible; Mena Hanna (@instantmena) who took over the stewardship of Omar (and Spoleto!) with passion; the absolutely remarkable Kaneza Schaal (@kanezaschaal), Christopher Myers and their unbelievable team of creative souls who make the audiences sigh in awe; all of the co-commissioners; Spoleto, @uncchapelhill Southern Futures, @laopera, @bostonlyricopera, @sfopera, @lyricopera who bet on this unique story; – the original workshop/premiere cast and all of the singers, dancers, musicians, and conductors who have planted their remarkable flags into this work so far- and Jamez McCorkle (@operabear) above all, who has given Omar the most remarkable life I could ever imagine.
Likes : 4550Rhiannon Giddens - 4.6K Likes - Ok now that the shock has worn off (just kidding, it probably never will)- I just have to say a humongous thank you to the @pulitzerprizes committee for recognizing this piece - and for giving the remarkable story of Omar ibn Said more light. This is cultural work, it’s heavy work, it energizing work, its spirit work. It’s an honor and a privilege to be a part of it. This is what art is for - to make emotional connections to stories other than my own, and I am grateful to have been given these words and this music to shephard, and to have had as wonderful of a collaborator as @_michaelabels. From the minute Zeyba Rahman suggested Omar’s story to Nigel Redden and Nicole Taney of @spoletofestivalusa (thanks for thinking of this banjo player, Nicole!), and they decided to take a chance with this story, the journey has been incredible and the community their vision made possible, invincible; Mena Hanna (@instantmena) who took over the stewardship of Omar (and Spoleto!) with passion; the absolutely remarkable Kaneza Schaal (@kanezaschaal), Christopher Myers and their unbelievable team of creative souls who make the audiences sigh in awe; all of the co-commissioners; Spoleto, @uncchapelhill Southern Futures, @laopera, @bostonlyricopera, @sfopera, @lyricopera who bet on this unique story; - the original workshop/premiere cast and all of the singers, dancers, musicians, and conductors who have planted their remarkable flags into this work so far- and Jamez McCorkle (@operabear) above all, who has given Omar the most remarkable life I could ever imagine.

4.6K Likes – Rhiannon Giddens Instagram

Caption : Ok now that the shock has worn off (just kidding, it probably never will)- I just have to say a humongous thank you to the @pulitzerprizes committee for recognizing this piece – and for giving the remarkable story of Omar ibn Said more light. This is cultural work, it’s heavy work, it energizing work, its spirit work. It’s an honor and a privilege to be a part of it. This is what art is for – to make emotional connections to stories other than my own, and I am grateful to have been given these words and this music to shephard, and to have had as wonderful of a collaborator as @_michaelabels. From the minute Zeyba Rahman suggested Omar’s story to Nigel Redden and Nicole Taney of @spoletofestivalusa (thanks for thinking of this banjo player, Nicole!), and they decided to take a chance with this story, the journey has been incredible and the community their vision made possible, invincible; Mena Hanna (@instantmena) who took over the stewardship of Omar (and Spoleto!) with passion; the absolutely remarkable Kaneza Schaal (@kanezaschaal), Christopher Myers and their unbelievable team of creative souls who make the audiences sigh in awe; all of the co-commissioners; Spoleto, @uncchapelhill Southern Futures, @laopera, @bostonlyricopera, @sfopera, @lyricopera who bet on this unique story; – the original workshop/premiere cast and all of the singers, dancers, musicians, and conductors who have planted their remarkable flags into this work so far- and Jamez McCorkle (@operabear) above all, who has given Omar the most remarkable life I could ever imagine.
Likes : 4550Rhiannon Giddens - 4.6K Likes - Ok now that the shock has worn off (just kidding, it probably never will)- I just have to say a humongous thank you to the @pulitzerprizes committee for recognizing this piece - and for giving the remarkable story of Omar ibn Said more light. This is cultural work, it’s heavy work, it energizing work, its spirit work. It’s an honor and a privilege to be a part of it. This is what art is for - to make emotional connections to stories other than my own, and I am grateful to have been given these words and this music to shephard, and to have had as wonderful of a collaborator as @_michaelabels. From the minute Zeyba Rahman suggested Omar’s story to Nigel Redden and Nicole Taney of @spoletofestivalusa (thanks for thinking of this banjo player, Nicole!), and they decided to take a chance with this story, the journey has been incredible and the community their vision made possible, invincible; Mena Hanna (@instantmena) who took over the stewardship of Omar (and Spoleto!) with passion; the absolutely remarkable Kaneza Schaal (@kanezaschaal), Christopher Myers and their unbelievable team of creative souls who make the audiences sigh in awe; all of the co-commissioners; Spoleto, @uncchapelhill Southern Futures, @laopera, @bostonlyricopera, @sfopera, @lyricopera who bet on this unique story; - the original workshop/premiere cast and all of the singers, dancers, musicians, and conductors who have planted their remarkable flags into this work so far- and Jamez McCorkle (@operabear) above all, who has given Omar the most remarkable life I could ever imagine.

4.6K Likes – Rhiannon Giddens Instagram

Caption : Ok now that the shock has worn off (just kidding, it probably never will)- I just have to say a humongous thank you to the @pulitzerprizes committee for recognizing this piece – and for giving the remarkable story of Omar ibn Said more light. This is cultural work, it’s heavy work, it energizing work, its spirit work. It’s an honor and a privilege to be a part of it. This is what art is for – to make emotional connections to stories other than my own, and I am grateful to have been given these words and this music to shephard, and to have had as wonderful of a collaborator as @_michaelabels. From the minute Zeyba Rahman suggested Omar’s story to Nigel Redden and Nicole Taney of @spoletofestivalusa (thanks for thinking of this banjo player, Nicole!), and they decided to take a chance with this story, the journey has been incredible and the community their vision made possible, invincible; Mena Hanna (@instantmena) who took over the stewardship of Omar (and Spoleto!) with passion; the absolutely remarkable Kaneza Schaal (@kanezaschaal), Christopher Myers and their unbelievable team of creative souls who make the audiences sigh in awe; all of the co-commissioners; Spoleto, @uncchapelhill Southern Futures, @laopera, @bostonlyricopera, @sfopera, @lyricopera who bet on this unique story; – the original workshop/premiere cast and all of the singers, dancers, musicians, and conductors who have planted their remarkable flags into this work so far- and Jamez McCorkle (@operabear) above all, who has given Omar the most remarkable life I could ever imagine.
Likes : 4550Rhiannon Giddens - 4.6K Likes - Ok now that the shock has worn off (just kidding, it probably never will)- I just have to say a humongous thank you to the @pulitzerprizes committee for recognizing this piece - and for giving the remarkable story of Omar ibn Said more light. This is cultural work, it’s heavy work, it energizing work, its spirit work. It’s an honor and a privilege to be a part of it. This is what art is for - to make emotional connections to stories other than my own, and I am grateful to have been given these words and this music to shephard, and to have had as wonderful of a collaborator as @_michaelabels. From the minute Zeyba Rahman suggested Omar’s story to Nigel Redden and Nicole Taney of @spoletofestivalusa (thanks for thinking of this banjo player, Nicole!), and they decided to take a chance with this story, the journey has been incredible and the community their vision made possible, invincible; Mena Hanna (@instantmena) who took over the stewardship of Omar (and Spoleto!) with passion; the absolutely remarkable Kaneza Schaal (@kanezaschaal), Christopher Myers and their unbelievable team of creative souls who make the audiences sigh in awe; all of the co-commissioners; Spoleto, @uncchapelhill Southern Futures, @laopera, @bostonlyricopera, @sfopera, @lyricopera who bet on this unique story; - the original workshop/premiere cast and all of the singers, dancers, musicians, and conductors who have planted their remarkable flags into this work so far- and Jamez McCorkle (@operabear) above all, who has given Omar the most remarkable life I could ever imagine.

4.6K Likes – Rhiannon Giddens Instagram

Caption : Ok now that the shock has worn off (just kidding, it probably never will)- I just have to say a humongous thank you to the @pulitzerprizes committee for recognizing this piece – and for giving the remarkable story of Omar ibn Said more light. This is cultural work, it’s heavy work, it energizing work, its spirit work. It’s an honor and a privilege to be a part of it. This is what art is for – to make emotional connections to stories other than my own, and I am grateful to have been given these words and this music to shephard, and to have had as wonderful of a collaborator as @_michaelabels. From the minute Zeyba Rahman suggested Omar’s story to Nigel Redden and Nicole Taney of @spoletofestivalusa (thanks for thinking of this banjo player, Nicole!), and they decided to take a chance with this story, the journey has been incredible and the community their vision made possible, invincible; Mena Hanna (@instantmena) who took over the stewardship of Omar (and Spoleto!) with passion; the absolutely remarkable Kaneza Schaal (@kanezaschaal), Christopher Myers and their unbelievable team of creative souls who make the audiences sigh in awe; all of the co-commissioners; Spoleto, @uncchapelhill Southern Futures, @laopera, @bostonlyricopera, @sfopera, @lyricopera who bet on this unique story; – the original workshop/premiere cast and all of the singers, dancers, musicians, and conductors who have planted their remarkable flags into this work so far- and Jamez McCorkle (@operabear) above all, who has given Omar the most remarkable life I could ever imagine.
Likes : 4550Rhiannon Giddens - 4.5K Likes - Last year I spent three days in North Carolina with fellow @chocolatedrops member Justin Robinson (@countrygentlemancooks) to record ‘What Did the Blackbird Say to the Crow,’ an album of North Carolina fiddle and banjo music, which is now coming out April 18 on Nonesuch Records. We recorded outside at Joe Thompson’s house and Etta Baker’s house - you can hear the wheat in the wind and two different broods of cicadas, which had not emerged simultaneously since 1803. With the assaults on reality going on in the world today, we wanted to offer another kind of record, like walking back onto a gravel or dirt road while a stampede goes the other way. With the cicada choir, this record could’ve only happened at a certain time in the last 120 years. We doubled down on place, time, realness, and old-fashioned front porch music. It’s a reminder that another way exists, with music made for your community’s enjoyment and for dancing–not solely for commercial purposes. We’re going on tour this Spring and Summer with a bigger all-acoustic band called Rhiannon Giddens & The Old-Time Revue. Fan pre-sale for the tour begins tomorrow at 11am local time - go to rhiannongiddens.com/tour now to receive the pre-sale code. Pre-save/Pre-order ‘What Did the Blackbird Say to the Crow’ at the link in bio. Photography by @karencoxphotography #RhiannonGiddens #JustinRobinson #WhatDidTheBlackbirdSayToTheCrow #CarolinaChocolateDrops #JoeThompson #EttaBaker #Banjo #Fiddle #Nonesuch #NonesuchRecords

4.5K Likes – Rhiannon Giddens Instagram

Caption : Last year I spent three days in North Carolina with fellow @chocolatedrops member Justin Robinson (@countrygentlemancooks) to record ‘What Did the Blackbird Say to the Crow,’ an album of North Carolina fiddle and banjo music, which is now coming out April 18 on Nonesuch Records. We recorded outside at Joe Thompson’s house and Etta Baker’s house – you can hear the wheat in the wind and two different broods of cicadas, which had not emerged simultaneously since 1803. With the assaults on reality going on in the world today, we wanted to offer another kind of record, like walking back onto a gravel or dirt road while a stampede goes the other way. With the cicada choir, this record could’ve only happened at a certain time in the last 120 years. We doubled down on place, time, realness, and old-fashioned front porch music. It’s a reminder that another way exists, with music made for your community’s enjoyment and for dancing–not solely for commercial purposes. We’re going on tour this Spring and Summer with a bigger all-acoustic band called Rhiannon Giddens & The Old-Time Revue. Fan pre-sale for the tour begins tomorrow at 11am local time – go to rhiannongiddens.com/tour now to receive the pre-sale code. Pre-save/Pre-order ‘What Did the Blackbird Say to the Crow’ at the link in bio. Photography by @karencoxphotography #RhiannonGiddens #JustinRobinson #WhatDidTheBlackbirdSayToTheCrow #CarolinaChocolateDrops #JoeThompson #EttaBaker #Banjo #Fiddle #Nonesuch #NonesuchRecords
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