Rhiannon Giddens (born February 21, 1977) is an American musician. She is a founding member of the

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, whi ...

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the ...

and

old-time music Old-time music is a genre of North American folk music. It developed along with various North American folk dances, such as square dancing, clogging, and buck dancing. It is played on acoustic instruments, generally centering on a combinatio ...

band the

Carolina Chocolate Drops The Carolina Chocolate Drops were an old-time string band from Durham, North Carolina. Their 2010 album, ''Genuine Negro Jig,'' won the Grammy Award for Best Traditional Folk Album at the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards, and was number 9 in ''fRoots' ...

, where she is the lead singer, fiddle player, and

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and usually made of plastic, or occasionally animal skin. Early forms of the instrument were fashi ...

player. Giddens is a native of Greensboro, North Carolina. In addition to her work with the

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

-winning Chocolate Drops, Giddens has released two solo albums: '' Tomorrow Is My Turn'' (2015) and '' Freedom Highway'' (2017). Her 2019 and 2021 albums, '' There Is No Other'' and '' They're Calling Me Home'' are collaborations with Italian multi-instrumentalist Francesco Turrisi. She appears in the

Smithsonian Folkways Smithsonian Folkways is the nonprofit record label of the Smithsonian Institution. It is a part of the Smithsonian's Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, located at Capital Gallery in downtown Washington, D.C. The label was fo ...

collection documenting Mike Seeger's final trip through Appalachia in 2009, ''Just Around The Bend: Survival and Revival in Southern Banjo Styles – Mike Seeger’s Last Documentary'' (2019). In 2014, she participated in the

T Bone Burnett Joseph Henry "T Bone" Burnett III (born January 14, 1948) is an American record producer, guitarist and songwriter. He rose to fame as a guitarist in Bob Dylan's band during the 1970s. He has received multiple Grammy awards for his work in fil ...

-produced project titled

The New Basement Tapes The New Basement Tapes is a British-American musical supergroup made up of members Jim James, Elvis Costello, Marcus Mumford, Taylor Goldsmith, and Rhiannon Giddens. The group is best known for '' Lost on the River: The New Basement Tapes'', t ...

along with several other musicians, which set a series of recently discovered

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

lyrics to newly composed music. The resulting album, '' Lost on the River: The New Basement Tapes'', was a top-40 Billboard album.

Early life

Giddens is

multiracial Mixed race people are people of more than one race or ethnicity. A variety of terms have been used both historically and presently for mixed race people in a variety of contexts, including ''multiethnic'', ''polyethnic'', occasionally ''bi-eth ...

in ancestry, from her European-American father (David Giddens) and her African- and Native-American ( Lumbee, Occaneechi, and Seminole) mother (Deborah Jamieson), who met as college students in the city of Greensboro, North Carolina. Giddens' parents separated soon after her birth, when Deborah Giddens came out as a

lesbian A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...

. Giddens and her sister grew up in Greensboro and nearby rural Gibsonville. Her sister Lalenja Harrington is a director for Beyond Academics, a four-year certificate program supporting students with intellectual and developmental disabilities, at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. A singer and songwriter herself, Harrington occasionally collaborates with her sister on musical projects.

Musical career

Giddens is an alumna of the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, and a 2000 graduate of

Oberlin Conservatory The Oberlin Conservatory of Music is a private music conservatory in Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio. It was founded in 1865 and is the second oldest conservatory and oldest continually operating conservatory in the United States. It is one o ...

Oberlin College Oberlin College is a private liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio. It is the oldest coeducational liberal arts college in the United States and the second oldest continuously operating coeducational institute of highe ...

, where she studied opera. In 2005, Giddens, who at that time was spending time competing in Scottish traditional music competitions (specializing in the

Gaelic Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, an ...

lilting Lilting is a form of traditional singing common in the Goidelic speaking areas of Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Mann. It goes under many names, and is sometimes referred to as ''diddling'' (generally in England and Scotland), ''mouth music ...

tradition, also known as mouth music), attended the Black Banjo Then and Now Gathering, in

Boone, North Carolina Boone is a town in and the county seat of Watauga County, North Carolina, United States. Located in the Blue Ridge Mountains of western North Carolina, Boone is the home of Appalachian State University and the headquarters for the disaster a ...

. There she met Dom Flemons and Sule Greg Wilson. The three started playing together professionally as a "postmodern string band", Sankofa Strings. During that same time period, Giddens was also a regular caller at local contra dances and featured in a Celtic music band called Gaelwynd. Later in 2005, after both Gaelwynd and Sankofa Strings had released CD albums, Giddens and Flemons teamed up with other musicians and expanded the Sankofa Strings sound into what was to become the Grammy winning

. In 2007, Giddens contributed fiddle, banjo, "flat-footin'" dancing and additional vocals to Talitha MacKenzie's album ''Indian Summer''. Performing as a soprano, Giddens and mezzo-soprano Cheryse McLeod Lewis formed a duo called Eleganza to release a CD in 2009. ''Because I Knew You...'' consists of classical, religious, theater, and movie music. Giddens and Lewis were middle school classmates who reconnected after college while working in the same office. The friends started singing together in 2003, but did not begin recording until 2008. As of November 12, 2013, Giddens became the only original member of the Carolina Chocolate Drops. In 2013, Giddens began pushing further into her solo career. Giddens participated in "Another Day, Another Time", a concert inspired by the Coen brothers film '' Inside Llewyn Davis''. Many critics have stated that Giddens had the best performance at what was called "the concert of the year". Late in 2013, Giddens contributed the standout

a cappella ''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Ren ...

track "We Rise" to the LP ''We Are Not For Sale: Songs of Protest'' by the NC Music Love Army – a collective of activist musicians from North Carolina founded by

Jon Lindsay Jon Stephen Lindsay (born 4 December 1935) is a Republican former member of the Texas Senate, having represented the 7th District from 1997 to 2007. He was succeeded in 2007 by fellow Republican Dan Patrick, who would later be elected as Li ...

and Caitlin Cary. Giddens' protest song joins contributions from many other Carolina musical luminaries on the Lindsay-produced compilation (11/26/13 via

Redeye Distribution Redeye Distribution, is an American independent record label based in Hillsborough, North Carolina, United States. It was founded in 1996 by Tor Hansen, Kim Hansen, Glenn Dicker. The label focuses on independent music. History Redeye is repres ...

), which was created to support the NC NAACP and the

Moral Monday Moral Mondays are protests that originated in North Carolina, United States and emerged elsewhere in the United States. Led by religious progressives, the leaders of the protesters sought to restore "morality" in the public sphere. Protests began ...

movement. In early 2014 Giddens recorded for '' Lost on the River: The New Basement Tapes'' alongside

Elvis Costello Declan Patrick MacManus OBE (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer-songwriter and record producer. He has won multiple awards in his career, including a Grammy Award in 2020, and has twice been nom ...

, Marcus Mumford,

Taylor Goldsmith Taylor Dawes Goldsmith is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. He serves as the lead singer, guitarist, and chief songwriter of American folk rock band Dawes. Early life Goldsmith has a younger brother, Griffin. They ...

and

Jim James James Edward Olliges Jr. (born April 27, 1978), professionally known as Jim James or Yim Yames, is an American vocalist, guitarist, producer, and primary songwriter of the rock band My Morning Jacket. He has also released several solo albums. ...

. The album was produced by

T-Bone Burnett Joseph Henry "T Bone" Burnett III (born January 14, 1948) is an American record producer, guitarist and songwriter. He rose to fame as a guitarist in Bob Dylan's band during the 1970s. He has received multiple Grammy awards for his work in fil ...

and is a compilation of partial, unreleased lyrics written by

In February 2015, Giddens released her debut solo album, '' Tomorrow Is My Turn'', on Nonesuch Records. Also produced by Burnett, the album includes songs made famous by Patsy Cline, Odetta,

Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, philanthropist, and businesswoman, known primarily for her work in country music. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton made her album ...

, and Nina Simone, among others. The ''

Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

'' said the album "confirms the arrival of a significant talent whose voice and distinctive approach communicate the simmering emotion at the core of the songs." Additionally, the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...

'' called the album "a collection that should solidify her status as one of the bright new lights in pop music." In July 2015, she had a big stage at world music folk and dance festival at TFF Rudolstadt in Germany. Her performance was also broadcast live by the German national public radio

Deutschlandfunk Deutschlandfunk (DLF, ''Broadcast Germany'') is a public-broadcasting radio station in Germany, concentrating on news and current affairs. It is one of the four national radio channels produced by Deutschlandradio. History Broadcasting in the ...

. Rhiannon appears on

's single "Ballad of Lennon Lacy" (

, August 21). The song tackles the mysterious hanging death of Lennon Lacy, a black teen from rural Bladenboro, North Carolina. On November 27, 2015, to coincide with the Black Friday

Record Store Day Record Store Day is an annual event inaugurated in 2007 and held on one Saturday (typically the third) every April and every Black Friday in November to "celebrate the culture of the independently owned record store". The day brings together fa ...

event, Giddens released ''Factory Girl'' (EP) on Nonesuch Records, which contained music culled from the same T Bone Burnett–produced sessions that yielded ''Tomorrow Is My Turn''. A digital version of Factory Girl was made available December 11, 2015. The sessions for the album and EP took place in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

and

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and th ...

, with a multi-generational group of players assembled by Burnett. Musicians on Factory Girl include Burnett; fiddle player Gabe Witcher and double bassist

Paul Kowert Paul Kowert (born July 18, 1986) is an American bassist and composer. His styles include classical, bluegrass, and progressive bluegrass. He is a member of the progressive acoustic quintet Punch Brothers and a founding member of Hawktail, an ac ...

of Punch Brothers; percussionist Jack Ashford of Motown's renowned Funk Brothers; drummer Jay Bellerose; guitarist

Colin Linden Colin Kendall Linden (born 16 April 1960) is a Canadian guitarist, songwriter and record producer. Linden plays acoustic and electric guitar, specializing in slide guitar, country blues, and ragtime fingerpicking. He frequently collaborates with ...

; veteran Nashville session bassist Dennis Crouch; and Giddens's Carolina Chocolate Drops touring band-mates, multi-instrumentalist Hubby Jenkins and beat-boxer

Adam Matta Adam; el, Ἀδάμ, Adám; la, Adam is the name given in Genesis 1-5 to the first human. Beyond its use as the name of the first man, ''adam'' is also used in the Bible as a pronoun, individually as "a human" and in a collective sense as " ...

. Rhiannon appeared on Jools Holland's Hootenanny on December 31, 2015, shown on

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream a ...

. She performed songs from her 2015 album '' Tomorrow Is My Turn'', including "Waterboy" and a cover of " St James Infirmary Blues" with

Tom Jones Tom Jones may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Tom Jones (singer) (born 1940), Welsh singer *Tom Jones (writer) (1928–2023), American librettist and lyricist *''The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling'', a novel by Henry Fielding published in 1 ...

. She was selected to take part in Transatlantic Sessions in January 2016. This collaboration between American and Celtic musicians is a coveted honor. The ensemble performed as part of Celtic Connections in Glasgow, and a short UK/Irish tour. Her performances on the tour included the stirring tribute to

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

"It Ain't Easy". Later in the year, Giddens became the first American to be honored as Folk Singer of the Year at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards. Later in the year, it was also announced that she would be receiving the prestigious

Steve Martin Prize for Excellence in Banjo and Bluegrass Stephen Glenn Martin (born August 14, 1945) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and musician. He has won five Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and was awarded an Honorary Academy Award in 2013. Additionally, he was nominated ...

. Winning this award makes Giddens both the only woman and the only person of color to receive the prize in its six-year history. In 2016, it was also announced that Giddens and the Carolina Chocolate Drops would be inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame. In 2017, Giddens became only the fourth musician to perform at both the Newport Folk and Jazz Festivals. Later that year, she delivered the keynote address at the World of Bluegrass Business Conference 2017. According to Bluegrass Today, "Giddens shattered long-held stereotypes...By the time she was done, she had systematically dismantled the myth of a homogenous Appalachia." In June 2017, Giddens appeared in the multi award-winning documentary '' The American Epic Sessions'', directed by Bernard MacMahon, where she recorded "One Hour Mama" and English

folk ballad Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...

Pretty Saro ''Pretty Saro'' (Roud 417) is an English folk ballad originating in the early 1700s. The song died out in England by the mid eighteenth century but was rediscovered in North America (particularly in the Appalachian Mountains) in the early twenti ...

", on the restored first electrical sound recording system from the 1920s. Both performances were released on '' Music from The American Epic Sessions: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack''. Upon hearing the playback of these direct-to-disc recordings, she exclaimed "you feel like your soul is coming out of the speaker." In October 2017, Giddens was named one of the 2017 class of MacArthur "Genius" Fellows. The organization noted, "Giddens's drive to understand and convey the nuances, complexities, and interrelationships between musical traditions is enhancing our musical present with a wealth of sounds and textures from the past." Rhiannon further demonstrated the broad range of her musical interests with several subsequent projects. In early November, she performed as a soprano with the Louisville Orchestra in Teddy Abrams' multimedia tribute to

Muhammad Ali Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and activist. Nicknamed "The Greatest", he is regarded as one of the most significant sports figures of the 20th century, ...

, ''The Greatest''. A week later, she sang with the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra for their live recording of ''American Originals: 1918'', which explored the early development of jazz during the post WWI era. In January 2018, Giddens co-produced (with

Dirk Powell Dirk Powell (born 1969) is an American fiddler, banjo player, and singer. Powell was born in Oberlin, Ohio into a family with deep Kentucky roots. He has lived in Louisiana since 1992. He is considered one of the world's leading experts on traditio ...

) ''Songs of Our Native Daughters'' for

. Written and recorded with fellow artists Amythyst Kiah,

Leyla McCalla Leyla Sarah McCalla Heart of Gold Work ID No. 886049205 Leyla Sarah McCalla IPI No. 715028763 (born October 3, 1985) is an American classical and folk musician. She was a cellist with the Grammy-winning string band Carolina Chocolate Drops but ...

, and Allison Russell, "The album confronts the ways we are culturally conditioned to avoid talking about America's history of slavery, racism, and misogyny." Also in early 2018, the Nashville Ballet announced that Rhiannon Giddens has been commissioned to write the music for ''Lucy Negro, Redux'', a new dance choreographed by artistic director, Paul Vasterling. Based on the book of the same name by Caroline Randall Williams, its premise is that Shakespeare's Dark Lady was of African descent. The ballet premiered in February 2019. Then in March 2018, Giddens fulfilled a previously announced engagement as guest curator for the Cambridge Folk Festival by inviting Peggy Seeger, Kaia Kater,

Birds of Chicago Birds of Chicago is an Americana/ folk band founded in March 2012 in Chicago, Illinois, United States. The band is led by husband and wife, JT Nero and Allison Russell. Russell is formerly of the Canadian roots act Po' Girl. The duo-fronted ...

, Amythyst Kiah, and Yola Carter to perform at the event. Giddens recorded vocals for ''Silo Songs'', an audio installation created by composer Brad Wells for Hancock Shaker Village. She contributed a song, "Mountain Hymn", to the popular video game '' Red Dead Redemption 2'' which was released in October 2018. The song was written with Daniel Lanois. Beginning in December 2018, she is hosting a podcast called ''Aria Code with Rhiannon Giddens'' produced by the

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is opera ...

and WQXR-FM. The program examines why individual arias have a lasting impact on audiences and how singers prepare to perform them. In 2019, Giddens released two studio albums: '' Songs of Our Native Daughters'' with Allison Russell,

and Amythyst Kiah, and ''There Is No Other'' with Italian musician Francesco Turrisi. For the 2020 Spoleto Festival USA, Rhiannon Giddens was commissioned to create an opera based on the

Arabic language Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life. It is a form of biography. Definition The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English peri ...

of Omar Ibn Said, a highly literate and cultured Torodbe (Muslim cleric) from the

Fula people The Fula, Fulani, or Fulɓe people ( ff, Fulɓe, ; french: Peul, links=no; ha, Fulani or Hilani; pt, Fula, links=no; wo, Pël; bm, Fulaw) are one of the largest ethnic groups in the Sahel and West Africa, widely dispersed across the region ...

of modern

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ...

, who was enslaved in an intertribal war against the

Imamate of Futa Toro The Imamate of Futa Toro () (1776-1861) was a West African theocratic monarchy of the Fula-speaking people (''Fulɓe'' and Toucouleurs) in the middle valley of the Senegal River. The region is known as Futa Toro. Origins Futa Toro is a str ...

and brought aboard a slave ship to

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...

in 1807. Giddens wrote the libretto and served as lead composer with help from co-composer Michael Abels. Owing to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

, the world premiere of ''Omar'' was postponed until 2022. In July 2020, Giddens was named Artistic Director of the cross-cultural music organization

Silkroad (arts organization) Silkroad, formerly the Silk Road Project, Inc., is a not-for-profit organization, initiated by the cellist Yo-Yo Ma in 1998, promoting collaboration among artists and institutions, promoting multicultural artistic exchange, and studying the ebb and ...

. The position had been vacant since 2017 when Silkroad's founder, Yo-Yo Ma, stepped down. On , Giddens guest-hosted the

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 15 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the station broadcasts a wide range of content. ...

Blues Show whilst its regular host Cerys Matthews was on her holidays. Giddens earned an Honorary Doctor of Letters from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro for her lasting impact on the UNCG community and work in music. She sang "Calling me Home" by Alice Gerrard at a virtual commencement after accepting the degree in December 2020.

Acting

In 2017 and 2018, Giddens appeared in the fifth and sixth seasons of the CMT's ''

'' as Hannah Lee "Hallie" Jordan, a social worker and gospel singer who is a significant character in Juliette's storyline. Giddens appeared in 11 episodes and performed several songs that have been made available following each episode.

Author

Rhiannon Giddens has announced that she will have four children's books published by Candlewick Press. The first two books, scheduled for release in Fall 2022, are based on the lyrics of her songs “Build A House” and "We Could Fly" with illustrations by Monica Mikai and Briana Mukodiri Uchendu respectively.

Personal life

Giddens married Irish traditional musician Michael Laffan in 2007. They have a daughter born in 2009 and a son born in 2013. They had separated as of 2018. She lives in

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2 ...

, Ireland. In 2019, Giddens began a relationship with her Italian musical partner Francesco Turrisi. They released an album together in May 2019 and again in April 2021.

Awards and nominations

Discography

As member of Carolina Chocolate Drops

As member of Gaelwynd

* ''Out on the Ocean: Music of the British Isles'' (2004) * ''Northern Lights'' (2005)

As member of The New Basement Tapes

* '' Lost on the River: The New Basement Tapes'' (2014)

As Rhiannon Giddens

* ''We Rise'' (EP) (2014) * '' Tomorrow Is My Turn'' (2015) * ''Factory Girl'' (EP) (2015) * ''Live at Jazzfest 2016'' (2016) * '' Freedom Highway'' (2017) * ''Live at Jazzfest 2017'' (2017) * '' There Is No Other'' (2019) * ''Cruel World'' (single) (2019) * ''Just the Two of Us'' (single) (2020) * ''Don't Call Me Names'' (single) (2020) * ''They're Calling Me Home'' (2021) * ''Julie's Aria'' (single) (2022) * ''Build A House'' (single) (2022)

As member of Our Native Daughters

* '' Songs of Our Native Daughters'' (2019)

Additional collaborations

* As member of Sankofa Strings, ''Colored Aristocracy'' (2005) * As Elftones & Rhiannon Giddens, ''All the Pretty Horses '' (2009) * As Laurelyn Dossett, Rhiannon Giddens, Eric Robertson & Bennett Sullivan, ''The Music of Beautiful Star'' (2009) * As Eleganza (with Cheryse McLeod Lewis), ''Because I Knew You...'' (2009) * As Mike Compton, Laurelyn Dossett, Rhiannon Giddens, Joe Newberry, Jason Sypher, ''The Gathering'' (2011) * As The Giddens Sisters (with Lalenja Harrington), ''I Know I've Been Changed'' (2013) * As Ben Harper and Rhiannon Giddens, ''Black Eyed Dog'' (single) (2020) * As

Amanda Palmer Amanda MacKinnon Gaiman Palmer (born April 30, 1976) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and performance artist who is the lead vocalist, pianist, and lyricist of the duo The Dresden Dolls. She performs as a solo artist and was also a ...

and Rhiannon Giddens, ''It's a Fire'' (single) (2020) * As

Renée Fleming Renée Lynn Fleming (born February 14, 1959) is an American soprano, known for performances in opera, concerts, recordings, theater, film, and at major public occasions. A recipient of the National Medal of Arts, Fleming has been nominated for ...

Alison Krauss Alison Maria Krauss (born July 23, 1971) is an American bluegrass- country singer and musician. She entered the music industry at an early age, competing in local contests by the age of 8 and recording for the first time at 14. She signed wit ...

, Rhiannon Giddens, and Yannick Nézet-Séguin, ''Before the Deluge'' (single) (2021)

''Nashville''

See

Nashville discography This is the discography of the American musical drama television series '' Nashville'' (2012-2018) by Academy Award-winning screenwriter Callie Khouri and starring Connie Britton as "Rayna Jaymes" and Hayden Panettiere as "Juliette Barnes." The d ...

Seasons Five and Six for songs performed by Hallie Jordan (played by Rhiannon Giddens)

Other significant appearances (lead, duet, trio, featured solo)

* "Dreamland" and "Clothes of My Man", ''Sonic New York'' (

Sxip Shirey Gene "Sxip" Shirey (pronounced "skip") is an American electric-acoustic composer, performer, and story-teller. Currently based in New York City, he is known for working with found objects, traditional and rare modified instruments, as well as ...

) (2010) * "Brightest and Best", "Christ Child Lullaby", "A Babe is Born All of a Maid", and "Down in Yon Forest", ''The Winter Moon'' (Immigrant's Daughter) (2010) * "Lay Your Money Down", ''Shamrock City'' ( Solas) (2012) * "Outside Man Blues", ''Yes We Can'' (An Apple A Day) (2013) * "The Vanishing Race", ''Look Again to the Wind:

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later stages of his c ...

's Bitter Tears Revisited'' (Various Artists) (2014) * "Now to Conclude Our Christmas Mirth", "Christmas Day Is Come", and "The Enniscorthy Christmas Carol", '' The Wexford Carols'' ( Caitríona O'Leary) (2014) * "

Waterboy In the United States, a water boy or water girl (sometimes spelled waterboy or watergirl) was someone who worked in the field, providing water to farm workers in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Today, the name is given to those who work on th ...

", "'S iomadh rud tha dhìth orm / Ciamar a nì mi 'n dannsa dìreach", and "Didn't Leave Nobody But The Baby", ''Another Day, Another Time: Celebrating the Music of Inside Llewyn Davis'' (Various artists) (concert recorded live September 29, 2013, album released January 2015) * "Up In Arms", ''Rhythm & Reason'' ( Bhi Bhiman) (2015) * "Julie" and "

Cluck Old Hen "Cluck Old Hen" is a popular Appalachian fiddle and banjo tune in the mixolydian or dorian mode (as in the score below which is in A dorian). It is played either as an instrumental or with lyrics, which vary from one version to another. One of the ...

", ''Tunes from David Holt's State of Music'' (Various Artists) (2015) * "Ballad of Lennon Lacy" (single) (

with Rhiannon Giddens and NC Music Love Army) (2015) * " Kill a Word", '' Mr. Misunderstood'' ( Eric Church) (2015) * "The Good Fight", ''Real Midnight'' (

) (2016) * "

St. James Infirmary Blues "St. James Infirmary Blues" is an American blues song and jazz standard of uncertain origin. Louis Armstrong made the song famous in his 1928 recording on which Don Redman was credited as composer; later releases gave the name Joe Primrose, a ps ...

", ''Sing Me Home'' ( Yo-Yo Ma & The Silk Road Ensemble) (2016) * "Manman", ''A Day for the Hunter, A Day for the Prey'' (

) (2016) * "Come Sunday" and "Rocks in My Bed", '' American Tunes'' (

Allen Toussaint Allen Richard Toussaint (; January 14, 1938 – November 10, 2015) was an American musician, songwriter, arranger and record producer. He was an influential figure in New Orleans rhythm and blues from the 1950s to the end of the century, descri ...

) (2016) * "Woman of Constant Sorrow", "Just Drive By, Firefly", and "Bach, Stevie Wonder and Janelle Monae", ''A Bottle of Whiskey and a Handful of Bees'' (

) (2017) * "West End Blues (Live)" and "Shake Sugaree", ''Tunes from David Holt's State of Music 2'' (Various Artists) (2017) * "One Hour Mama" and "

", '' Music from The American Epic Sessions'' (Various Artists) (2017) * "Factory Girl" and "Lullaby", ''Folk Songs'' ( Kronos Quartet) (2017) * "So Pretty", ''For Lenny'' ( Lara Downes) (2018) * "My Baby Likes Bacon" and "Mansell's Waltz", '' Hopes & Dreams: The Lullaby Project'' (Various Artists) (2018) * " I'm Just Wild About Harry", "I Ain't Gonna Play No Second Fiddle", "Swing Along", and " I Ain't Got Nobody", ''American Originals: 1918'' ( Cincinnati Pops Orchestra) (2018) * "Dream Variation", ''Holes In The Sky'' ( Lara Downes) (2019) * "The May Morning Dew", ''The Great Irish Songbook'' ( Dervish) (2019) * "Georgia Buck" and "Cripple Creek", ''Just Around the Bend: Survival and Revival in Southern Banjo Sounds ( Mike Seeger's Last Documentary)'' (Various Artists) (2019) * "Moonlight", "Mountain Hymn", and "Mountain Banjo", ''The

Music of Red Dead Redemption 2 The music for the 2018 action-adventure game ''Red Dead Redemption 2'', developed and published by Rockstar Games, consists of an original score composed by musician Woody Jackson and an original soundtrack produced by Daniel Lanois. The soundtr ...

: Original Soundtrack'' (Various Artists) (2019) * "All Babies Must Cry" (single) (

) (2019) * "Wish in Vain" (w/

), ''Good Music to Avert the Collapse of American Democracy, Volume 2'' (Various Artists) (2020 1-day benefit release) * "All You Fascists Bound To Lose" (written by

Woody Guthrie Woodrow Wilson Guthrie (; July 14, 1912 – October 3, 1967) was an American singer-songwriter, one of the most significant figures in American folk music. His work focused on themes of American socialism and anti-fascism. He has inspire ...

), ''This Joy'' (Resistance Revival Chorus) (2020, Righteous Babe Records)

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Giddens, Rhiannon 1977 births 21st-century African-American women singers African-American banjoists African-American women songwriters American banjoists American country singer-songwriters American multi-instrumentalists American people of Native American descent American people of Lumbee descent American people of Seminole descent American women country singers Black Seminoles The Carolina Chocolate Drops members Country musicians from North Carolina Grammy Award winners Living people MacArthur Fellows Musicians from Greensboro, North Carolina North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics alumni Oberlin Conservatory of Music alumni Scottish Gaelic singers Singer-songwriters from North Carolina The New Basement Tapes members