Rhiannon Giddens (born February 21, 1977) is an American musician known for her eclectic

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be ca ...

. 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. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

, 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, contra dance, clogging, and buck dancing. It is played on acoustic instruments, generally centering ...

band the Carolina Chocolate Drops, where she was 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 in modern forms is usually made of plastic, where early membranes were made of animal skin. ...

player. Giddens is from

Greensboro, North Carolina Greensboro (; ) is a city in Guilford County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 299,035; it was estimated to be 307,381 in 2024. It is the List of municipalitie ...

. In addition to her work with the

Grammy The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

-winning Chocolate Drops, Giddens has released five solo albums: '' Tomorrow Is My Turn'' (2015) and '' Freedom Highway'' (2017); 2021's '' There Is No Other'' and '' They're Calling Me Home'' (both collaborations with Italian multi-instrumentalist Francesco Turrisi); and '' You're the One'' (2023). 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 f ...

collection documenting Mike Seeger's final trip through

Appalachia Appalachia ( ) is a geographic region located in the Appalachian Mountains#Regions, central and southern sections of the Appalachian Mountains in the east of North America. In the north, its boundaries stretch from the western Catskill Mountai ...

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-produced project titled The New Basement Tapes 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. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

lyrics to newly composed music. The resulting album, '' Lost on the River: The New Basement Tapes'', was in the

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

top 40. She worked on ''Mountain Hymn'' song for a popular video game ''Red Dead Redemption 2.'' In 2023, the opera '' Omar'', co-written by Giddens and Michael Abels, won a Pulitzer Prize for Music.

Early life

Giddens is of

multiracial The term multiracial people refers to people who are mixed with two or more races (human categorization), races and the term multi-ethnic people refers to people who are of more than one ethnicity, ethnicities. A variety of terms have been used ...

ancestry. Her father, David Giddens, is European-American. Her mother, Deborah Jamieson, is a descendant of African Americans and Native American tribes including the

Lumbee The Lumbee, also known as People of the Dark Water, are a mixed-race community primarily located in Robeson County, North Carolina, which claims to be descended from myriad Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands who once inhabited th ...

, Occaneechi, and

Seminole The Seminole are a Native American people who developed in Florida in the 18th century. Today, they live in Oklahoma and Florida, and comprise three federally recognized tribes: the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, the Seminole Tribe of Florida, ...

. Giddens does not claim a specific tribal affiliation. Her parents met as college students in the city of Greensboro. Giddens' parents separated soon after her birth, when Deborah came out as a lesbian. Rhiannon and her sister Lalenja grew up in Greensboro and nearby rural Gibsonville. 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 The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG or UNC Greensboro) is a public research university in Greensboro, North Carolina. It is part of the University of North Carolina, University of North Carolina system. It is accredited by the S ...

. A singer and songwriter herself, Harrington occasionally collaborates with her sister on musical projects.

Musical career

Giddens is a 1995 alumna of the

North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics The North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics (NCSSM) is a two-year, public residential high school with two physical campuses located in Durham, North Carolina, and Morganton, North Carolina, that focuses on the intensive study of scie ...

Durham, North Carolina Durham ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Durham County, North Carolina, Durham County. Small portions of the city limits extend into Orange County, North Carolina, Orange County and Wake County, North Carol ...

, and a 2000 graduate of

Oberlin Conservatory The Oberlin Conservatory of Music is a private music conservatory of Oberlin College, a private liberal arts college in Oberlin, Ohio. It was founded in 1865 and is the second oldest conservatory and oldest continually operating conservatory in ...

Oberlin College Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1833, it is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational lib ...

, where she studied opera. In 2005, Giddens 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 of the disaster and me ...

. At the time she was spending time participating in Scottish traditional music competitions (specializing in the Gaelic lilting tradition, also known as mouth music). There she met Dom Flemons and Súle Greg Wilson. The three started playing together professionally as a "postmodern string band", Sankofa Strings. During the same period, Giddens was also a regular caller at local contra dances and featured in a

Celtic music Celtic music is a broad grouping of music genres that evolved out of the folk music traditions of the Celts (modern), Celtic people of Northwestern Europe (the modern Celtic nations). It refers to both orally-transmitted traditional music and ...

band called Gaelwynd. Later in 2005, after both Gaelwynd and Sankofa Strings released albums, Giddens and Flemons teamed with other musicians and expanded the Sankofa Strings sound into what became the

winning Carolina Chocolate Drops. 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, she began pushing further into a solo career. She participated in "Another Day, Another Time", a concert inspired by the

Coen brothers Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, together known as the Coen brothers (), are an American filmmaking duo. Their films span many genres and styles, which they frequently subvert or parody. Among their most acclaimed works are '' Blood Simple'' (198 ...

film '' Inside Llewyn Davis''. Many critics have said that Giddens had the best performance at what was called "the concert of the year". Late in 2013, she contributed the standout

a cappella Music performed a cappella ( , , ; ), less commonly spelled acapella in English, is music performed by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Rena ...

track "We Rise" to the LP ''We Are Not For Sale: Songs of Protest'' by the North Carolina Music Love Army – a collective of activist musicians from North Carolina founded by Jon Lindsay 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. It was founded in 1996 by Tor Hansen, Kim Hansen, and Glenn Dicker. History Redeye is represented worldwide with U.S. offices in Hillsborough, Nort ...

), which was created to support the North Carolina NAACP and the Moral Monday movement. In early 2014, she recorded '' Lost on the River: The New Basement Tapes'' alongside

Elvis Costello Declan Patrick MacManus (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, author and television host. According to ''Rolling Stone'', Costello "reinvigorated the literate, lyrical ...

, Marcus Mumford, Taylor Goldsmith, and Jim James. The album was produced by T Bone Burnett 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 Nonesuch Records is an American record company and label owned by Warner Music Group, distributed by Warner Records (formerly Warner Bros. Records), and based in New York City. Founded by Jac Holzman in 1964 as a budget classical label, Nonesuch ...

. Also produced by Burnett, the album contains songs made famous by

Patsy Cline Patsy Cline (born Virginia Patterson Hensley; September 8, 1932 – March 5, 1963) was an American singer. One of the most influential vocalists of the 20th century, she was known as one of the first country music artists to successfully Cross ...

Odetta Odetta Holmes (December 31, 1930 – December 2, 2008), known as Odetta, was an American singer, often referred to as "The Voice of the Civil Rights Movement". Her musical repertoire consisted largely of American folk music, blues, jazz, and s ...

Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, actress, and philanthropist, known primarily as a country music, country musician. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton's debut album ...

Nina Simone Nina Simone ( ; born Eunice Kathleen Waymon; February 21, 1933 – April 21, 2003) was an American singer, pianist, songwriter, and civil rights activist. Her music spanned styles including classical, folk, gospel, blues, jazz, R&B, and po ...

, and others. The ''

Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

'' 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'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' called the album "a collection that should solidify her status as one of the bright new lights in pop music." In July 2015, she performed at world music folk and dance festival at TFF Rudolstadt in Germany. Her performance was 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 t ...

. Rhiannon appears on Jon Lindsay's single "Ballad of Lennon Lacy" (Redeye Distribution, August 21). The song tackles the mysterious hanging death of Lennon Lacy, a black teen from rural Bladenboro southeast of Lumberton, North Carolina. On November 27, 2015, to coincide with the Black Friday

Record Store Day Record Store Day is a semi-annual event established in 2008 to "celebrate the culture of the independently owned record store". Held on one Saturday (typically the third) every April and every Black Friday in November, the day brings together f ...

event, Giddens released ''Factory Girl'' (EP) on

, which contained music culled from the same T Bone Burnett–produced sessions which yielded ''Tomorrow Is My Turn''. A digital version of Factory Girl was made available December 11, 2015. The sessions for the album and EP were in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

and

Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

, 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 of Punch Brothers; percussionist Jack Ashford of Motown's renowned

The Funk Brothers The Funk Brothers were a group of Detroit-based session musicians who performed the backing to most Motown recordings from 1959 until the company moved to Los Angeles in 1972. Its members are considered among the most successful groups of stud ...

; drummer Jay Bellerose; guitarist Colin Linden from

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

; veteran Nashville session bassist Dennis Crouch; and Giddens's Carolina Chocolate Drops touring band-mates, multi-instrumentalist Hubby Jenkins, and beat-boxer Adam Matta. Giddens appeared on '' Jools Holland's Hootenanny'' on December 31, 2015, shown on

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matte ...

. She performed songs from her 2015 album '' Tomorrow Is My Turn'', including "Waterboy" and a cover of " St. James Infirmary Blues" with Tom Jones. In January 2016, she was selected to take part in Transatlantic Sessions. The collaboration between American and Celtic musicians is a coveted honor. The ensemble performed as part of

Celtic Connections The Celtic Connections festival started in 1994 in Glasgow, Scotland, and has since been held every January. Featuring over 300 concerts, ceilidhs, talks, free events, late night sessions and workshops, the festival focuses on the roots of trad ...

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

, 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 as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

"It Ain't Easy". On October 8, 2016, she was featured on

Austin City Limits ''Austin City Limits'' is an American Concert, live music Television show, television program recorded and produced by KLRU, Austin PBS. The show helped Austin become widely known in the United States as the "Live Music Capital of the World", an ...

. Later in 2016, Giddens became the first American to be honored as Folk Singer of the Year at the

BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards The BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards celebrate outstanding achievement during the previous year within the field of folk music, with the aim of raising the profile of folk and acoustic music. The awards have been given annually since 2000 by British rad ...

, and it was announced that she would be receiving the prestigious Steve Martin Prize for Excellence in Banjo and Bluegrass. She was the first woman and first person of color to receive the prize. Also in 2016, it was announced that Giddens and the Carolina Chocolate Drops would be inducted into the

North Carolina Music Hall of Fame The North Carolina Music Hall of Fame is a non-profit organization and museum in Kannapolis, North Carolina that was created to honor musicians, composers and artists with ties to North Carolina that have made significant impact in the music indu ...

. In 2017, Giddens became only the fourth musician to perform at both the Newport Folk and Jazz Festivals. Later that year, she gave the keynote address at the World of Bluegrass Business Conference 2017. According to Bluegrass Today, "Giddens (has) 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 ''The American Epic Sessions'' is a documentary film in which an engineer restores the fabled long-lost first electrical sound recording system from 1925, and twenty contemporary artists pay tribute to the momentous machine by attempting to recor ...

'', directed by Bernard MacMahon, where she recorded "One Hour Mama" and English folk ballad " Pretty Saro", 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''. After hearing the playback of these direct-to-disc recordings, she said, "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' 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." She further demonstrated the broad range of her musical interests with several 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 social activist. A global cultural icon, widely known by the nickname "The Greatest", he is often regarded as the gr ...

, ''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) '' Songs of Our Native Daughters'' for

. Written and recorded with fellow artists Amythyst Kiah, Leyla McCalla, and

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

singer 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 had 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 William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

's Dark Lady was of African descent. The ballet premiered in February 2019. In March 2018, Giddens fulfilled a previously announced engagement as guest curator for the Cambridge Folk Festival in

Cambridge, England Cambridge ( ) is a city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of ...

by inviting

Peggy Seeger Margaret "Peggy" Seeger (born June 17, 1935) is an American Folk music, folk singer and songwriter. She has lived in Britain for more than 60 years and was married to the singer-songwriter Ewan MacColl until his death in 1989. She is a member ...

, Kaia Kater,

Birds of Chicago Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

, 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 ''Red Dead Redemption 2'' is a 2018 action-adventure game developed and published by Rockstar Games. The game is the third entry in the ''Red Dead'' series and a prequel to the 2010 game ''Red Dead Redemption''. The story is set in a fictiona ...

'' which was released in October 2018. The song was written with

Daniel Lanois Daniel Roland Lanois ( , ; born September 19, 1951) is a Canadian record producer and musician. He has produced albums by artists including Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Peter Gabriel, Robbie Robertson, Emmylou Harris, Willie Nelson, and Harold Budd ...

. In December 2018, she began hosting a podcast called '' Aria Code with Rhiannon Giddens'' produced by the

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

and WQXR-FM. The program is about individual arias having 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, Leyla McCalla, and Amythyst Kiah and ''There Is No Other'' with Italian musician Francesco Turrisi. For the 2020 Spoleto Festival USA in

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...

, Rhiannon Giddens was commissioned to create an opera based on the

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

language autobiography of Omar Ibn Said, a highly literate and cultured

Torodbe The Torodbe; singular Torodo (also called Turudiyya, Banu Toro, Takrur, Toronkawa) were Muslim Toucouleur people, Toucouleur clerics and theocratic monarchs who preached and reigned in Futa Toro, a region located in the north of present-day Senega ...

(Muslim cleric) from the

Fula people The Fula, Fulani, or Fulɓe people are an ethnic group in Sahara, Sahel and West Africa, widely dispersed across the region. Inhabiting many countries, they live mainly in West Africa and northern parts of Central Africa, South Sudan, Darfur, ...

of modern

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

, who was enslaved in an intertribal war against the Imamate of Futa Toro and brought aboard a slave ship to Charleston in 1807. She wrote the libretto and was the 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 and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, the world premiere of '' Omar'' was postponed until 2022. It received the 2023 Pulitzer Prize in Music. In July 2020, Giddens was named Artistic Director of the cross-cultural music organization Silkroad. The position had been vacant since 2017 when Silkroad's founder,

Yo-Yo Ma Yo-Yo Ma (born October 7, 1955) is a French-born American Cello, cellist. Born to Chinese people, Chinese parents in Paris, he was regarded as a child prodigy there and began to study the cello with his father at age four. At the age of seven, ...

, 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 List of most-listened-to radio programs, most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 14 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the sta ...

Blues Show while its regular host Cerys Matthews was on her holidays. Giddens earned an honorary

Doctor of Letters Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or '), also termed Doctor of Literature in some countries, is a terminal degree in the arts, humanities, and social sciences. In the United States, at universities such as Drew University, the degree ...

degree from the

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. In 2023, she was awarded an honorary Doctor of Music from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

. In 2023, Giddens joined the programming lineup at Wondrium leading the series "The Banjo: Music, History and Heritage." In 2022, she was named the musical director of the 2023 Ojai Music Festival. On 7th July 2024, she and her band headlined th
Gate to Southwell Festival.

Acting

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

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

Documentary

Giddens is featured in the 2024 documentary ''Cover Your Ears'' produced by ''Prairie Coast Films'' and directed by ''Sean Patrick Shaul'', discussing music censorship. She is featured in the 2022 documentary ''Black Fiddlers'' next to Justin Robinson. In the film, produced by Heritage Film Project and directed by Eduardo Montes-Bradley, Giddens shares her memories of Joe Thomson and Odell Thomson.

Author

Rhiannon Giddens 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. In 2019, Giddens began a relationship with her Italian musical partner Francesco Turrisi. They released albums together in May 2019 and April 2021. The pair separated in November 2024. In 2021, Giddens was living in Limerick, Ireland.

Discography

Solo

Studio albums

* '' Tomorrow Is My Turn'' (2015) * '' Freedom Highway'' (2017) * '' There Is No Other'' with Francesco Turrisi (2019) * '' They're Calling Me Home'' with Francesco Turrisi (2021) * '' You're the One'' (2023)

Live albums

* ''Live at Jazzfest 2016'' (2016) * ''Live at Jazzfest 2017'' (2017)

EPs

* ''We Rise'' (2014) * ''Factory Girl'' (2015)

Singles

* "Cruel World" (2019) * "Just the Two of Us" featuring Sxip Shirey (2020) * "Don't Call Me Names" (2020) * "Julie's Aria" with Bill Frisell and Francesco Turrisi (2022) * "Build a House" with

and Francesco Turrisi (2022)

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 member of Our Native Daughters

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

As member of Silkroad Ensemble

* ''Phoenix Rising'' (EP) (2023) * ''American Railroad'' (2024)

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 Benjamin Charles Harper (born October 28, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Harper plays an eclectic mix of blues, folk, soul, reggae, and rock music, and he is known for his guitar-playing skills, vocals, liv ...

and Rhiannon Giddens, ''Black Eyed Dog'' (single) (2020) * As Amanda Palmer and Rhiannon Giddens, ''It's a Fire'' (single) (2020) * As

Renée Fleming Renée Lynn Fleming (born February 14, 1959) is an American soprano and actress, 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 nom ...

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

, Rhiannon Giddens, and Yannick Nézet-Séguin, ''Before the Deluge'' (single) (2021) * As Rhiannon Giddens, Resistance Revival Chorus, and Crys Matthews, ''How I Long For Peace'' (single) (2024) * As Rhiannon Giddens and Justin Robinson, ''What Did the Blackbird Say to the Crow'' (2025)

''Nashville''

See Nashville discography 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) (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 singer-songwriter. Most of his music contains themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially songs from the later stages of his career. ...

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

& The Silk Road Ensemble) (2016) * "Manman", ''A Day for the Hunter, A Day for the Prey'' ( Leyla McCalla) (2016) * "Come Sunday" and "Rocks in My Bed", '' American Tunes'' ( Allen Toussaint) (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'' ( Sxip Shirey) (2017) * "West End Blues (Live)" and "Shake Sugaree", ''Tunes from David Holt's State of Music 2'' (Various Artists) (2017) * "One Hour Mama" and " Pretty Saro", '' Music from The American Epic Sessions'' (Various Artists) (2017) * "Factory Girl" and "Lullaby", ''

Folk Songs 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 be ...

'' (

Kronos Quartet The Kronos Quartet is an American string quartet based in San Francisco. It has been in existence with a rotating membership of musicians for 50 years. The quartet covers a very broad range of musical genres, including contemporary classical musi ...

) (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 Dervish, Darvesh, or Darwīsh (from ) in Islam can refer broadly to members of a Sufi fraternity (''tariqah''), or more narrowly to a religious mendicant, who chose or accepted material poverty. The latter usage is found particularly in Persi ...

) (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 sou ...

: Original Soundtrack'' (Various Artists) (2019) * "All Babies Must Cry" (single) ( Sxip Shirey) (2019) * "Wish in Vain" (w/ Dirk Powell), ''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, and composer widely considered to be one of the most significant figures in American folk music. His work focused on themes of American Left, A ...

), ''This Joy'' (Resistance Revival Chorus) (2020, Righteous Babe Records) * "Woman of the House", ''Canvas'' ( Natalie MacMaster and Donnell Leahy) (2023) * "

Texas Hold 'Em Texas hold 'em (also known as Texas holdem, hold 'em, and holdem) is the most popular variant of the card game of poker. Two cards, known as hole cards, are dealt face down to each player, and then five Community card poker, community cards ...

" (single) (

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman. With a career spanning over three decades, she has established herself as one of the most Cultural impact of Beyoncé, ...

) (2024) * "The Ballad Of Sally Anne", ''My Black Country - The Songs Of Alice Randall'' (Various Artists) (2024) * “ Don’t Come Around Here No More” feat. Silkroad Ensemble and

Benmont Tench Benjamin Montmorency "Benmont" Tench III (born September 7, 1953) is an American musician and singer, and a founding member of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Early years Tench was born in Gainesville, Florida, the second child of Benjamin M ...

, (2024
Petty Country: A Country Music Celebration
* "Prologue: Oh Freedom", "Mud Song", "Ahmaud", and "An Echo, An Ending", ''Songs In Flight'' ( Shawn Okpebholo) (2025)

Awards and nominations

References

External links

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