Rhiannon Giddens facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Rhiannon Giddens
Giddens performing at Aarhus Festival in 2015
Background information
Born	(1977-02-21) February 21, 1977 (age 48) Greensboro, North Carolina, U.S.
Genres	Folk old-time music bluegrass country gospel blues jazz soul R&B Celtic Americana
Instruments	Vocals fiddle banjo viola
Years active	2005–present
Labels	Music Maker Nonesuch

Rhiannon Giddens (born February 21, 1977) is an American musician. She is famous for her unique folk music style. Rhiannon is a founding member of the band Carolina Chocolate Drops. In this band, she was the lead singer, played the fiddle, and played the banjo.

Rhiannon Giddens grew up in Greensboro, North Carolina. Besides her work with the Grammy-winning Chocolate Drops, she has released five solo albums. These include Tomorrow Is My Turn (2015) and Freedom Highway (2017). She also released There Is No Other (2019) and They're Calling Me Home (2021), both with Italian musician Francesco Turrisi. Her latest solo album is You're the One (2023).

In 2014, Rhiannon worked on a project called The New Basement Tapes. This project used old lyrics written by Bob Dylan and set them to new music. The album, Lost on the River: The New Basement Tapes, became very popular. In 2023, an opera called Omar, which Rhiannon co-wrote, won the Pulitzer Prize for Music. This is a very important award for music.

Early Life and Family

Rhiannon Giddens has a diverse family background. Her father, David Giddens, is European-American. Her mother, Deborah Jamieson, has African American and Native American roots. Her parents met in Greensboro, North Carolina. They separated when Rhiannon was young.

Rhiannon and her sister, Lalenja, grew up in Greensboro and nearby Gibsonville. Lalenja Harrington is also a singer and songwriter. She sometimes works with Rhiannon on music projects.

Musical Journey

Giddens performing in Rudolstadt, Germany in 2015

Rhiannon Giddens went to the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics. She later studied opera at Oberlin Conservatory at Oberlin College, graduating in 2000.

In 2005, Rhiannon went to a special gathering for banjo players in Boone, North Carolina. There, she met Dom Flemons and Súle Greg Wilson. They started a band called Sankofa Strings. Rhiannon was also part of a Celtic music band called Gaelwynd. Later in 2005, Rhiannon and Dom Flemons, along with other musicians, formed the Carolina Chocolate Drops. This band later won a Grammy Award.

In 2007, Rhiannon played the fiddle and banjo on Talitha MacKenzie's album Indian Summer. She also added her unique "flat-footin'" dancing and singing. In 2009, Rhiannon and her friend Cheryse McLeod Lewis formed a duo called Eleganza. They released a CD called Because I Knew You... which featured classical and movie music. By 2013, Rhiannon was the only original member left in the Carolina Chocolate Drops.

In 2013, Rhiannon started focusing more on her solo career. She performed at a concert inspired by the movie Inside Llewyn Davis. Many people said her performance was the best part of the show. She also contributed a song called "We Rise" to an album supporting the Moral Monday movement in North Carolina.

In early 2014, Rhiannon recorded for Lost on the River: The New Basement Tapes. She worked with famous musicians like Elvis Costello and Marcus Mumford. This album used unreleased lyrics by Bob Dylan.

Giddens performing in Edmonton, Canada in 2015

In February 2015, Rhiannon released her first solo album, Tomorrow Is My Turn. The album featured songs made famous by artists like Patsy Cline and Nina Simone. Critics praised the album, calling her a "significant talent." In July 2015, she performed at the TFF Rudolstadt festival in Germany. Her performance was even broadcast live on German radio.

In November 2015, she released an EP (a shorter album) called Factory Girl. This EP included more music from the same recording sessions as her solo album. She also appeared on the TV show Jools Holland's Hootenanny in the UK. She performed songs from her album and a duet with Tom Jones.

In 2016, Rhiannon was chosen for Transatlantic Sessions, a special collaboration with American and Celtic musicians. She also became the first American to win Folk Singer of the Year at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards. Later that year, she received the Steve Martin Prize for Excellence in Banjo and Bluegrass. She was the first woman and first person of color to receive this award. Rhiannon and the Carolina Chocolate Drops were also inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame.

In 2017, Rhiannon made history by performing at both the Newport Folk and Jazz Festivals. She also gave a keynote speech at the World of Bluegrass Business Conference. In June 2017, she appeared in the documentary The American Epic Sessions. She recorded songs using a special old recording system from the 1920s.

In October 2017, Rhiannon Giddens was named a MacArthur "Genius" Fellow. This award recognizes her amazing talent and her work in connecting different music traditions. She performed with the Louisville Orchestra and the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra. In 2018, she co-produced Songs of Our Native Daughters for Smithsonian Folkways. This album explored America's history of slavery and racism through music. She also wrote music for a ballet called Lucy Negro, Redux.

Rhiannon recorded vocals for an audio art project called Silo Songs. She also contributed a song, "Mountain Hymn," to the popular video game Red Dead Redemption 2 in 2018. In December 2018, she started hosting a podcast called Aria Code with Rhiannon Giddens about opera. In 2019, she released two studio albums: Songs of Our Native Daughters and There Is No Other with Francesco Turrisi.

For the 2020 Spoleto Festival USA, Rhiannon Giddens was asked to create an opera. It was based on the life story of Omar Ibn Said, an enslaved Muslim cleric from Senegal. Rhiannon wrote the story and helped compose the music for Omar. The opera premiered in 2022 and won the 2023 Pulitzer Prize in Music. In July 2020, Rhiannon became the Artistic Director of Silkroad (arts organization), a cross-cultural music group.

In 2023, Rhiannon joined Wondrium to lead a series called "The Banjo: Music, History and Heritage." She was also named the musical director for the 2023 Ojai Music Festival.

Acting Roles

From 2017 to 2018, Rhiannon Giddens appeared in the TV show Nashville. She played Hannah Lee "Hallie" Jordan, a social worker and gospel singer. She was in 11 episodes and performed several songs on the show.

Documentaries

Rhiannon Giddens is featured in the 2024 documentary Cover Your Ears. In this film, she talks about music censorship. She also appears in the 2022 documentary Black Fiddlers, where she shares memories of other musicians.

Author

Rhiannon Giddens will also be publishing children's books with Candlewick Press. The first two books, based on her songs "Build A House" and "We Could Fly," are set to be released in Fall 2022.

Personal Life

Rhiannon Giddens has a daughter born in 2009 and a son born in 2013. She lives in Limerick, Ireland.

Discography

Solo Albums

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 Yo-Yo Ma and Francesco Turrisi (2022)

With Carolina Chocolate Drops

Other Collaborations

• As member of Gaelwynd, Out on the Ocean: Music of the British Isles (2004)
• 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)
• As member of Silkroad Ensemble, American Railroad (2024)
• As Sankofa Strings, Colored Aristocracy (2005)
• As Eleganza (with Cheryse McLeod Lewis), Because I Knew You... (2009)
• As The Giddens Sisters (with Lalenja Harrington), I Know I've Been Changed (2013)
• With Ben Harper, Black Eyed Dog (single) (2020)
• With Amanda Palmer, It's a Fire (single) (2020)
• With Beyoncé, "Texas Hold 'Em" (single) (2024)

Awards and Nominations

See also

In Spanish: Rhiannon Giddens para niños