Rhiannon Giddens

Dive into the cross-cultural exchange made possible by the banjo.

From ragtime to New Orleans jazz, examine the banjo's capabilities for syncopation.

Performance of "Kitchen Girl" with Enda Scahill

Although difficult to study, minstrel shows play an important part in the banjo's history.

If African Americans invented the banjo, why did they stop playing it?

Performance of "Better Git Yer Learnin'"

Don't Get Trouble in Your Mind: The Carolina Chocolate Drops' Story captures how three musicians from the hip-hop generation embraced a 19th-century genre and took it to new heights, winning a Grammy in 2010.

Rhiannon Giddens is a celebrated artist who excavates the past to reveal bold and candid truths about our present. A MacArthur's Genius' Grant recipient, she has performed for the Obama's at the White House and acted in two seasons of the hit television series Nashville.

Rhiannon Giddens's follow-up to her highly acclaimed solo debut, Tomorrow Is My Turn, is more raw and personal with a mix of original tunes, traditional songs, and two songs from the civil rights era.

Publisher Annotation: As an acclaimed musician, singer, songwriter, and cofounder of the traditional African American string band the Carolina Chocolate Drops, Rhiannon Giddens has long used her art to mine America’s musical past and manifest its future, passionately recovering lost voices and reconstructing a nation’s musical heritage. Written as a song to commemorate the 155th anniversary of Juneteenth—which was originally performed with famed...