An intelligent and sensitive artist who investigates in the depth of American black and white popular music roots. And not only that: she is an expert in Gaelic music and lives in Dublin with her Italian life – and music – partner Francesco Turrisi). Rhiannon Giddens’ mission is to bring lesser-known music and musicians back into the spotlight, or even those erased from the collective memory. Moreover, they should be rediscovered for their contribution to folk and ethnic music culture. Giddens co-founded the famous Grammy-winning band Carolina Chocolate Drops. She won another Grammy award for her latest album, recorded in a small Irish studio in 2020 with Turrisi. “They’re Calling Me Home” – that’s the title – was received by critics as an important album. Smithsonian Magazine wrote about Rhiannon Giddens’ work, “an electrifying artist who brings alive the memories of forgotten predecessors, white and black”. Besides her other eight Grammy nominations, she is an actress (she starred in the TV series “Nashville”), writer, and involved in cultural projects and bands, always in line with her work’s main mission.
Meanwhile, her new album, titled “You are the one” and featuring all original compositions, has been announced for release in August. “Blues, jazz, Cajun, country, gospel, and rock – it’s all there,” says Giddens to describe a complex and sophisticated record that brings together different instruments and musical cultures, but can blend seamlessly with her. Finally, the news that her work, “Omar,” written with Michael Abels, has won the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for music.
