Rhiannon Giddens

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Giddens Rhiannon
Artist Position
3.00
Affiliated Artists
Carolina Chocolate Drops
Biography (Excerpt)

Rhiannon Giddens’ You’re the One is her third solo studio album and her first of all original songs. This collection of twelve tunes written over the course of her career bursts with life-affirming energy, drawing from the folk music she knows so deeply and its pop descendants. The album was produced by Jack Splash (Kendrick Lamar, Solange, Alicia Keys, Valerie June) and recorded in Miami with a ten- to twelve-person ensemble including Giddens’ closest musical collaborators from the past decade and a horn section. The lone featured guest on the album is Jason Isbell on “Yet to Be.”

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Facebook URL
https://www.facebook.com/RhiannonGiddensMusic
Twitter URL
https://twitter.com/rhiannongiddens
Instagram URL
https://instagram.com/rhiannongiddens
Youtube URL
https://www.youtube.com/user/rhiannongiddens

Rhiannon Giddens’ You’re the One will be released August 18 on Nonesuch Records. The album is the Grammy- and MacArthur-winning singer, composer, and instrumentalist’s third solo studio album and her first of all original songs; her last solo album was 2017’s critically acclaimed Freedom Highway. This collection of twelve songs written over the course of Giddens’ career bursts with life-affirming energy, drawing from the folk music that she knows so deeply, as well as its pop descendants. The album was produced by Jack Splash (Kendrick Lamar, Solange, Alicia Keys, Valerie June, Tank and the Bangas) and recorded at Criteria Recording Studios in Miami with a band composed of Giddens’ closest musical collaborators from the past decade alongside musicians from Splash’s own Rolodex, topped off with a horn section, making an impressive ten-to-twelve-person ensemble.

The album's title track was inspired by a moment Giddens had with her son not long after he was born (he's now ten years old, and she has a fourteen-year-old daughter as well). You can watch the lyric video for it here:

"Your life has changed forever, and you don't know it until you're in the middle of it and it hits you," Giddens says. "I held his little cheek up to my face, and was just reminded, 'Oh my God, my children—they have every bit of my heart.'"

Giddens made You’re the One with some of her closest musical collaborators from the past decade, including her partner, Italian multi-instrumentalist Francesco Turrisi, plus multi-instrumentalist Dirk Powell, bassist Jason Sypher, and Congolese guitarist Niwel Tsumbu. The album features electric and upright bass, conga, Cajun and Piano accordions, guitars, a Western string section, and Miami horns, among other instruments, capturing the inclusive spirit that channels through all of her work.

"I hope that people just hear American music," Giddens says. "Blues, jazz, Cajun, country, gospel, and rock—it's all there. I like to be where it meets organically. They're fun songs, and I wanted them to have as much of a chance as they could to reach people who might dig them but don't know anything about what I do. If they're introduced to me through this record, they might go listen to other music I've made and make some new discoveries.”

You’re the One opens with "Too Little, Too Late, Too Bad," an R&B blast (complete with background "shoops" and horns) that takes a titan for inspiration. "I listened to a bunch of Aretha Franklin, and then turned to fellow Aretha-nut Dirk Powell and said, ‘Let’s write a song she might have sung!'" Giddens recalls. Her danceable, vivacious tribute to Franklin's sound is a vocal showcase, spotlighting her soaring high notes and nearly-growling low ones. Another highlight, "If You Don't Know How Sweet It Is," intentionally puts an edgier spin on the sass of Dolly Parton's early work.

One of the album's most powerful moments is "Another Wasted Life," inspired by the tragic story of Kalief Browder, who was incarcerated on Rikers Island for three years without trial. The lone featured guest on the album is Jason Isbell on “Yet to Be,” the story of a Black woman and an Irish man falling in love in America.

As Pitchfork once said, “few artists are so fearless and so ravenous in their exploration”—a journey that has led to NPR naming her one of its 25 Most Influential Women Musicians of the 21st Century and to American Songwriter calling her “one of the most important musical minds currently walking the planet.” Giddens’ previous album They're Calling Me Home won the Grammy Award for Best Folk Album in 2022, making her a two-time winner and eight-time nominee. In the past two years Giddens has also debuted her opera, Omar, written with film composer Michael Abels (Get Out, Nope), which won the 2023 Pulitzer Prize in Music; had her PBS’ Great Performances debut with the Nashville Ballet in Black Lucy and the Bard, which she composed and performed the music for with Francesco Turrisi; and released a children's book inspired by a song she wrote for Juneteenth called Build a House. She is also the creative director of the Silkroad Ensemble, is this year’s musical director of the Ojai Festival, created a 10-part video series about the banjo on Wondrium, and is hosting a new series on PBS this summer called My Music. Giddens has collaborated with Yo-Yo Ma, Elvis Costello and Daniel Lanois, appeared on the Kennedy Center Awards for Joan Baez, and has been featured on CBS Sunday Morning, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, the Late Show with Stephen Colbert, the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, CBS Saturday Morning, and the recent Grammy Salute to Paul Simon on CBS.

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Latest Release

  • August 18, 2023

    Rhiannon Giddens’ You’re the One is her third solo studio album and her first of all original songs. This collection of twelve tunes written over the course of her career bursts with life-affirming energy, drawing from the folk music she knows so deeply and its pop descendants. The album was produced by Jack Splash (Kendrick Lamar, Solange, Alicia Keys, Valerie June) and recorded with an ensemble including Giddens' closest musical collaborators from the past decade, a string section, and Miami Horns. The lone featured guest on the album is Jason Isbell on “Yet to Be.” Grammy Nominee for Best Americana Album, Best American Roots Performance ("You Louisiana Man").

News

  • March 12, 2024

    The 2024 Big Ears Festival is next week, taking place in venues throughout downtown Knoxville, TN, March 21–24, with more than a dozen Nonesuch artists past, present, and future performing as part of the label's 60th anniversary celebrations. In addition to all of the music and film offerings, Big Ears also hosts a number of artist conversations with music journalists Ann Powers and Nate Chinen, including talks with Sam Amidon, Laurie Anderson, Darcy James Argue, Rhiannon Giddens, Mary Halvorson, Robin Holcomb, Hurray for the Riff Raff, Brad Mehldau, Davóne Tines, and Yasmin Williams.

  • March 6, 2024

    "Rhiannon Giddens is one of those people where I feel like they have to start inventing new awards, because she's already won all of them," Song Exploder host Hrishikesh Hirway says of his guest. On the latest episode, Giddens talks about "You Louisiana Man," breaking down the song from her new album, You're the One. You can hear what she had to say about it here.

Tour

Mon, Mar 18
North Bethesda, MD
The Music Center at Strathmore
Mon, Mar 18
North Bethesda, MD
The Music Center at Strathmore
Tue, Mar 19
State College, PA
Penn State University Eisenhower Auditorium
Tue, Mar 19
State College, PA
Penn State University Eisenhower Auditorium
Wed, Mar 20
Cincinnati, OH
Memorial Hall
Wed, Mar 20
Cincinnati, OH
Memorial Hall
Fri, Mar 22
Knoxville, TN
Tennessee Theatre
Fri, Mar 22
Knoxville, TN
Tennessee Theatre
Sat, Mar 23
Knoxville, TN
Tennessee Theatre
Sat, Mar 23
Knoxville, TN
Tennessee Theatre
Sun, Mar 24
Knoxville, TN
Mill & Mine
Sun, Mar 24
Knoxville, TN
Mill & Mine
Sun, Mar 24
Knoxville, TN
Visit Knoxville Visitors Center
Sun, Mar 24
Knoxville, TN
Visit Knoxville Visitors Center
Mon, Apr 15
Vancouver, BC
Chan Centre for Performing Arts
Mon, Apr 15
Vancouver, BC
Chan Centre for Performing Arts
Wed, Apr 17
Beaverton, OR
Patricia Reser Center for the Arts
Wed, Apr 17
Beaverton, OR
Patricia Reser Center for the Arts
Thu, Apr 18
Beaverton, OR
Patricia Reser Center for the Arts
Thu, Apr 18
Beaverton, OR
Patricia Reser Center for the Arts

Photos

About Rhiannon Giddens

  • Rhiannon Giddens’ You’re the One will be released August 18 on Nonesuch Records. The album is the Grammy- and MacArthur-winning singer, composer, and instrumentalist’s third solo studio album and her first of all original songs; her last solo album was 2017’s critically acclaimed Freedom Highway. This collection of twelve songs written over the course of Giddens’ career bursts with life-affirming energy, drawing from the folk music that she knows so deeply, as well as its pop descendants. The album was produced by Jack Splash (Kendrick Lamar, Solange, Alicia Keys, Valerie June, Tank and the Bangas) and recorded at Criteria Recording Studios in Miami with a band composed of Giddens’ closest musical collaborators from the past decade alongside musicians from Splash’s own Rolodex, topped off with a horn section, making an impressive ten-to-twelve-person ensemble.

    The album's title track was inspired by a moment Giddens had with her son not long after he was born (he's now ten years old, and she has a fourteen-year-old daughter as well). You can watch the lyric video for it here:

    "Your life has changed forever, and you don't know it until you're in the middle of it and it hits you," Giddens says. "I held his little cheek up to my face, and was just reminded, 'Oh my God, my children—they have every bit of my heart.'"

    Giddens made You’re the One with some of her closest musical collaborators from the past decade, including her partner, Italian multi-instrumentalist Francesco Turrisi, plus multi-instrumentalist Dirk Powell, bassist Jason Sypher, and Congolese guitarist Niwel Tsumbu. The album features electric and upright bass, conga, Cajun and Piano accordions, guitars, a Western string section, and Miami horns, among other instruments, capturing the inclusive spirit that channels through all of her work.

    "I hope that people just hear American music," Giddens says. "Blues, jazz, Cajun, country, gospel, and rock—it's all there. I like to be where it meets organically. They're fun songs, and I wanted them to have as much of a chance as they could to reach people who might dig them but don't know anything about what I do. If they're introduced to me through this record, they might go listen to other music I've made and make some new discoveries.”

    You’re the One opens with "Too Little, Too Late, Too Bad," an R&B blast (complete with background "shoops" and horns) that takes a titan for inspiration. "I listened to a bunch of Aretha Franklin, and then turned to fellow Aretha-nut Dirk Powell and said, ‘Let’s write a song she might have sung!'" Giddens recalls. Her danceable, vivacious tribute to Franklin's sound is a vocal showcase, spotlighting her soaring high notes and nearly-growling low ones. Another highlight, "If You Don't Know How Sweet It Is," intentionally puts an edgier spin on the sass of Dolly Parton's early work.

    One of the album's most powerful moments is "Another Wasted Life," inspired by the tragic story of Kalief Browder, who was incarcerated on Rikers Island for three years without trial. The lone featured guest on the album is Jason Isbell on “Yet to Be,” the story of a Black woman and an Irish man falling in love in America.

    As Pitchfork once said, “few artists are so fearless and so ravenous in their exploration”—a journey that has led to NPR naming her one of its 25 Most Influential Women Musicians of the 21st Century and to American Songwriter calling her “one of the most important musical minds currently walking the planet.” Giddens’ previous album They're Calling Me Home won the Grammy Award for Best Folk Album in 2022, making her a two-time winner and eight-time nominee. In the past two years Giddens has also debuted her opera, Omar, written with film composer Michael Abels (Get Out, Nope), which won the 2023 Pulitzer Prize in Music; had her PBS’ Great Performances debut with the Nashville Ballet in Black Lucy and the Bard, which she composed and performed the music for with Francesco Turrisi; and released a children's book inspired by a song she wrote for Juneteenth called Build a House. She is also the creative director of the Silkroad Ensemble, is this year’s musical director of the Ojai Festival, created a 10-part video series about the banjo on Wondrium, and is hosting a new series on PBS this summer called My Music. Giddens has collaborated with Yo-Yo Ma, Elvis Costello and Daniel Lanois, appeared on the Kennedy Center Awards for Joan Baez, and has been featured on CBS Sunday Morning, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, the Late Show with Stephen Colbert, the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, CBS Saturday Morning, and the recent Grammy Salute to Paul Simon on CBS.