American Railroad, the new album from the Silkroad Ensemble with Rhiannon Giddens, is out now. It is the culmination of four years of research, collaboration, and music-making, having brought Silkroad artists all across the US to uncover and uplift stories of those who built the transcontinental railroad and connecting railways across North America. "The result is a tapestry of stories, traditions, and music that have shaped our multifaceted cultural identity, and that must be heard and recognized," Giddens says. Also out now are a performance video of the track "Mahk Jchi" and the first episode of the American Railroad podcast series. The US fall tour continues to November 23.

"Music is a powerful tool. In an instant, it can change your mood, your perspective, or your life," Stacey Abrams says on her Crooked Media podcast, Assembly Required, introducing her conversation with Rhiannon Giddens. "No matter the motivation, music is an outlet, a force that builds us up or keeps us steady. It holds the capacity to move millions and to resonate with each individual, and every lyric, every note, every beat has the potential to share a message." You can watch and hear their conversation here. Giddens's new album with Silkroad Ensemble, American Railroad, is out next week; their fall tour begins tonight.

"Far Down Far," the second single from Silkroad's upcoming album with Rhiannon Giddens, American Railroad, is out now, along with a live performance video of the song, which you can watch here. Composed by Silkroad artist and Celtic harper Maeve Gilchrist, "Far Down Far" is inspired by the jig "The Far Down Farmer," transformed by the stories and sounds of the Irish laborers who toiled over the building of the railroads.

Rhiannon Giddens has announced the launch of her first-ever festival, Biscuits & Banjos, a celebration of Black music, art, and culture to take place April 25–27, 2025, in downtown Durham, in her home state of North Carolina. The event commemorates the 20th anniversary of the Black Banjo Gathering, which launched Giddens' career and led to the formation of the Carolina Chocolate Drops, who will reunite to headline the festival. A portion of both ticket sales and merchandise income will go to Hurricane Helene relief efforts.

Rhiannon Giddens spoke with NPR's Morning Edition about the area in and around the town of Swannanoa, in her home state of North Carolina, as it recovers from the devastation brought by Hurricane Helene. She also talks about an earlier tragedy in the region—a 19th-century train tunnel collapse—that inspired the old work song "Swannanoa Tunnel," which she recorded with Silkroad Ensemble. "Why were we given the ability to sing and touch people?" Giddens asks. "And this is why: when you think about the destruction, there are no words, so a song can tap into something that then releases energy—now I can cry. That's what it's for, helping us all with the emotions that are bigger than we know what to do with."

Silkroad and its Artistic Director Rhiannon Giddens will release the album American Railroad on November 15 via Nonesuch Records. They will also release the American Railroad podcast series, in partnership with PRX, the first episode of which will drop on November 14. Both releases are part of Silkroad's multi-year American Railroad initiative and coincide with Giddens and their November American Railroad tour. The first track from the album, Rhiannon Giddens’s arrangement of the traditional songs “Swannanoa Tunnel / Steel-Driving Man,” is available today; the accompanying performance video can be seen here.

Rhiannon Giddens joins forces with singer-songwriter Crys Matthews and the Resistance Revival Chorus for a reimagining of folk icon Peggy Seeger’s “How I Long for Peace,” released today, timed to Tuesday's National Voter Registration Day, in partnership with Joy To The Polls and HeadCount. You can watch a video for it here. “Rhiannon, Crys, and Company have done an amazing interpretation of my song," Seeger says. "Thank you, Rhiannon, as always—now it’s on its way!” "I have been a longtime Peggy Seeger fan," Giddens says, "and think she has written an incredible song that says some hard but crucial things and most importantly allows space for us all to wish for a better world.”

In celebration of Nonesuch Records' 60th anniversary, the label has partnered with photographer Michael Wilson—who has exquisitely captured dozens of Nonesuch artists over the past quarter-century—to produce Michael Wilson / 25 Years: A Nonesuch Collection, an extremely limited quantity of 100 box sets containing newly created prints from his Nonesuch archive, out now. You can take a quick look inside here. Designed by the Grammy-winning team at SMOG Design, each box comprises twenty 12" x 12" prints, numbered and signed by the photographer. Artists featured are Allen Toussaint, Ambrose Akinmusire, Audra McDonald, Bill Frisell, The Black Keys, Brad Mehldau, David Byrne, Dr. John, Emmylou Harris, Frederic Rzewski, Jeremy Denk, Kronos Quartet, Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, Manuel Galbán and Ry Cooder, Philip Glass, Randy Newman, Rhiannon Giddens, Stephin Merritt and Lemony Snicket, Steve Reich, and Timo Andres, who wrote a note for the box.

For Nonesuch Records' 60th anniversary, the label has partnered with photographer Michael Wilson—who has exquisitely captured dozens of Nonesuch artists over the past quarter-century—to produce Michael Wilson / 25 Years: A Nonesuch Collection, 100 box sets of 20 newly created prints from his Nonesuch archive, due September 13. Here, Wilson shares stories from the photo sessions behind the images in the box, with Allen Toussaint, Ambrose Akinmusire, Audra McDonald, Bill Frisell, The Black Keys, Brad Mehldau, David Byrne, Dr. John, Emmylou Harris, Frederic Rzewski, Jeremy Denk, Kronos Quartet, Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, Manuel Galbán and Ry Cooder, Philip Glass, Randy Newman, Rhiannon Giddens, Stephin Merritt and Lemony Snicket, Steve Reich, and Timo Andres.

The 72nd DownBeat Critics Poll results are in, and among the winners are Darcy James Argue, Arranger; Mary Halvorson, Guitar; Cécile McLorin Salvant, Female Vocalist; and Ambrose Akinmusire, Trumpet—all of whose albums are among the Jazz Albums of the Year—and Rhiannon Giddens, Beyond Artist and Beyond Album of the Year.

Rhiannon Giddens was on the Democracy Now! Juneteenth special to talk with host Amy Goodman about her album You're the One and the track "Another Wasted Life," which she wrote inspired by the tragic story of Kalief Browder, a young man wrongfully incarcerated at NYC's Rikers Island for three years, where he was subjected to nearly two years of solitary confinement. You can watch their conversation and the video she made for the song with the Pennsylvania Innocence Project, featuring 22 wrongfully convicted people, here. Giddens also talks with Goodman about her Pulitzer Prize–winning opera with Michael Abels, Omar.

Rhiannon Giddens and her band were on Jimmy Kimmel Live! last night to perform "You Louisiana Man," from her new album, You're the One. You can watch it here. The second season of her PBS show My Music with Rhiannon Giddens premieres today with pipa virtuoso Wu Man as her guest. You can watch that here as well.