Rhiannon Giddens and Francesco Turrisi spoke with RTÉ Lyric FM's Culture File about their current tour of Ireland, the many instruments they've brought along, and the repertoire they're performing, including some classical tunes that Giddens has adapted for the folk idiom. Hear the conversation here.

Rhiannon Giddens begins a duo tour of Ireland with Italian percussionist/accordionist Francesco Turrisi at The Sugar Club in Dublin tonight, followed by stops in Dún Laoghaire, Wexford, Tinahely, Limerick, Tralee, Clifden, Ennis, Letterkenny, Belfast, and Newbridge. "The ties that bind, and the bridges that unite us. These recurring themes form the basis of the musical alchemy that Rhiannon Giddens and Francesco Turrisi revel in these days," says the Irish Times. "At the heart of the duo’s music is an intention to break down the othering that leads to walls being built, and tolls (both monetary and emotional) being taken."

Rhiannon Giddens, who made her Boston Pops debut during the 2018 Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular, returns for a Pops residency titled Redefining American Music, May 22–25, 2019. For the first two evenings, she joins the Pops to perform music from her own albums, fusing influences from roots, jazz, blues, country, gospel, and Celtic music. The next two nights, Giddens curates a program that spotlights overlooked African American composers, joined by vocalist Darius de Haas and pianist Lara Downes.

Aria Code, the new Rhiannon Giddens–hosted podcast series from The Metropolitan Opera and WQXR, launches today. The series, which takes a closer look at some of opera's legendary arias, opens with a look at Verdi's La Traviata and Violetta's Act I finale. The New Yorker says of the podcast: "It's a stunner on all levels, elegantly produced, with a heavenly blend of music and insight." Hear it here.

Rhiannon Giddens will host a new ten-episode podcast series, Aria Code, presented by The Metropolitan Opera and WQXR. The podcast, which will debut on Tuesday, December 4, will take a closer look at some of opera's legendary arias."I studied opera at the Oberlin Conservatory and fell hard for the music," says Giddens. "Even though I've branched out in very different directions, opera stayed with me and I wanted to figure out why. In Aria Code, we really get inside these arias—decoding them with singers and other experts to understand the magic. I'm so excited to take listeners on this journey."

The line-up for the 2019 Big Ears Festival has been announced, including several Nonesuch artists: Rhiannon Giddens, Punch Brothers, Gabriel Kahane, and Mountain Man. Big Ears will be held at venues throughout downtown Knoxville, Tennessee, March 21–24, 2019. Weekend passes are on sale now.

Rhiannon Giddens has announced a duo tour of Ireland with Italian percussionist / accordionist Francesco Turrisi for March 2019. The duo discovered a shared creative ground after their paths crossed a few years back, spanning gospel, jazz, blues, country and folk, and this is their first nationwide tour of Ireland. The eleven-city tour begins at The Sugar Club in Dublin on March 5 and runs through March 16.

NPR has named Rhiannon Giddens one of the 25 Most Influential Women Musicians of the 21st Century, as part of its ongoing Turning the Tables project, which had previously included her song "At The Purchaser's Option" among the 200 Greatest Songs By 21st Century Women+. "Throughout her career Giddens has been reaching towards something more imperative than the honors and praise she's received," writes Kaia Kater on NPR Music. "With every performance, she gently enters the listener's mind, whittling away at our fallacy of perception as reality ... Most importantly, Giddens is continuing to make it possible for women of color to claim the space they deserve, and to create whatever kind of art they want within it. This, to me, is a gift."

Congratulations to Rhiannon Giddens, who has made The Root 100 list of influential African Americans. "It's our way of honoring the innovators, the leaders, the public figures and game changers whose work from the past year is breaking down barriers and paving the way for the next generation," says The Root, "is a reminder of the beauty and brilliance of blackness, at a time when the political and cultural landscape has grown even more hostile to the idea of black achievement." Giddens' work shows "how music is often a soothing balm during some of our toughest times."

Rhiannon Giddens will star as Bess in Greensboro Opera's production of The Gershwins' Porgy & Bess in 2020. The performances will take place at the Steven Tanger Center for the Performing Arts in her hometown of Greensboro, NC, on November 13 and 15, 2020, the company's inaugural season in the new venue. Giddens was in Greensboro last weekend as the guest curator of and a performer at the North Carolina Folk Festival. She performs in upstate New York this week and at the FreshGrass Festival at MASS MoCA this weekend.

Rhiannon Giddens's program as a performer at and guest curator of the 2018 North Carolina Folk Festival has been announced. The free event takes place in her hometown of Greensboro, September 7–9. Giddens's program includes a performance and discussion with public school students; an evening of jazz, spoken word, and tap dance; a symposium and a workshop on banjo cultures and traditions; a performance on the roots of American dance; a concert of songs from Giddens's Nonesuch albums; and more.

Rhiannon Giddens has curated a series with Symphony Space in NYC for this November. She will be joined by a handpicked selection of artists for a complementary pair of programs celebrating both historical and contemporary women of color in music, dance, spoken word, and more. "I really believe in fostering an artistic community whenever possible," she says, "to play for and with each other, create with each other, make something bigger than ourselves." Giddens has also scored an original ballet for Nashville Ballet and will take part in the premiere performances in February.