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.

Rhiannon Giddens's "At The Purchaser's Option," from her 2017 album, Freedom Highway, has made NPR Music's list of The 200 Greatest Songs By 21st Century Women+. The song comes in at No. 30 on list, part of NPR Music's Turning the Tables project. "The songs are by artists whose major musical contributions ... have shifted attitudes, defied categories and pushed sound in new directions," says NPR. "Giddens has become a leader in the Americana world by foregrounding her talent for telling black Americans' stories, as she does on her 2017 LP Freedom Highway."

Congratulations to Rhiannon Giddens, who has won her first Songlines Music Award, for her latest album, Freedom Highway, in the Americas category. The winners were announced in the June issue of the magazine, on sale now. Songlines gave Freedom Highway four stars when it was released, calling the title track "the closing triumph to a wonderful set."

Washington Performing Arts has announced its 2018–19 concert season, and among the performers the organization will present at various venues in the Washington, DC, area next season are Jeremy Denk (Kennedy Center Terrace Theater, January 29; Strathmore with Joshua Bell and Steven Isserlis, May 1), Kronos Quartet (Sixth & I, March 2), and Rhiannon Giddens (Sixth & I with Lara Downes, February 23).

Rhiannon Giddens was on NPR's All Things Considered on Sunday. She spoke with host Michel Martin about her MacArthur Fellowship, the role of the banjo in her work, and her latest album, Freedom Highway, from which she performed two songs: "At the Purchaser's Option" and "Julie." You can hear the conversation and performance here.

Rhiannon Giddens begins a spring North American tour at the Savannah Music Festival tonight. She has shows in the Carolinas, Virginia, Maryland, Florida, and Georgia over the next few weeks, closing out the month with a set at MerleFest. The tour resumes in mid-May, with shows in upstate New York, Ontario, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New England, Kentucky, and more. There are more shows scheduled for the summer as well.

Congratulations to Rhiannon Giddens, nominated for her first Songlines Music Award, for her latest album, Freedom Highway, in the Americas category. The winners will be announced in the June issue of the magazine, on sale May 11. Songlines gave Freedom Highway four stars when it was released, calling the title track "the closing triumph to a wonderful set," and featured Giddens on the cover of the magazine later in the year.