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.

Rhiannon Giddens, the Guest Curator of the 2018 Cambridge Folk Festival, has selected the performers she has invited to Cherry Hinton Hall this August 2–5: Peggy Seeger, Kaia Kater, Birds of Chicago, Amythyst Kiah, and Yola Carter will be introduced by Giddens before each takes the stage. Giddens will also perform at the Festival. She will give the keynote address at the Big Ears Festival in Knoxville this Saturday.

Rhiannon Giddens recently sat down with The Bluegrass Situation to perform "Mal Hombre," singer/guitarist Lydia Mendoza's 1934 song. The performance, for the site's Sitch Sessions, took place in a flower-filled 1954 Silver Streak trailer in East Nashville. You can watch it here.

Rhiannon Giddens and Dirk Powell were on WNYC's Soundcheck. They discussed and performed music from her 2017 album, Freedom Highway, which she co-produced with Powell in his Louisiana studio, songs from an in-progress theater work, and more. Watch the episode here.

Rhiannon Giddens has announced sixteen new headlining dates on her Freedom Highway tour. The new tour stops include shows in Baltimore, Tampa, and Cincinnati and are part of several months of touring across the US. Tickets for the new dates go on sale this Friday, February 2.

American Songwriter magazine has released its year-end-best lists, and among the artists featured are Rhiannon Giddens, Robert Plant, and Fleet Foxes. Rhiannon Giddens's album Freedom Highway and Robert Plant's Carry Fire have made the Top 25 Albums of 2017, and Giddens, Plant, and Fleet Foxes have songs on the list of the Top 25 Songs of 2017.

With more than a month to go before 2017 comes to a close, the UK music magazines have begun to weigh in on the year's best music. Uncut, Mojo, and Q have all published their lists of the Best Albums of the Year, and included among them are a number of Nonesuch releases: the latest albums from Fleet Foxes, Rhiannon Giddens, Randy Newman, Robert Plant, The Magnetic Fields, and Offa Rex.