Rhiannon Giddens and Francesco Turrisi have released a new video for their rendition of the traditional American folk song “O Death,” from their new album, They're Calling Me Home. The video features illustrated vignettes of a story about death painted by Maeve Clancy, an Irish crankie roll artist. Giddens explains, “Crankies are a pre-electricity technology that pair a visual narrative, usually painted on a long piece of paper or cloth, 'cranked' by hand to the timing of the song.” You can watch it here.

Rhiannon Giddens is the guest on the latest episode of Object of Sound with Hanif Abdurraqib. The two examine what it means when one refers to home, a topic Giddens contemplates on her new album with Francesco Turrisi, They're Calling Me Home. You can listen to their conversation here.

Rhiannon Giddens’ new album, They're Calling Me Home, recorded with Italian multi-instrumentalist Francesco Turrisi, is out now on Nonesuch Records (vinyl June 11). Giddens and Turrisi, who both live in Ireland when they aren’t on tour, have been there since March 2020 due to the pandemic. The two expats found themselves drawn to the music of their native and adoptive countries of America, Italy, and Ireland during lockdown. Exploring the emotions brought up by the moment, Giddens and Turrisi decamped to Hellfire, a small studio on a working farm outside of Dublin, to record these songs over six days. Giddens has released a video for "Avalon," an original song on the album, which you can watch here.

Rhiannon Giddens is a guest on the latest episode of NPR's Here & Now ahead of tomorrow's release of her new album with Francesco Turrisi, They're Calling Me Home. "If you're looking for music to soothe your spirit, Rhiannon Giddens is here for you," says host Peter O'Dowd. They discuss the new album, which Giddens and Turrisi, ex-pats in Ireland, recorded during the COVID-19 lockdown, and its themes of the longing for the comfort of home and the metaphorical call "home" of death. You can hear the conversation here.

Kronos Quartet and Rhiannon Giddens and Francesco Turrisi will perform free for Carnegie Hall's first-ever online festival, Voices of Hope, April 16–30. The two-week festival examines the life-affirming power of music and the arts during times of crisis through more than 100 events, including programming presented by Carnegie Hall and more than 40 cultural and academic institutions across New York City and beyond. Kronos Quartet performs works by Terry Riley and others on April 24, and Rhiannon Giddens and Francesco Turris perform from their new album, They're Calling Me Home, on April 28.

Aria Code, the Rhiannon Giddens–hosted podcast from The Metropolitan Opera and WQXR, returns for its third season today. The new season opens with "Nessun dorma," from Puccini's opera Turandot. Giddens hears from conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin, writer Anne Midgette, and Dr. Michael Cho, a pulmonary and critical care physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, who has been on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic and is a violist with the Longwood Symphony Orchestra and the National Virtual Medical Orchestra. You can hear the episode here.

Rhiannon Giddens has released "Waterbound," a second track from her upcoming album with Francesco Turrisi, They’re Calling Me Home, out April 9. The song is a traditional fiddle tune first recorded in the 1920s that includes the refrain, "Waterbound, and I can't get home, down to North Carolina," capturing a central theme of the new album: longing for the comfort of home and family in this time of prolonged isolation. The video, which you can watch here, was filmed in Ireland and includes footage from the recording session that took place in a small studio on a working farm outside Dublin. The song and video also feature Congolese guitarist Niwel Tsumbu. Giddens says, “‘Waterbound’ is a song I learned a long time ago and it brings me forcefully home to North Carolina when I sing it, and considering that I am, indeed waterbound, and have been for a long time, it's a rare moment when a folk song represents exactly my situation in time.”

Rhiannon Giddens’ new album, They're Calling Me Home, recorded with Italian multi-instrumentalist Francesco Turrisi, will be released April 9 (vinyl June 11) on Nonesuch Records; vinyl is due June 11. The album was recorded during the COVID-19 lockdown in Ireland. The two expats found themselves drawn to and comforted by the music of their native and adoptive countries of America, Italy, and Ireland, which they recorded at a spare studio on a working farm outside of Dublin. The result is a twelve-song album that speaks to the longing for the comfort of home as well as the metaphorical call "home" of death. Nonesuch Store pre-orders include a limited-edition, autographed print and an instant download of the song "Calling Me Home," the video for which can be seen here.

Chris Thile, Cécile McLorin Salvant, Rhiannon Giddens, Jeremy Denk, Mandy Patinkin, Gaby Moreno, and Nico Muhly will take part in NY PopsUp, a festival featuring hundreds of pop-up performances—many of which are free of charge and all open to the public—throughout New York City and State. Additionally, Thile and Salvant are on a council of artistic advisors partnering with curator Zack Winokur to program the series. NYPopsUp, which will run from Saturday, February 20, through Labor Day, will make stages out of existing landscapes, including iconic transit stations, parks, subway platforms, museums, skate parks, street corners, fire escapes, parking lots, storefronts, and upstate venues. The festival is being coordinated with state public health officials and will strictly adhere to Department of Health COVID-19 protocols.

While most of us can't go out to take in great live music, here are some events taking place online to enjoy while staying home this weekend: On Friday, Mariza sings the music of Amália Rodrigues for NYC's Town Hall from Portugal, Vagabon performs from a decked-out Boulevard Studios in LA, and Jeremy Denk performs Bach for Emory University's Schwartz Center. On Sunday, Chris Thile leads his master class, Caroline Shaw and Attacca Quartet perform for Miami's IlluminArts from NYC, and Rhiannon Giddens and Francesco Turrisi perform for Celtic Connections from Ireland.

Rhiannon Giddens spoke with North Carolina singer-songwriter and social activist Laurelyn Dossett for the Blue Ridge Music Center's new online series A Place in the Band: Women in Bluegrass & American Roots Music. In the ten-part series, a partnership with The Bluegrass Situation, Dossett speaks with women in the music business about people who have inspired them, issues they've encountered specific to women in the industry, and changes they've seen over the years. You can watch the conversation here.

While many of us can't go out to take in great live music, here are some events taking place online to enjoy while staying home this weekend: Jeremy Denk performs Schumann, Mazzoli, and Brahms for the University of Washington's Meany Center; Tigran Hamasyan performs from The Call Within for EFG London Jazz Festival online; Rhiannon Giddens and Francesco Turrisi perform from there is no Other for UC Santa Barbara; Punch Brothers perform the first of two consecutive Sunday night concerts from Blackbird Studio in Nashville; and k.d. lang can be heard on BBC Radio 2's In Concert 50.