From Carolina Ballads to Global Stages: Rhiannon Giddens’ Rise to Fame
“Few artists are so fearless and so ravenous in their exploration” as Rhiannon Giddens, proclaimed the influential online music magazine Pitchfork.
We could not agree more. And it’s no wonder why legends like Yo-Yo Ma and Beyoncé have collaborated with Giddens during milestone moments in their own careers. Learn more about Giddens’ unique virtuosity and passion for a more accurate understanding of our country’s musical origins before she returns to UMS with the Silkroad Ensemble on Friday, November 8.
Rhiannon Giddens’ resume is beyond impressive. She is a two-time Grammy Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning singer and instrumentalist, a MacArthur “Genius” grant recipient, and a composer of opera, ballet, and film. Her rise to fame is a testament to her unique artistic vision, centered around lifting up people whose contributions to American musical history have previously been overlooked or erased.
“I believe that knowing your history as a musician is super important. It’s important as a person, it’s important as a country, it’s important as a people.”
Hear her elaborate in a 2017 TED Talk and performance:
Born in Greensboro, North Carolina, Giddens first gained national recognition as part of the Grammy Award-winning folk group Carolina Chocolate Drops (which UMS presented in 2010). Her powerful vocals, banjo, and fiddle skills were a noted focal point of the ensemble.
Hear Carolina Chocolate Drops in a cover of Blu Cantrell’s “Hit ‘Em up Style (Oops!)”
Giddens’ name recognition has skyrocketed in recent years, especially after a collaboration with one of the world’s biggest superstars. Beyoncé’s 2024 album, Cowboy Carter, features Giddens playing banjo and viola in the now-iconic (and TikTok viral!) “TEXAS HOLD ‘EM.”
Following the album’s release, Giddens spoke to ABC News about how she looks to reclaim the Black history of the banjo:
In 2022, Giddens took on a new role as the artistic director of the illustrious Silkroad Ensemble, succeeding Yo-Yo Ma. Ma founded Silkroad in 1998 to be both a touring ensemble composed of world-class musicians from all over the globe and a social impact organization making a positive impact across borders through the arts.
Under Giddens’ leadership, Silkroad creates music that engages difference, sparking cultural collaboration and passion-driven learning. The ensemble strives to help build a more hopeful and inclusive world through performances, the creation and commissioning of new music, social impact initiatives, and educational partnerships.
Silkroad’s upcoming album and tour, American Railroad, illuminates the impact of the Transcontinental Railroad and westward expansion on the communities it displaced and those who labored to build it, taking a more accurate look at the global diasporic origin of the American Empire.
We hope you can join us Friday, November 8, when Rhiannon Giddens and Silkroad Ensemble bring American Railroad to Hill Auditorium. This highlight of UMS’s 24/25 season is one of our most anticipated programs, featuring new commissions by other UMS audience favorites — jazz artist Cécile McLorin Salvant and renowned pipa player Wu Man — as well as new arrangements by Giddens and other Silkroad musicians.
We also encourage you to dive deeper into American Railroad on Silkroad’s website.
