Artist, composer, author, and educator Rhiannon Giddens has made a singular, iconic career out of stretching her brand of folk music — with its miles-deep historical roots and contemporary sensibilities — into just about every field imaginable. She has centered her work on lifting up people whose contributions to American musical history have previously been overlooked or erased, advocating for a more accurate understanding of the country’s musical origins through art.

A founding member of the landmark Black string band Carolina Chocolate Drops and the all-female banjo supergroup Our Native Daughters, Giddens is as much a curator as a creator, serving as artistic director of the Silkroad Ensemble, hosting a podcast that digs deep into opera arias, publishing two children’s books, and even performing music for the soundtrack of Red Dead Redemption II, one of the best-selling video games of all time. Giddens takes the stage with her latest musical explorations for this capstone concert following her residency with the U-M Arts Initiative.