Rhiannon Giddens - Topic

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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. A two-time GRAMMY-winning singer and instrumentalist, MacArthur “Genius” grant recipient, Pulitzer Prize winner & composer of opera (Omar), ballet (Black Lucy & the Bard), & film, Giddens has centered her work around the mission of 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. Her newest album, You’re the One, is her third solo studio album and her first of all original songs. The album draws from the folk music that Giddens knows so deeply & its pop descendants. "I hope that people just hear American music," Giddens says. "Blues, jazz, Cajun, country, gospel, and rock—it's all there." Giddens also is exploring other mediums & creative possibilities just as actively as she has American musical history. She has published children's books & written & performed music for the soundtrack of best-selling video game Red Dead Redemption II; she has appeared on the ABC hit drama Nashville & throughout Ken Burns’ Country Music series on PBS. She sang for the Obamas at the White House; is a three-time NPR Tiny Desk Concert alum; & hosts her own show on PBS, My Music with Rhiannon Giddens, as well as the Aria Code podcast on WQXR.