When you listen to Rhiannon Giddens, you might hear a little bit of anything. She grew up in Greensboro, North Carolina, biracial and multicultural and absolutely omnivorous when it came to music.
She studied opera at Oberlin but set it aside to form the Carolina Chocolate Drops, which put a musical and historical spotlight on black string band music. She has released three solo albums, each one a deeper dive into music’s common roots. She acted on the TV show “Nashville,” and she’s one of the main commentators on Ken Burns’ new documentary on country music. We spoke recently on the afternoon of her concert with collaborator Francesco Turrisi at McGlohon Theater in Charlotte.
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Show notes:
- Rhiannon's website
- Her recent NPR Tiny Desk concert
- A story on her from the New Yorker
- The story I did on her in 2015 for Our State magazine
Rhiannon Giddens music in this episode:
- "Wayfaring Stranger"
- "Waterboy"
- "Up Above My Head"
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SouthBound is a production of WFAE. Our host is Tommy Tomlinson. Our audience engagement manager is Joni Deutsch, and our main theme comes from Josh Turner.
