Rhiannon Giddens is a Greensboro, North Carolina native, who is a founding member of the Carolina Chocolate Drops, a band that plays old-time music, blues, and country. She was the group’s lead singer, banjo player, and fiddle player. She has won numerous awards including several Grammys. The most recent Grammy win was in 2022, for the album “They’re Calling Me Home.”
She appears in a documentary created by legendary folklorist and musician Mike Seeger. In 2009, he toured the Appalachian Mountains, studying the banjo traditions of the region. The result was a combination package of two CDs and a DVD entitled “Just Around the Bend: Survival and Revival in Southern Banjo Styles – Mike Seeger's Last Documentary.” Giddens plays banjo on two of the tracks in this project, “Cripple Creek” and “Georgia Buck.”
Perhaps her most high-profile project to date is her appearance on Beyonce’s “Cowboy Carter” album, on which she plays the banjo on the track “Texas Hold ‘Em.” She is also the co-writer of the opera “Omar,” which won the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 2023.
A review of Giddens in concert says:
“It was a sellout fabulous show that ended with 2 standing ovations. Could listen to her all night.”
Rhiannon Giddens will be at the Memorial Hall OTR in Cincinnati on May 8. When they book artists like this, organizers can work with brochure printing to create informative programs for the concert.