Another one from much warmer times, recording 'What Did the Blackbird Say to the Crow' in North Carolina. A welcome reminder that spring will always come again. I hope you’re staying bundled up out there and enjoying time with loved ones. Video: Alexei Mejouev

"Walkin’ in the Parlour" is the final track on on our GRAMMY nominated album: What Did the Blackbird Say to the Crow

A little bit of history with your #BanjoAunti It’s essential to examine the roots of our culture so we can understand how we got here, and how we can move forward.

Yesterday was #WorldAIDSDay. It's the first time since its inception in 1988 that the US has not formally recognized it.

Thoughts on a rainy Monday morning! It’s never too late to learn something new- and it usually opens you up to new pathways in the things you know well.

Saturday afternoon

Artist Presale for my Spring 2026 tour is now live! Get tickets: rhiannongiddens.com/tour Cooking up some surprises for you…

Artist Presale for my Spring 2026 tour is now live! Get tickets: rhiannongiddens.com/tour Cooking up some surprises for you…

Excited to reveal the cover of Color Me Country: A Celebration of Black Women Who Shaped Country Music! I contributed illustrations to this beautiful new book, that was edited by Kelly McCartney and Rissi Palmer. All proceeds go to the Color Me Country Fund. Learn more: bit.ly/440GH0z

Congrats to Ken Burns & @pbs.org on their newly-released documentary: “The American Revolution.” It was such a rewarding process to bring the audience into the world of the 17th - 19th century through music, and illustrate the blending of these cultures.

Excited to be back on tour in Spring 2026! The Artist Presales for Dallas and Louisville go live at 10am ET on Thursday. Sign up to receive the presale code and learn more about the other dates: rhiannongiddens.com/tour Can't wait to see you back out there!

#BanjoAunti here with “Poor Rosy” What I love about this tune is that the shifting major to minor key illustrates the multi-layered nature of these people’s lives back in the time of enslavement.

What Did the Blackbird Say to the Crow has received a #GRAMMY nomination for Best Folk Album! Thanks to our peers for recognizing the power of field recordings and the music of our ancestors- pure and unadulterated.

First up - my favorite belly dance guru, Ms. Portia at Bellymotions.com She is thorough, gentle, but implacably after good technique; good warmups and cool downs, and she is the single reason my back pain is going away.

I have added a daily workout to my life and it’s making all the difference in the world in my mental health. I’ve been eating right and feeling good and trying to make myself as healthy as I can so I can face the world.

We have to remember that music, ideally, can be something we do for ourselves as a way to reclaim our culture – not exclusively something we have to buy.

Congratulations to the cast and crew of La Sonnambula! It was such a joy to host The Met: Live in HD performance last Saturday for viewers around the world. Thanks for letting me run around backstage!

So proud to have been a part of this podcast! American Railroad was a passion project for me and I’m so overwhelmed with the amount of work and talent that went into all aspects of it - this award is a cherry on top of an incredible sundae ❤️❤️❤️🥰

I only got to work with D’Angelo once and it was beyond inspiring. Rest in peace, you beautiful genius.

I’ll post more later but the community being built around Joe and Odell’s legacy is beautiful to see- Thanks to all who spent so much time and effort to make Hook and Line Festival a reality! And these beautiful statues by Brad Spencer ❤️

Excited to be at Hook & Line - Thompson Music & Arts Heritage Festival this weekend to celebrate my mentor Joe Thompson, and his cousin Odell. Join us in Mebane for music, dancing, panel discussions and more!

So glad y'all liked that last video with Seckou! Here’s one with Francesco Turrisi on percussion and an original song by Seckou Keita just for our tour!

The “What Did the Blackbird Say to the Crow?” mini-doc is now streaming on YouTube! Watch now: youtu.be/t-cFmrzezl0 Justin Robinson and I are taking you to the places in North Carolina that shaped our lives and our record. Video: Alexei Mejouev

So much fun to play with Seckou Keita and Francesco Turrisi. You can learn the banjo tab and history of this song, plus many more in my new book “Go Back and Fetch It Recovering Early Black Music in the Americas for Fiddle and Banjo."

So happy to boost this signal, just found out about this awesome festival going on in New Orleans, BlackAmericana Fest is happening TODAY- check out this amazing lineup!

Kristina R. Gaddy and I will be discussing our new book, Go Back and Fetch It: Recovering Early Black Music in the Americas for Fiddle and Banjo today (9/23) at 5:30pm EDT! Join us in person at @umich.edu or on the livestream: bit.ly/4gAREus

A true honor to perform “American Tune” with #PaulSimon and the incredibly talented students at Juilliard. As I said in the article, I remember first looking at the lyrics of “American Tune” and going “Oh, my God — did you write this yesterday?”

Just so y'all know what's happening at the Kennedy Center. Shout out to Yasmin Williams who is showing that we are not monolithic and that we all have different ways of protesting what is going on.

The irony is not lost on me. Chin up, Jimmy. 🙏

So I got into NYC yesterday, but woke up at 4 am this morning; my first stop was my favorite place to get a proper capuccino, Zibetto - so I set off around a little before 7 am. I passed an apple store and noticed folks standing in line which was a little surprising, but I didn't think much of it.

Thank you EBONY for including Go Back and Fetch It: Recovering Early Black Music in the Americas for Fiddle and Banjo in this list. Kristina R. Gaddy and I are so excited that our book is finally out! Use 01SOCIAL30 at checkout to save 30%: bit.ly/go-back-and-fetch-it

Chatted with the @irishexaminer.bsky.social about my upcoming show with Francesco Turrisi at @corkoperahouse.bsky.social! We can't wait to see you September 13 at Sounds from a Safe Harbour Festival. Get tickets: bit.ly/4m4Z62y Photo: Karen Cox

Singing this North Carolina gospel tune with my sister Lalenja at Biscuits & Banjos was a deeply moving moment for me. Lalenja and I have been singing together since I was about 4, and I don’t think I’ve ever done a show in North Carolina that she hasn’t sung on since.

Can't wait to play two shows with Seckou Keita and Francesco Turrisi in September! London is sold out but you can still get tickets for Dublin on 9/10.

Things are dire. They just are. Our shared reality is under attack; I've been struggling with the enormity of it for a long time now but unsure where to even start, but Ted Gioia says it well.

#WorldPhotographyDay was yesterday but never too late to celebrate my favorite photographer, my dear friend @karencoxphoto.bsky.social. She took this photo at the Vail Dance Festival in Colorado and it captures so much!

It’s so important to support public media and public access to art. You can now listen to @wnyc.org’s Public Song Project on Bandcamp or get vinyl by donating to WNYC! I recorded I'm A Little Blackbird (Looking For A Bluebird)...

So excited that my book with Kristina Gaddy, "Go Back and Fetch It: Early Black Music in the Americas for Fiddle and Banjo” is almost out in the world!!!

Marlene Rosen was my voice teacher at Oberlin Conservatory but that hardly encapsulates what she meant to me and to all of us in her studio. To work with voice is to work with the soul; it is inextricably linked to who you are and it's a delicate operation.

And that’s a wrap on The Old-Time Revue’s tour! We have nothing but love for y’all. Thank you to @karencoxphoto.bsky.social for your wonderful photography.

Thank you Salt Lake City! We’re having so much fun out here. We’ll see you tonight in Reno as we head into our final week of the tour. Get tickets: rhiannongiddens.com/tour 7/24 - Reno, NV 7/25 - Boise, ID 7/27 - Steamboat Springs, CO 7/28 - Boulder, CO 7/29 - Denver, CO 7/31 - Vail, CO

Standing here with these legends @joancbaezofficial.bsky.social and Paul Simon contemplating our industry and our craft. They want to replace us with AI because AI won’t sing Deportees, or write ‘American Tune’. AI will do what the human on the input end tells it to do- Artists won’t.

Francesco Turrisi and I will be playing at Cork Opera House on September 13 at 8pm for the Sounds from a Safe Harbour Festival! Tickets are on sale now: bit.ly/4m4Z62y

Go Back and Fetch It: Recovering Early Black Music in the Americas for Fiddle and Banjo is out in 2 months!  Pre-order now and save 30% with code 01SOCIAL30: bit.ly/go-back-and-fetch-it

Honored to be returning to Carnegie Hall on May 8, 2026, as a part of their ‘United in Sound: America at 250’ series! We’ll be sharing some of the music that has shaped America. Tickets are available on August 11 at 11AM. Learn more: bit.ly/4iRsyY1

What's past is prologue. Trauma begets trauma begets trauma. We are all complicit. To forget is to betray the hard earned lessons our ancestors lost their lives for. This podcast is stunning, thought provoking, and very, very connected to things happening now.

The Old-Time Revue is back on the road this Friday and heading West! It is such a treat to get to play this music. Get tickets: rhiannongiddens.com/tour Photos: Matt Leddo

Stumbled on this looking for something else and I'm reminded that chosen family is years in the making. This is from 8 years ago - I still make music with these gents today and all the years in between add a beautiful patina that cannot be faked and cannot be bought. Grateful for it all!

I found this article a nice summary of a lot of difficult history - doesn't include everything (most significantly the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, the first race-based immigration law signed into law) but there's a lot to it.

Justin and I getting back to our roots with “Going to Raleigh” from our new album “What Did the Blackbird Say to the Crow.” Listen now: giddensrobinson.lnk.to/BlackbirdCrow Video: Alexei Mejouev