Rhiannon Giddens

When Grammy Award-winner Rhiannon Giddens met Italian pianist and percussionist Francesco Turrisi, well versed in jazz, early music and Mediterranean music, they found that her 19th century American minstrel banjo tunes and his traditional Sicilian Tamburello (tambourine) rhythms fit very naturally together.They've just released their album there is no Other on Nonesuch.

‘Turrisi’s accompaniments add a strange, delicate beauty to Giddens’ solemn, powerful soprano' (★★★★ MOJO) 

‘This is acoustic roots music at its most glorious, and Giddens is fast becoming the genre’s brightest star in the firmament' (Uncut, 9/10)

‘Wonderful. What there is no Other resembles is a 21st-century version of Shirley Collins and Davy Graham’s Folk Roots, New Routes, the landmark 60s folk-rock record that showed how unusual musical connections on paper could sound utterly natural in the service of song. For an album recorded in only five days, it wallops with impact. Giddens is going supernova, and it’s a blistering thing’ (★★★★★ Guardian, Folk Album of the Month)

Rhiannon Giddens is a masterful singer, banjo and fiddle player, blending American musical genres like gospel, jazz, blues and country. Her elegant, prodigious voice and fierce spirit come alive in her performances, bringing audiences to their feet, whilst showcasing her extraordinary emotional range and dazzling vocal prowess.

She's previously won accolades with the Carolina Chocolate Drops, has released two previous great albums on Nonesuch – Freedom Highway and Tomorrow Is My Turn. She has also recently released Our Native Daughters, a collaborative project with Leyla McCalla, Amythyst Kiah and Alli Russell of Birds Of Chicago, which explores the historical experience of black women in the US.