Rhiannon Giddens and Justin Robinson’s collaborative new album What Did the Blackbird Say to the Crow, is out today via Nonesuch Records. The “extremely timeless” (NPR Music) eighteen-track collection draws directly from the Black string band tradition of North Carolina, where both artists were raised and musically shaped–and eventually became two-thirds of the Carolina Chocolate Drops (alongside Dom Flemons). Giddens has discussed this new album extensively in interviews with Rolling Stone, Garden & Gun, Stereogum and others. Next weekend, her first-ever music and cultural festival–Biscuits & Banjos in Durham, NC–will take place, featuring the debut of her new band, and a highly anticipated Carolina Chocolate Drops reunion. A new video for the album track “Rain Crow” is also out today. 

Produced by Giddens and Joseph “joebass” DeJarnette, the album features Giddens on banjo and Robinson on fiddle, with the duo playing eighteen of their favorite North Carolina tunes: a mix of instrumentals and tunes with words. Many were learned from their late mentor, the legendary North Carolina Piedmont musician Joe Thompson; one is from another musical hero, the late Etta Baker, from whom they also learned by listening to recordings of her playing. Some tunes were learned from Evelyn Shaw of Harnett County, who learned from her father Lauchlin Shaw. Giddens and Robinson recorded outdoors at Thompson’s and Baker’s North Carolina homes, as well as the former plantation, Mill Prong. They were accompanied by the sounds of nature, including a roaring chorus of cicadas, creating a unique soundscape. 

“‘Come to our porch, sit down, have some tea, and we’re just going to play some tunes,’” says Giddens. “We wanted to record that feeling.”

By performing music the way they learned it, in the specific place they learned it, Giddens and Robinson tap into the timelessness of the tunes, making them sing with fluidity and grace. “We are part of this ancient tradition; we are just the modern day purveyors,” says Robinson.

“Rain Crow” is what Giddens calls “a great example of a tune that is exactly the sound of Piedmont fiddle and banjo music. Time and place snaps together and the very soil under our feet understands what the blackbird said to the crow.” Watch the video/listen to “Rain Crow” HERE. 

What Did the Blackbird Say to the Crow arrives just one week ahead of Biscuits & Banjos, Giddens’ inaugural music festival, taking place April 25-27 in downtown Durham, NC. The sold-out, nonprofit festival celebrates the deep roots and enduring legacy of Black music, art, and storytelling with a full slate of concerts, workshops, square dances, panel discussions, free banjo lessons, and a celebrity biscuit bake-off. The weekend will feature a highly anticipated reunion performance from the Carolina Chocolate Drops along with performances by Taj Mahal, Adia Victoria, Leyla McCalla, Infinity Song, Don Vappie & Jazz Creole, and Toshi Reagon, with featured speakers like Alice Randall, Caroline Randall Williams, and Dr. Dena Ross Jennings. The full festival schedule has been unveiled HERE. 

For fans unable to attend in person, the festival will offer a livestream of Rhiannon Giddens’ Carolina Breakdown show, featuring the Carolina Chocolate Drops Reunion, via Veeps. This monumental performance marks the first time in more than a decade that all original and key members of the GRAMMY-winning Carolina Chocolate Drops will perform together on stage. The reunion not only brings back one of the most influential Black string bands of the 21st century but also serves as an opportunity to reconnect and reflect on the group’s profound impact on American roots music. The show will also debut Giddens’ new band, The Old-Time Revue, live from the Durham Performing Arts Center at 6 PM on Saturday, April 26. The evening will be a historic celebration of tradition, artistry, and community, uniting past and present through music. Tickets are on-sale now HERE. 

Giddens recently announced a number of new dates on her Rhiannon Giddens & The Old-Time Revue tour, which features Robinson and four other string musicians, including multi-instrumentalist Dirk Powell. On June 18 they will headline the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, joined by special guests Our Native Daughters–in their first performance since 2022–as well as Steve Martin, Ed Helms, and more. Additional shows in July have been added to the itinerary as well; see below for the full list. 

Gidden’s PBS show–My Music with Rhiannon Giddens–is back for a third season, this time in Ireland with musicians who live there. Episodes will be posted online weekly on Thursdays starting May 1 in the US (on PBS.org) and on Fridays starting May 2 in Canada, the UK, and Australia / New Zealand (on Prime). 

Giddens has also collaborated with banjo scholar Kristina R. Gaddy and University of North Carolina Press on a new book of Black music from the 1600s to 1800s called Go Back and Fetch It: Recovering Early Black Music in the Americas for Fiddle and Banjo. More information about their book can be found HERE. 

About Rhiannon Giddens

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 Award–winning singer and instrumentalist, 2023 Pulitzer Prize winner, MacArthur “Genius” grant recipient, and composer of opera, ballet, and 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, and advocating for a more accurate understanding of the country’s musical origins through art. Her most recent release is 2023’s You’re the One, Giddens’ first album of all original songs; her banjo can be heard on the history-making song “Texas Hold ‘Em”; and she is the Artistic Director of Silkroad Ensemble. In addition to her musical pursuits, Giddens has published two children’s books featuring her lyrics, hosts the Aria Code podcast on WQXR, and has composed music for ballet and film, and two of her songs are featured in the hit video game Red Dead Redemption 2. 

About Justin Robinson

Justin Robinson is a GRAMMY Award–winning musician and vocalist, cultural preservationist, and historic foodways expert. Robinson has used his wide range of interests and talents to preserve North Carolina’s African American history and culture, connecting people to the past and to the world around them.

Robinson grew up exploring the woods and rivers around him in Gastonia, NC. Influenced by the musical tastes of his grandparents, he grew to love a diversity of musical styles. He learned to play the violin as a child; however, he did not enjoy playing classical music and stopped around the age of thirteen. It wasn’t until he was inspired by the old-time blues jams he attended as a student at UNC-Chapel Hill that he decided to approach the violin again—this time, as a fiddler. He played with the Carolina Chocolate Drops, working to preserve traditional forms of music, to introduce new generations to musical legends like Joe Thompson, and to remind audiences that the fiddle was, historically, an African American instrument. He wrote the song “Kissin’ and Cussin’” for the group’s GRAMMY Award–winning album, Genuine Negro Jig, and continued to write music after leaving the group in 2011, releasing the album Bones for Tinder as Justin Robinson and the Mary Annettes in 2012.

In addition to preserving African American musical traditions, Robinson is known for his work as a culinary historian. He is an eighth generation Afro-Carolinian and is the descendant of sharecroppers and large landowners. He is constantly exploring the complex relationship that people have with our plant relatives, including through his social media account, @CountryGentlemanCooks, and through the formation of the Earthseed Land Cooperative, a collective in northern Durham “made up of farmers, entrepreneurs, professionals, and teachers who are currently engaged in creating alternative models for sustainability, equity, and cooperation within communities of color.” Robinson has a Master of Science degree in Forestry from North Carolina State University and carries on the ethnobotany work of his grandfather, J.G. Johnson.

Listen / Order the album here: https://giddensrobinson.lnk.to/BlackbirdCrow

What Did the Blackbird Say to the Crow Track List:

Rain Crow
Brown’s Dream
Hook and Line
Pumpkin Pie
Duck’s Eyeball
Ryestraw
Little Brown Jug
Going to Raleigh
Country Waltz
Molly Put the Kettle On
Fly Around My Pretty Little Miss
John Henry
Love Somebody
Ebenezer
Old Joe Clark
Old Molly Hare
Marching Jaybird
Walkin’ in the Parlor

Tour Dates:

April 25-27 – Durham, NC – Biscuits & Banjos

April 30 – Asheville, NC – The Orange Peel

May 2 – Miami, FL – Miami Beach Bandshell

May 3 – Atlanta, GA – The Eastern

May 4 – Birmingham, AL – Jemison Concert Hall @ Alys Robinson Stephens Center

May 7 – Nashville, TN – Ryman Auditorium

May 8 – Cincinnati, OH – Memorial Hall

May 9 – Chicago, IL – Thalia Hall

May 11 – Washington, DC – The Anthem

May 13 – Grand Rapids, MI – St. Cecilia Music Center

May 15 – Toronto, ON – Koerner Hall at The Royal Conservatory of Music

May 16 – Toronto, ON – Koerner Hall at The Royal Conservatory of Music

May 17 – Ottawa, ON – National Arts Centre, Southam Hall

June 15 – Napa, CA – Uptown Theatre

June 16 – Ventura, CA – Ventura Theater

June 18 – Los Angeles, CA – Hollywood Bowl (with Our Native Daughters, Steve Martin, Ed Helms, Leyla McCalla, Amythyst Kiah and Allison Brown)

June 19 – San Diego, CA – The Observatory North Park

June 21 – Berkeley, CA – Zellerbach

June 23 – Seattle, WA – The Moore Theater

June 26 – Montréal, QC – Théâtre Maisonneuve @ Montreal Jazz Festival

July 11 – Tucson, AZ – Fox Tucson Theatre

July 12 – Flagstaff, AZ – Pepsi Amphitheater

July 14 – Santa Fe, NM – Lensic Performing Arts Center

July 16 – Salt Lake City, UT – Red Butte Garden Amphitheatre

July 18 – Sonoma, CA – Green Music Center

July 19 – Navarro, CA – Redwood Ramble

July 21 – Saratoga, CA – The Mountain Winery

July 24 – Reno, NV – Robert Z. Hawkins Amphitheater

July 25 – Boise, ID – Egyptian Theatre

July 27 – Steamboat Springs, CO – Strings Music Festival

July 28 – Boulder, CO – Chautauqua Park

July 29 – Denver, CO – Ogden Theatre

July 31 – Vail, CO – Vilar Performing Arts Center