Rhiannon Giddens' Love Letter To The Music Of North Carolina

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4.4 • 4.3K Ratings

🗓️ 21 May 2025

⏱️ 48 minutes

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Summary

Rhiannon Giddens is a folk musician who has won Grammys, a Pulitzer, and MacArthur Genius Grant.

But her new album is a true love letter to her North Carolina roots and features former Carolina Chocolate Drops bandmate Justin Robinson. The album is called "What Did the Blackbird Say to the Crow."

Giddens and Robinson join us to talk about North Carolina's musical past, taking the time to learn at the feet of a master, and what it means to call a place home.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	A lot of short daily news podcasts focus on just one story.
0:04.4	But right now, you probably need more.
0:07.2	On Up First from NPR, we bring you three of the world's top headlines every day in under 15 minutes.
0:14.0	Because no one story can capture all that's happening in this big, crazy world of ours on any given morning.
0:20.8	Listen now to the Up First
0:22.2	podcast from NPR. The name Rianan Giddens might conjure something very different,
0:35.3	depending on who you ask. You may know her from the black string band, Carolina Chocolate Drops,
0:40.2	of which she was a founding member in 2006.
0:45.7	You may also know her from the opera.
0:47.9	She co-wrote that won a Pulitzer in 2023,
0:51.1	from her music in the popular video game,
0:53.2	Red Dead Red Dead Redemption, or from her work on the soundtrack to Ryan Coogler's latest hit movie, Sinners.
0:59.7	Her new album is a love letter to her North Carolina roots and also features former Carolina Chocolate Drops bandmate Justin Robinson.
1:07.4	Still driving man, don't you see, Lordy, still driving man, don't you see?
1:15.0	Died with a hammer in his hand, Lordy.
1:18.9	Die with a hammer in his hand.
1:23.0	Their album of North Carolina Fiddle and Banjo music is called,
1:26.9	What Did the Blackbird Say to the Crow?
1:39.9	Rianan and Giddens joined me in studio recently.
1:42.7	She's a MacArthur Genius Grant recipient and two-time Grammy Award winner.
1:48.0	I'm Jen White. You're listening to the 1A podcast.
1:51.3	We'll be back with Rianan and Giddens in just a moment.
	...

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