Rhiannon Giddens and Justin Robinson are two of the world’s preeminent experts on Black contributions to folk, old-time, and string band traditions. They have announced they are reuniting on a new album in April, What Did the Blackbird Say to the Crow, that will feature 18 traditional North Carolina fiddle and banjo tunes tracked live and in remarkably simple settings, “captured entirely outdoors and accompanied only by the wind, the rustle of the foliage, and the singing of nearby birds.” The Bluegrass Situation picks up the story:

“With the announcement, the pair have released a live performance video of ‘Hook and Line’ (watch below) that was recorded at the home of Joe Thompson, their late mentor and a vital roots music forebear in the Black string band tradition’s modern iteration. What Did the Blackbird Say to the Crow was tracked in meaningful locations such as this, tying this body of music directly back to the land, the locales, and the people that birthed it.”

Giddens is a MacArthur “Genius” and two-time GRAMMY Award winner and 11-time nominee. Robinson is also a fellow GRAMMY winner, thought leader, botanist, and ethnomusicologist. Both were founding members of the incredibly important supergroup the Carolina Chocolate Drops. “The string band would end up defining the early 2000s era of old-time music, making a huge mark in Americana circles and spawning multiple generations of Black roots-and-folk musicians after them.”

Here’s an old video of the Chocolate Drops singing and playing Cornbread and Butterbeans, followed by a video from 2007 of the group playing on the UNC-Chapel Hill campus.

Giddens & Robinson will be on tour with Dirk Powell and more beginning in April 2025. And for friends in the Carolinas, make plans now to attend Giddens’ inaugural Biscuits & Banjos festival to be held in Durham, North Carolina, at the end of April.

More to come . . .

DJB