Singer-instrumentalist leads six-piece band in program spanning folk, jazz, and global traditions at Hodgson Concert Hall
Hodgson Concert Hall, University of Georgia
Athens, GA – USA
April 28, 2026
Rhiannon Giddens, vocals, fiddle, viola, fretless banjo; Dirk Powell, guitar, fiddle, vocals; Amelia Powell, rhythm guitar; Jason Sypher, bass; Francesco Turrisi, percussion, accordion; Niwel Tsumbu, guitar, vocals.
Chris Moser | 1 MAY 2026
Rhiannon Giddens has journeyed far from her old-time music roots with the Carolina Chocolate Drops. Her powerful performance at the University of Georgia’s Hodgson Concert Hall on Tuesday, April 28, featured that genre but so much more. Leading a six-piece band, the award-winning singer/multi-instrumentalist and Pulitzer Prize winner enthralled a full house with an eclectic musical menu, including Americana folk, jazz, Celtic, Cajun, Caribbean, Spanish, Black spiritual, and early 20th-century pop.
Giddens has built a career around the expansion of folk music with deep historical roots and contemporary sensibilities. She is a two-time Grammy Award winner who has also received the Pulitzer Prize and the MacArthur “Genius” grant. She is a composer of opera, ballet, and film. She was a founding member of the landmark Black string band, the Carolina Chocolate Drops, and is currently a member of the all-female African American banjo supergroup, Our Native Daughters. She is Artistic Director of the Silkroad Ensemble, founded by cello master Yo-Yo Ma.
According to the online music magazine Pitchfork, “few artists are so fearless and ravenous in their exploration” as Rhiannon Giddens. Among her many credits, Giddens was a music consultant for the Oscar-winning 2025 motion picture Sinners, a music history expert for the Ken Burns documentary series Country Music, and a performer on the soundtrack of Burns’ The American Revolution. In 2025, she launched Biscuits & Banjos, a Durham, North Carolina music festival celebrating outside-the-mainstream Black Culture.
In her UGA concert, Giddens captivated the audience with her soaring, earthy vocals and her mastery of fiddle and fretless banjo. She occasionally led fiddle tunes on violin, but mostly on viola. Her band was comprised of Dirk Powell (guitar, fiddle, vocals), Amelia Powell (rhythm guitar), Jason Sypher (bass), Francesco Turrisi (percussion, accordion), and Niwel Tsumbu (guitar, vocals).
A dominant characteristic of her sound that evening was the infusion of various folk traditions with jazz. That came through right from the start, with a lively old-time instrumental made more interesting by the constant triangle percussion, followed by Hope is the Thing with Feathers, a haunting musical adaptation of an Emily Dickinson poem by the same name. She sang a medley of songs (none in English) that she had contributed to the soundtrack of The American Revolution, accompanying herself on fretless banjo.
Among other highlights: Lake Mountain Road, a Cajun-flavored song by Dirk Powell; Mal Hombre, a Spanish song written by Lydia Mendoza in 1934; an old-time tune on which Giddens played the left hand of the fiddle while Dirk tapped the strings with “fiddlesticks”; the old-time ballad High on the Mountain; and a Caribbean piece composed by band member Niwel Tsumbu.
Three of Gidden’s originals that stood out were We Could Fly, a song about freedom that is also the name of one of two children’s picture books she wrote; Who Are You Dreaming Of, a sultry original torch song in the style of 20s-30s pop; and a bluesy ballad called Come Love Come.
She closed the second set with the classic old-time fiddle tune Cluck Old Hen, kicking up the tempo for a furious finale. Then, for an encore, she engaged a grateful audience to sing along to the beloved African-American spiritual turned civil rights anthem, “I Shall Not Be Moved.”
Adding to the performance was her charming stage presence, graced by poise and cheeky humor, though her sometimes poor articulation made some of her levity, as well as a number of her pieces’ titles, difficult to understand.
Giddens and her band delivered a riveting performance to a wildly enthusiastic audience. One of our companions marveled at her diversity of styles and how she was totally at home with all of them. Rhiannon Giddens amply demonstrated why NPR named her one of its 25 Most Influential Women Musicians of the 21st Century, and American Songwriter called her “one of the most important musical minds currently walking the planet.” ■
EXTERNAL LINKS:
- Rhiannon Giddens: rhiannongiddens.com
- UGA Performing Arts Center: pac.uga.edu
Read more by Chris Moser.
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