Rhiannon Giddens has announced a European tour for this autumn, starting in Groningen, the Netherlands, on September 22. The first leg of the tour continues with stops in Antwerp, Utrecht, Paris, Luxembourg, Manchester, and Dublin, culminating in Belfast on October 3. Giddens is then the focus of a Reflektor series at Hamburg's Elbphilharmonie, November 25–29. The tour concludes December 6-8 in London, Edinburgh, and Gateshead.

Rhiannon Giddens has announced the Biscuits & Banjos Foundation, a new nonprofit organization celebrating the African diaspora’s role in creating American identity and culture through music, literature, food, and community. Building on the mission-oriented work that has defined Giddens’ career, the Biscuits & Banjos Foundation will serve as a long-term home for cultural work that is too often unpaid or underfunded—investing in Black-led traditions and the artists, culture bearers, educators, and communities who sustain them.

Rhiannon Giddens has announced American Tunes: Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing, a series of shows this summer with Hurray for the Riff Raff, Mavis Staples, and Mary Chapin Carpenter. The tour begins in Seattle on June 26 without Mavis Staples, followed by concerts with all of the artists in Oregon, Arkansas, North Carolina, and Tennessee. "We’re singing under open skies," Giddens says, "and hope you’ll lift your voice to join in this joyful celebration of songs that connect generations." Pre-sale starts this Wednesday, March 4 at 10am here; general on-sale begins this Friday.

Carnegie Hall has announced its 2026–27 concert season, including performances by Caroline Shaw, who has been named Richard and Barbara Debs Composer’s Chair for the season, Jeremy Denk, Gabriel Kahane, Kronos Quartet, Punch Brothers, and Silkroad Ensemble with Rhiannon Giddens, and works by Steve Reich, John Adams, David Longstreth, and others.

The fifteenth anniversary edition of Carolina Chocolate Drops' 2010 Grammy Award-winning album Genuine Negro Jig is out now on Nonesuch. The reissue, featuring founding band members Dom Flemons, Rhiannon Giddens, and Justin Robinson, includes the original Joe Henry–produced album and nine bonus tracks: seven previously unreleased tracks plus a 2025 remaster of “City of Refuge” and a 2025 mix of “Memphis Shakedown.” This release marks the album’s first time on vinyl since its original pressing in 2010. “A moment of reclamation and revelation,” says Uncut, naming the new edition of Genuine Negro Jig its Archive Album of the Month.

Nonesuch Records releases a fifteenth anniversary edition of Carolina Chocolate Drops' 2010 Grammy Award-winning album Genuine Negro Jig on January 23, 2026. The reissue, featuring founding band members Dom Flemons, Rhiannon Giddens, and Justin Robinson, includes the original Joe Henry–produced album and nine bonus tracks: seven previously unreleased tracks plus a 2025 remaster of “City of Refuge” and a 2025 mix of “Memphis Shakedown.” This release marks the album’s first time on vinyl since its original pressing in 2010. You can hear the bonus track "Here Rattler" now.

Congratulations to all of the Nonesuch nominees for the 68th Grammy Awards: Molly Tuttle for Best Americana Album for So Long Little Miss Sunshine and Best Americana Performance for the album track "That's Gonna Leave a Mark," Alarm Will Sound for Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance for Donnacha Dennehy's Land of Winter, Donnacha Dennehy for Best Contemporary Classical Composition for Land of Winter, Rhiannon Giddens and Justin Robinson for Best Folk Album for What Did the Blackbird Say to the Crow, Ambrose Akinmusire for Best Alternative Jazz Album for honey from a winter stone, Brad Mehldau for Alternative Jazz Album for Ride into the Sun, and Bob Mehr for Best Album Notes for Wilco's A Ghost Is Born (20th Anniversary Deluxe Edition).

Rhiannon Giddens and Justin Robinson have released a new mini-documentary as well as performance videos to accompany each song for their new album, What Did the Blackbird Say to the Crow. The film and video collection, made by Alexei Mejouev, offer an intimate look into the creation of the album, further illuminating their tribute to the Black string band tradition of North Carolina.

"Her new album is a true love letter to her North Carolina roots," Jenn White, host of NPR's 1A, says of her guest Rhiannon Giddens and her new album, What Did the Blackbird Say to the Crow, with Justin Robinson, who also joins the conversation and performs with Giddens on the show. Giddens was also on BBC Radio 4's Front Row to discuss the album. You can hear both here.

Rhiannon Giddens reunites with her former Carolina Chocolate Drops bandmate Justin Robinson on What Did the Blackbird Say to the Crow, out now. Produced by Giddens and Joseph "joebass" DeJarnette, the album features Giddens on banjo and Robinson on fiddle, playing 18 of their favorite North Carolina tunes. Many were learned from their late mentor, legendary North Carolina Piedmont musician Joe Thompson; one is from another musical hero, the late Etta Baker. Giddens and Robinson recorded outdoors at Thompson’s and Baker’s North Carolina homes, as well as the former plantation Mill Prong House, accompanied by the sounds of nature. You can watch eight performance videos from the album here. Giddens leads her first-ever festival, Biscuits & Banjos, in Durham, NC, next weekend, then goes on tour with Robinson.

Cal Performances at the University of California, Berkeley, has announced its 2025–26 concert season, including Zellerbach Hall performances by Kronos Quartet, Jeremy Denk, Cécile McLorin Salvant, Chris Thile, and Rhiannon Giddens and Silkroad Ensemble.

Rhiannon Giddens has joined with music writer Kristina R. Gaddy to create the songbook Go Back and Fetch It: Recovering Early Black Music in the Americas for Fiddle and Banjo, due in September 2025 from UNC Press. Presenting music from 1687 through the 1850s in modern treble clef and banjo tablature, along with the stories behind each song, Gaddy and Giddens take readers on a journey from the Caribbean across the Americas.