Continuing what Garden & Gun has called a "banner year," Grammy and Pulitzer Prize winner Rhiannon Giddens has released a new mini-documentary as well as performance videos to accompany each song for What Did the Blackbird Say to the Crow. The film and video collection, available now on YouTube, offer an intimate look into the creation of her collaboration with fellow Carolina Chocolate Drops co-founder Justin Robinson, further illuminating their powerful tribute to the Black string band tradition of North Carolina. You can watch the mini-documentary here:

The eighteen-track collection draws directly from that tradition, featuring Giddens on banjo and Robinson on fiddle as they play a mix of their favorite regional instrumentals and tunes with words. Many were learned from their late mentor, the legendary Piedmont musician Joe Thompson, and other musical heroes like Etta Baker and Evelyn Shaw. “‘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.”

The new mini-documentary, made by Alexei Mejouev, brings that intimate vision to life, taking viewers to the very porches and homesteads where the music was made. It captures the album's unique soundscape, which was recorded outdoors and features the natural sounds of cicadas and birdsong. The experience is deepened by the new visual album, a playlist featuring one video for each of the eighteen tunes, made during the album’s recordings. You can watch all the performance videos here:

What Did the Blackbird Say to the Crow, released in April on Nonesuch Records, has been praised by Bandcamp Daily as a "scorching album of revved-up traditionals" and heralded by Rolling Stone for cementing Giddens' status as "a foundational influence for a generation of younger Black roots musicians.” It was followed by Giddens’ sold-out inaugural Biscuits & Banjos festival in Durham, NC, a weekend of music, panels, biscuits and dancing that featured a highly anticipated reunion of the Carolina Chocolate Drops. From there, she launched a tour with her new band, The Old-Time Revue, playing to packed houses at venues like the Hollywood Bowl with special guests Steve Martin and Ed Helms, and a rare reunion of Our Native Daughters (w/ Amythyst Kiah, Leyla McCalla and Allison Russell).

This flurry of creative work continues with several new projects. Giddens has co-authored a groundbreaking new songbook with music writer Kristina R. Gaddy, Go Back and Fetch It: Recovering Early Black Music in the Americas for Fiddle and Banjo. The book presents nineteen examples of early Black Atlantic music from the 1600s through the 1800s, making them accessible for today's musicians and restoring the roots of Black music to the musical canon. Released earlier this month, the book has already become a #1 New Release in Ethnomusicology and is into its second pressing. Giddens also recently performed with Paul Simon during The Juilliard School’s annual fall festival.

Looking ahead, Giddens will return to headline Carnegie Hall on May 8, 2026, as part of the United in Sound: America at 250 series. She will be featured on an upcoming episode of the acclaimed PBS series Finding Your Roots with Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

Giddens will continue her extensive touring schedule into the spring, performing with her band and with the Silkroad Ensemble, where she is Artistic Director. For all tour dates, visit nonesuch.com/on-tour.