Rhiannon Giddens added to Jazz Festival line-up
Rhiannon Giddens is one of those extraordinary musicians who can wear any number of musical hats. Trained as an opera singer, she’s band leader of Grammy-winning string band the Carolina Chocolate Drops in which she plays banjo and fiddle as well as singing. Nine months of the year is spent on worldwide tour with that band, with her Irish husband and two young children at her side.
Giddens has a sideline in Scottish mouth music with which she recently stole the show in a packed Manhattan Town Hall in New York. The star-studded benefit concert was produced by the Coen Brothers and featured Joan Baez, Patti Smith and Elvis Costello, among many others. At the end of her set she received the only standing ovation of the evening.
