September 13, 2019
At the Americana Honors and Awards in Nashville on Wednesday, Rhiannon Giddens received the inaugural Legacy of Americana Award, the latest acknowledgement in what has been a tremendous year for the artist. She also performed twice and was nominated in two categories. Today, an extended version of her recently released album featuring multi-instrumentalist Francesco Turrisi, there is no Other, is available on vinyl, and Ken Burns’ Country Music series – which features interviews with Giddens – premieres on PBS this Sunday.
The extended vinyl edition of there is no Other (Nonesuch) is a 2xLP set with an expanded booklet of liner notes and four additional songs not on the original release from early May, all of which will also be made available on all streaming services today. there is no Other has been met with tremendous praise, prompting Pitchfork to say: “few artists are so fearless and ravenous in their exploration.”
On Wednesday at the Americana Awards, Giddens was honored with the inaugural Legacy of Americana Award. The award was issued in partnership with the National Museum of African American Music to Giddens and Frank Johnson, the preeminent and highly influential enslaved folk musician. She also performed twice during the show – as Artist of the Year nominee, and with Our Native Daughters, who were nominated for Group of the Year and released an album in February on Smithsonian Folkways.
To round off this whirlwind week, the Ken Burns docu-series Country Music begins airing this Sunday on PBS, and Giddens’ commentary appears throughout. She is also a featured performer on “Country Music: Live at the Ryman Concert,” which aired last Sunday, and is available to stream on PBS.com until October 19.
Giddens will be touring worldwide through November. An extensive there is no Other run with Turrisi starts in September, including dates at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in the Temple of Dendur in NYC on October 4 and 5 and at Pico Union in Los Angeles on October 19 and 20. Visit rhiannongiddens.com for the full list of tour dates.
(Source: Shore Fire Media)