Rhiannon Giddens is a visionary, as well as a revitalizer. With her banjo and her voice, she has brought Black string band music to the attention of a mass audience through her work with The Carolina Chocolate Drops and as a solo artist.
Giddens grew up in rural North Carolina and had heard some of the Black sting band music since childhood, learning more about the music from going to contra dances in the area. But attending the Black Banjo Gathering in Boone in 2005 galvanized her and introduced her to Dom Flemons and Justin Robinson, who would go on to form The Carolina Chocolate Drops.
