Quality Americana

Rhiannon Giddens’ new single “Yet to Be” opens with an intricate melody on guitar and jumps into the verse like an orchestra. Vintage black and white footage of farmland and a city bus appear on screen.

“It’s a long long way from where we’ve been. The here and now is better than it was back then. Today may break your heart , but tomorrow holds the key.  We’ve come so far but the best is yet to be,” Giddens sings.

The video and incredible vocal range from Giddens really tugs on your heart strings as imagery from the civil rights movement is blended with a coming of age tale. The different elements of this release create a grander feel in such a short time frame. It can be a short film, an indy drama or a timepiece that starts with 50s and 60s soul and ends with a 70s Woodstock style dreamy landscape. The chorus is a vibrant sing-a-long that would fit as the theme for a musical.

Giddens was raised in Greensboro, North Carolina and is a two-time Grammy winner for They’re Calling Me Home in the Best Folk Album category and a win in the Traditional Folk Album category. Giddens also received a Pulitzer Prize for her writing on “Omar.”

“I’m very comfortable doing the things that I’ve been doing, so it can become a death knell for an artist to be super comfortable,” Giddens said in an interview with The Recording Academy. “So I think it was time to step out a little bit and go, ‘OK, so this is what happened, but I don’t talk about slavery, and I don’t talk about civil rights. This is a different way of being, and just as valid.”

Giddens’ works with Jason Isbell

Giddens connected to songwriter Jason Isbell through social media. “We have one of these 21st-century Twitter relationships. We comment on each other’s Twitter sometimes. And I have watched him, from afar, be an amazing advocate, a very smart musician and social media person.  I love how he’s supported Black women musicians, and putting his money where his mouth is. And I just love the way that he moves in the world.” Giddens said. Although their schedule wouldn’t allow them to work together in the studio, Giddens was able to view the session on a Zoom video call. 

Giddens pays tribute to Paul Simon

Giddens stays humble as one of the most decorated songwriters in the business. She recently was asked to appear on a tribute album for Paul Simon at the Grammy Awards and appeared live with him on stage at the Newport Folk Festival. They found a connection through writing and their desire to expose important issues in society through music. 

“I really love form and I really love words, and I really love wordplay, and I really love taking an idea and really kind of running with it rather than more of a personal response to something that happened in my life,” Giddens said. 

“Yet to Be” is a powerful work that looks at Giddens’ upbringing and exposes the cracks left in our society from segregation and slavery. Her effort to unite humanity through her art is reaching larger audiences with her recent collaboration and award-winning writing. Giddens reached the top 40 on the Americana Music Association singles chart wither her latest release and is currently touring the United States and is scheduled to tour Europe next year. 

More information about Rhinnon Giddens can be found here.

Photo produced by WFUV Public Radio and distributed by Flickr. 

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