Rhiannon Giddens in Gateshead

Rhiannon Giddens is an American singer, songwriter, banjo player and fiddler, born in Greensboro, North Carolina, in 1977. She co-founded the old-time string band Carolina Chocolate Drops and later built a solo catalogue rooted in folk, blues and country traditions. Her major works include the albums Tomorrow Is My Turn, Freedom Highway and You're the One, as well as the opera Omar, written with Michael Abels. Rhiannon Giddens toured internationally with Carolina Chocolate Drops, and in 2011 the group opened a run of US concerts for Bob Dylan. She played Newport Folk Festival as a solo artist in 2015, then toured material from there is no Other and They're Calling Me Home in a duo with multi-instrumentalist Francesco Turrisi.