Rhiannon Giddens Receives High Honor at AmericanaFest 2019

Rhiannon Giddens took home one of the two existing Legacy of Americana Awards. A newly-established honor, the award was created in partnership with the National Museum of African American Music, an institution set to open in Nashville in 2020 itself. The accolade aims to recognize “an artist, writer, producer or educator who has either made a lasting impression through music or inspired art to recognize the legacy of Americana music traditions.”

Britney McKenna of Nashville Scene sat down with Giddens to discuss her recent honor being the first recipient of the new award. “It’s wonderful that they want to recognize the work I’ve been doing. I really appreciate it, because you know it’s not easy trying to do what I do in a sort of commercial industry. It’s not been the easiest thing in the world.”

Also in this interview, Giddens touched on her feature in Ken Burns’ forthcoming film Country Music, speaking about African American musicians and their place in the history of the country music genre.

To read Nashville Scene‘s full article, click here.
For information and tour dates, check out Rhiannon Giddens’ artist page.