Perspectives: Rhiannon Giddens with Francesco Turrisi, featuring special guest Seckou Keita

Rhiannon Giddens has made a singular, iconic career out of stretching her brand of folk music, with its miles-deep historical roots and contemporary sensibilities, into just about every field imaginable. A two-time GRAMMY Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning singer and instrumentalist, Giddens has centred her work around the mission of lifting up people whose contributions to American musical history have previously been overlooked or erased, and advocating for a more accurate understanding of the country’s musical origins through art.

Rhiannon has had a fruitful period of collaboration with Italian multi-instrumentalist Francesco Turrisi. Through a chance musical meet-up in Ireland, they found that Giddens’ 19th century American minstrel banjo tunes and Turrisi’s traditional Sicilian Tamburello (tambourine) rhythms fit very naturally together. Their latest release, They’re Calling Me Home (Nonesuch, 2021), took home the GRAMMY Award for “Best Folk Album”.

Nicknamed "the Hendrix of the Kora", Seckou Keita has arguably become one of the most influential and inspiring Kora players of his generation. As a solo artist and with his groundbreaking quintet, Seckou has captivated audiences worldwide at festivals like WOMAD, Glastonbury, Tokyo Jazz, and Montreal Jazz.

Presented by NCH