Rhiannon Giddens is bringing a new musical festival to Durham called Biscuits and Banjos
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Rhiannon Giddens performs at the 2024 Newport Folk Festival. Photo:Douglas Mason/Getty Images
Rhiannon Giddens — the Pulitzer Prize-winning musician, historian, writer, Beyoncé collaborator and North Carolina native — is bringing a new music festival to Durham next spring.
Why it matters: The three-day music festival — called Biscuits & Banjos — will celebrate all the influence of Black music and art on distinct American styles of music, like country, blues, jazz and bluegrass.
- The festival will also be the first reunion of the Carolina Chocolate Drops — an influential bluegrass band Giddens co-founded — since 2014.
Zoom in: The festival will be held throughout Durham, including venues like the Durham Performing Arts Center and the Carolina Theatre, from April 25-27.
- The initial lineup includes Giddens, the Carolina Chocolate Drops, Taj Mahal, Christian McBride, Rissi Palmer, New Dangerfield, Leyla McCalla and The Legendary Ingramettes. More acts will be added in the coming months.
- The programming will also include discussions on literature and foodways, as well as a celebrity chef bake-off, Giddens said in a video release.
- Weekend passes start at $218 and Saturday-only tickets are $132.
Context: The festival falls on the 20th anniversary of the Black Banjo Gathering — an event highlighting the influence of Black artists on the creation of American roots music, like bluegrass.
- It was that event where the idea for starting the Carolina Chocolate Drops with Don Flemons and Justin Robinson originated, launching one of the most influential artistic careers the state has seen in the past two decades.
- Giddens' work, both with the Carolina Chocolate Drops and as a solo artist, has earned her multiple Grammys as well as a MacArthur "genius grant." She's worked throughout her career to draw attention to the African origins of the banjo and the ways Black musicians shaped the country and folk genres.
- Last year, she won a Pulitzer Prize for "Omar," an opera about the enslaved African scholar Omar ibn Said that she co-produced with UNC's Carolina Performing Arts.
What they're saying: "The Black Banjo Gathering was such an important milestone for me personally, and I want Biscuits & Banjos to bring that same spirit of discovery and community to today's generation of artists and fans," Giddens said in a release for the festival.
