Daniel Mullins had a chance to chat yesterday evening with Rhiannon Giddens shortly she delivered her keynote address to open the 2017 World Of Bluegrass convention in Raleigh, NC. Rhiannon, who will be familiar to bluegrass fans as a former member of the Carolina Chocolate Drops, was also the 2017 winner of the Steve Martin Prize for Excellence in Banjo and Bluegrass Music.
Her address looked at the importance of ensuring that our music is welcoming to people regardless of ethnic background, and at the important contributions and influences that came from string musicians with an African heritage. She also described how the music doesn’t need to change to do so.
