#americana music

Lana.

Rhiannon Giddens presents a new three-part BBC Radio 4 series and podcast called Black Roots, which explores the history of African American roots music through the stories of its pioneers.

The first episode, out now, explores two fiddlers from her home state of North Carolina: Joe Thompson, a mentor to Giddens and the group she co-founded, Carolina Chocolate Drops; and 19th-century musician Frank Johnson, who, born into slavery, bought freedom for himself and his family from his earnings as a musician and became one of the first black celebrities in the South.

You can hear it here.

It was 20 years ago today: Robin Holcomb’s album The Big Time was released on Nonesuch. You can hear it again here.

The Big Time features guitarists Bill Frisell and Tim Young, bassist Keith Lowe, drummer Andy Roth, and Wayne Horvitz, who produced the album, on Hammond B-3. Special guests include Kate & Anna McGarrigle, Doug Wieselman, Danny Barnes, Eyvind Kang, Julie Wolf, Dave Carter, Steve Moore, and Tucker Martine, who engineered and mixed the album.

In celebration of Father’s Day, Molly Tuttle recorded a new performance video of her song, “Grass Valley,” featuring her father, Jack Tuttle, a music teacher and multi-instrumentalist, on mandolin and vocals.

The song, from Tuttle’s new album, Crooked Tree, recorded with her band Golden Highway, tells the story of going to Grass Valley, California’s annual Father’s Day Bluegrass Festival with her dad, where she was first exposed to the bluegrass music that inspired her to play.

Rhiannon Giddens and Francesco Turrisi are the hosts of a new Apple Music radio show, Musical Routes Radio, all six episodes of which are now available. You can hear them all now on Apple Music here, and tune in to hear them on Apple Radio Country every other Saturday at 6pm ET.

“So much of the Americana and country music we love has roots outside of the United States,” Giddens says. “Take the banjo, whose rhythmic plucks can be heard in traditional bluegrass, contemporary country, and everything in between, but which originated in Africa … Illustrating the many intersections between country/roots music and global musical traditions, including Celtic music, Caribbean music, Indigenous music, and more, listeners will discover new artists, broaden their own musical knowledge, and enjoy unscripted, far-reaching conversations from our encyclopedic minds.“

It was 5 years ago today: Kronos Quartet’sFolk Songs was released on Nonesuch Records. On the album, Kronos is joined by Sam Amidon,Olivia Chaney,Rhiannon Giddens, and Natalie Merchant to perform mostly traditional with contemporary arrangements, produced by Doug Petty. You can hear it here.