Rhiannon Giddens

Rhiannon Giddens plays Vicar Street in Dublin on September 30, 2026. Singer, songwriter, fiddler and banjo player, she bridges folk and old-time with bluegrass, country, blues, gospel, jazz and a few Celtic inflections, always with an eye on where these sounds come from and how they circulate. Trained at Oberlin, she first emerged with Sankofa Strings, then co-founded the Carolina Chocolate Drops, bringing overlooked African American string band traditions back into the conversation.

Her solo path began after The New Basement Tapes with Tomorrow Is My Turn and Freedom Highway, followed by the transatlantic dialogue with Francesco Turrisi on There Is No Other and They’re Calling Me Home, before returning to a more personal songwriting vein on You’re the One. Also active for the stage, she co-composed the opera Omar with Michael Abels, awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 2023.

On stage at Vicar Street, expect a set that threads songs from across this journey: the snap of clawhammer banjo, the grain of the fiddle, and narratives that link roots repertoire to the present without museum glass. A night focused on craft, history and songs that travel well.