Rhiannon Giddensreunites with her former Carolina Chocolate Drops bandmate Justin Robinson onWhat Did the Blackbird Say to the Crow, an album of North Carolina fiddle and banjo music. Produced by Giddens and Joseph “joebass” DeJarnette, the album features Giddens on banjo and Robinson on fiddle, with the duo playing eighteen of their favouriteNorth Carolinatunes: a mix of instrumentals and tunes with words.

Many were learned from their late mentor, the legendary North Carolina Piedmont musician Joe Thompson; one is from another musical hero, the late Etta Baker, from whom they also learned by listening to recordings of her playing. Giddens and Robinson recorded outdoors at Thompsons and Bakers North Carolina homes, as well as the former plantation Mill Prong House. They were accompanied by the sounds of nature, including two different broods of cicadas,which had not emerged simultaneously since 1803, creating a true once-in-a-lifetime soundscape.

Release date: 18/04/25