• Rhiannon Giddens Starts Biscuits & Banjos Music Festival to Celebrate Black Culture

    Meredith Lawrence Posted On October 22, 2024
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    Photo credit: Ebru Yildiz

    Rhiannon Giddens is starting a music festival. The Grammy and Pulitzer Prize-winning musician announced today that her first Biscuits & Banjos music festival will take place in Durham North Carolina next April as a celebration of Black music, art, and culture and the 20th anniversary of the Black Banjo Gathering.

    “This festival has been a long-time dream of mine,” says Giddens. “It’s about honoring the connections that tie Black culture together across time and geography, whether it’s through music, food, or storytelling. 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.”

    Former string band The Carolina Chocolate Drops, whose original members include Giddens and folk musician and Dom Flemons, will reunite to headline the festival, their first performance together since 2014. Other performers include Taj Mahal, Leyla McCalla, Rissi Palmer, New Dangerfield.

    In addition to live music, the festival will offer lectures, panels, readings, a celebrity chef biscuit bake-off, square dances, and free banjo lessons.

    The first Biscuits & Banjos festival will take place April 25-27 in downtown Durham. Tickets go on sale Friday, Oct. 25.

     

     




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