“Before emancipation, musicians were often the slaves.
Because it was seen as a service…and when you think about who was mixing these
tunes, it wasn’t just the immigrants…you had all these black musicians who knew
Scottish tunes, who knew Irish airs. The story of the black string band is
often forgotten…that’s what’s interesting to me as a black American living in
Ireland. What is fascinating to me is people who were not considered ‘white’
when they came to the United States, how their music integrated into what
became American music. This is what I feel Ireland has a huge piece
of.”—American musician Rhiannon Giddens, lead singer, fiddle player, and banjo
player in the Carolina Chocolate Drops—and part-time resident of Limerick,
Ireland—interviewed by Chris Keenan in “Rhiannon Giddens…Planning for the
Future of Irish Culture,” in
Irish Music Magazine, September 2019
I first became aware of Rhiannon Giddens, a 2017
recipient of the MacArthur “genius” grant, on a PBS broadcast this past year.
The article I quoted from above gives a strong idea of her deep appreciation
for the overseas roots of folk and country music.
But to grasp the rapture people feel for her work,
it’s best to see or hear her perform live. In this YouTube clip of the Carolina
Chocolate Drops at Floydfest 2011, Giddens plays the fiddle sensationally, then
lays down her instrument for a minute or so, only to bring the house down
dancing.
