Every once in a while, a fresh wind blows soft and long enough to heal wounds that you may not have realized were exposed. Today, I stumbled on Rhiannon Giddens' home concert, and after the first few chords of the first song, "Black as Crow," I knew immediately that there was safety in the calm of each lyric rustic chord and expressive tone of her voice. Her gifts showered my mind, body, and soul. Listen and fall in love with your own heart. I garden-easy with her music wafting in the air - across the leaves of cowpeas and pole beans or reaching deep down that only cucs know where to hide.
Ms. Giddens sings and plays banjo and fiddle, and the tempo is kept lively and flirtatiously with a bodhrán while guiding you through every storm. Bob Boilen quotes her in the summary of her performance, "We're not doing my original songs," Rhiannon Giddens says, before she and her partner, Francesco Turrisi, launch into an old spiritual, "'cause with these kinds of emotions, the old songs say it best."
My goodness...take a listen?