Rhiannon Giddens born February 21, is an American musician known for her eclectic folk music. She is a founding member of the country , blues , and old-time music band the Carolina Chocolate Drops , where she was the lead singer, fiddle player, and banjo player. Giddens is a native of Greensboro, North Carolina. Giddens is of multiracial ancestry. Her father, David Giddens, is European-American. Giddens does not claim any specific tribal affiliation.
Giddens' parents separated soon after her birth, when Deborah came out as a lesbian. Rhiannon and her sister Lalenja grew up in Greensboro and nearby rural Gibsonville. A singer and songwriter herself, Harrington occasionally collaborates with her sister on musical projects. Giddens is a alumna of the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics , [ 11 ] and a graduate of Oberlin Conservatory at Oberlin College , where she studied opera.
In , Giddens, who at that time was spending time participating in Scottish traditional music competitions specializing in the Gaelic lilting tradition, also known as mouth music , [ 13 ] [ 14 ] attended the Black Banjo Then and Now Gathering, in Boone, North Carolina.
The three started playing together professionally as a "postmodern string band", Sankofa Strings. Later in , after both Gaelwynd and Sankofa Strings had released CD albums, Giddens and Flemons teamed up with other musicians and expanded the Sankofa Strings sound into what was to become the Grammy winning Carolina Chocolate Drops. In , Giddens contributed fiddle, banjo, "flat-footin'" dancing and additional vocals to Talitha MacKenzie 's album Indian Summer.
Because I Knew You Giddens and Lewis were middle school classmates who reconnected after college while working in the same office. The friends started singing together in , but did not begin recording until In , Giddens began pushing further into her solo career.
