Pulitzer and Grammy-winning artist Rhiannon Giddens’ new album Hope is the Thing with Feathers was inspired by the beauty of people coming together and drawing strength from each other. It was intentionally recorded live with no frills and few overdubs, just pure and essential music that captures the feeling of community, clarity, as well as the joy and power of creating together. From exploring the lineages that make American music to the community-oriented spirit in which it was conceived and recorded, in many ways the album tells the story of the last 20 years of Giddens’ life.

Hope is the Thing with Feathers features Giddens’ key collaborators from throughout her career. Giddens (lead vocals, minstrel banjo, fiddle) is joined by longtime bassist Jason Sypher, Italian multi-instrumentalist Francesco Turrisi, Congolese artist Niwel Tsumbu (guitars), and Louisiana native Dirk Powell on multiple instruments, as well as her very first bandmate and fellow North Carolinian Justin Robinson, her nephew Justin Harrington, Dirk’s daughter Amelia Powell, Charly Lowry, and Giddens’ sister Lalenja Harrington.