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Rhiannon Giddens stoped by Jimmy Kimmel Live to showcase her bluesy, Cajun-infused song “You Louisiana Man.” The musician was joined by her live band and a back-up for the rousing performance, which saw Giddens singing and playing banjo.

“You Louisiana Man” comes off Giddens’ most recent LP, You’re the One, which dropped last August. The album marked her first solo effort in six years and her first collection of all-original songs. It was produced by Jack Splash and featured musical contributions by Giddens’ partner, multi-instrumentalist Francesco Turrisi, as well as Dirk Powell,...

Rhiannon Giddens appeared on The Daily Show to perform her recent song “Another Waste Life” and to discuss her Pulitzer-winning opera, Omar, with current host Michael Kosta. Giddens offered a poignant, emotional rendition of “Another Wasted Life,” which comes off her latest LP, You’re the One.

During her interview with Kosta, Giddens discussed creating Omar, as well as the tragic story of Kalief Browder, whose suicide in prison inspired “Another Wasted Life.” She also spoke about the cultural importance of the banjo in American history, reflecting on her love...

Rhiannon Giddens has announced plans for her first solo album in six years. You’re the One will be released Aug. 18 via Nonesuch Records and marks the Pulitzer Prize winner’s first collection of all-original songs.

Giddens offered a preview of the project with the title track, a joyous, lovestruck ode to a partner who erased her doubts and made her world colorful. “I wanna love you forever/And I’ll be with you/For worse and for better/And I never thought I’d fall/But you’re the one,...

The Cinema Eye Honors has announced the full slate of nominees for its 16th Annual Awards Ceremony meant to recognize outstanding artistry and craft in nonfiction filmmaking.

Two National Geographic films — Sara Dosa’s “Fire of Love” and Alex Pritz’s “The Territory”— not only led all nominees with seven nominations (including Outstanding Nonfiction Feature for both), but tied the record for most nominations in a single year. Next in line is the Cannes-winning feature, “All That Breathes,” directed by Shaunak Sen, which got six nominations. The Laura Poitras-directed documentary “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed” and Payal Kapadia’s “A Night of Knowing Nothing” followed with four nominations.

This year’s awards mark the first time in Cinema Eye history that five women were nominated for Outstanding Direction, with “Beba” director Rebeca Huntt and “Descendant” filmmaker Margaret Brown joining Sara Dosa, Payal Kapadia, Laura Poitras, and Shaunak Sen in the category.

“Fire of Love” and “The Territory” led all films in nominations for the 16th annual Cinema Eye Honors, awards that were established in 2007 to honor all aspects of nonfiction filmmaking.

“Fire of Love” is a documentary from Sara Dosa about scientists Katia and Maurice Krafft, set against the volcanoes they spent much of their lives studying; “The Territory” is director Alex Pritz’s look at an indigenous Brazilian tribe threatened by deforestation. Both films received seven nominations, tying the record for the most Cinema Eye noms in a single year.

Shaunak Sen’s “All That Breathes” received six nominations, while Laura Poitras’ “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed” and Payal Kapadia’s “A Night of Knowing Nothing” each received four.

In the Outstanding Nonfiction Feature category, those five films were joined by Daniel Roher’s “Navalny.”

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‘Fire of Love,’ ‘Good Night Oppy’ Lead Critics Choice Documentary Awards Nominations...

The Oscar prospects for Fire of Love, The Territory, and All That Breathes got a significant boost today with the announcement of the nominations for the 16th Annual Cinema Eye Honors.

Sara Dosa’s Fire of Love and Alex Pritz’s The Territory tied with a leading seven nominations apiece, while All That Breathes, from director Shaunak Sen, was recognized in half a dozen categories. Fellow Oscar contenders All the Beauty and the Bloodshed — the Venice Golden Lion winner directed by Laura Poitras — and Payal Kapadia’s A Night of Knowing Nothing earned four nominations apiece.

In the marquee category of Outstanding Nonfiction Feature, six films will go head to head at the Cinema Eye Honors: All That Breathes; All the Beauty and the Bloodshed; Fire of Love; Navalny — Daniel Roher’s documentary on Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny; A Night of Knowing Nothing, and The Territory [see the full list of nominees below].

Pritz, making his...

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Fire of Love and The Territory landed a field-leading seven mentions, including best feature, in the Cinema Eye Honors nominations, which were announced Thursday.

The Ceh organization, which celebrates nonfiction work on screens big and small, also nominated All That Breathes (six noms), All the Beauty and the Bloodshed (four noms), Navalny (three noms) and A Night of Knowing Nothing (four noms) for its top honor.

Meanwhile, in the directing category, an unprecedented five of the six nominees are women: Laura Poitras (All the Beauty and the Bloodshed), Rebecca Huntt (Beba), Margaret Brown (Descendant), Sara Dosa (Fire of Love) and Payal Kapadia (A Night of Knowing Nothing). The sixth nominee is Shaunak Sen (All That Breathes).

Poitras, with her noms for feature and direction, ties Steve James for the most Ceh noms of all time, with 13.

Alex Pritz has the most individual noms this year,...

The 2020 Kennedy Center Honors were delayed from their traditional December slot by five months to May. Producers recorded the tributes over several days for Debbie Allen, Joan Baez, Garth Brooks, Midori and Dick Van Dyke in and around the Washington, D.C. landmark for a ceremony to be broadcast this Sunday, June 6, on CBS.

Here is the complete list of performers and presenters to be seen on the two-hour program hosted by previous Kch recipient Gloria Estefan. While all performers were there in person to honor the entertainment careers of these icons, some presenters recorded their portions from other locations.

Debbie Allen:

Presenters are Paula Abdul, Phylicia Rashad, Shonda Rhimes, Tracee Ellis Ross

“Fame” performed by Ariana DeBose, Vanessa Hudgens, Vivian Nixon, Tiler Peck, Desmond Richardson, Anika Noni Rose

“I’m a Brass Band” performed by Ariana DeBose, Vivian Nixon

“Out Here on My Own” performed by Tiler Peck,...

Pearl Jam, David Byrne and Jenny Lewis are among the many artists featured on Good Music to Avert the Collapse of American Democracy: Volume Two. The collection will be available on Friday for 24 hours only as part of the Bandcamp Fridays series.

The tracklist is nearly twice the size of the first edition, with 77 previously unreleased recordings. Pearl Jam — who recently announced a massive voting initiative themselves — contributed the new song “Get It Back.” Byrne’s “People Tell Me” is a demo from the Joan of Arc: Into the Fire musical,...

Nashville’s annual AmericanaFest has announced its final lineup of performers, a list that, like the Americana genre itself, represents roots-based country, folk, bluegrass, blues, and rock. Among the new additions: Shawn Colvin, Brent Cobb, Sarah Potenza, Andrew Bird, Drivin N Cryin, Nicki Bluhm, Andrew Combs, Sierra Hull, Foy Vance, the Quebe Sisters, Maggie Rose, Orville Peck, and Jesse Malin.

With 150 acts now added to the already stacked lineup, the Americana Music Association’s annual conference will feature some 500 performances from a total of almost 300 artists throughout the six-day event.

As she tends to do, Rhiannon Giddens had an idea. The singer-banjoist and MacArthur Genuis had convened a group of fellow artists — Allison Russell, Leyla McCalla and Amythyst Kiah —in January 2018 to record the collaborative concept album Songs of Our Native Daughters to interpret and revive long-extinct forms of music.

“Maybe,” she pondered out loud to Kiah and Russell one day, “you could reimagine the John Henry story. Why don’t you two write a song about Polly Ann, because nobody knows Polly Ann’s story. What’s her story?...

Bluegrass stalwart Tim O’Brien will release a new album in 2019. Nodding to the prevalence of bluegrass bands named for their leader, Tim O’Brien Band (out March 15th) will be its namesake’s first full-length album since 2017’s Where the River Meets the Road.

Featuring O’Brien’s touring mates Mike Bub, Shad Cobb, Jan Fabricius and Patrick Sauber, the new album features O’Brien performing songs by Norman Blake (“Last Train From Poor Valley”) and Woody Guthrie, whose political “Pastures of Plenty” deals with the plight of migrant workers in the U.

Our Native Daughters, the new roots music supergroup featuring Rhiannon Giddens, Amythyst Kiah, Allison Russell, and Leyla McCalla, have released the song “Quasheba, Quasheba” from their upcoming debut album.

“Quasheba, Quasheba,” premiering below, was written by Birds of Chicago singer-songwriter Allison Russell as an attempt to reckon with and shed light on the singer’s ancestral roots in West African slavery. After the singer found out her family line can be traced back to an enslaved person named Quasheba, Russell felt compelled to pay tribute in song.

“Such was her...

The Americana Music Association takes over the music mecca of Nashville, Tenn. each year for a festival to celebrate the accomplishment and further the creative spirit of the genre. Vanguard Records and Sugar Hill Records had several of their artists sit for a series of intimate performances at Minutia Studios while they were in town for the event. You can watch the final three clips from the series exclusively in the players below: the first with bluegrass innovator Sam Bush, the second with country music mainstay Kathy Mattea and the third with immensely talented recording artist and producer Dirk Powell....