>>> AND NEXT, RHIANNON GIDDENS IS CURRENTLY CARVING OUT HER OWN IMPRESSIVE LEGACY.

SHE'S THE SINGER, SONGWRITER, AND ACTRESS THAT KEEPS ADDING STRINGS TO HER BOW.

♪ YOU TURN MY HEAD ♪ ♪ TRIPPED UP MY MIND ♪ ♪ YOU LOUISIANA MAN ♪ ♪♪ ♪ YOU BURNED MY BED ♪ ♪ LIT UP MY SKY ♪ ♪ YOU LOUISIANA MAN ♪ ♪♪ >> "YOU'RE THE ONE" IS HER LATEST RELEASE AND FIRST FULL ALBUM OF ORIGINAL SONGS.

SHE WON THE PEW LITSER PRIZE, ON TOUR WITH YO-YO MA, AND ISAACSON.

>> THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME.

>> YOU JUST RELEASED "YOU'RE THE ONE" THIS PAST SUMMER.

IT'S YOUR FIRST ALBUM OF ALL ORIGINAL SONGS, AND IT'S SORT OF CALLED AN AMERICANA TYPE MUSIC ALBUM.

WHY WAS IT IMPORTANT FOR YOU TO DO THIS NOW?

>> WELL, I THINK THAT I HAD ALL THESE SONGS THAT I'D WRITTEN AND HAVE BEEN KIND OF WAITING FOR THE TIME, AND I HAD BEEN DOING A LOT OF PRETTY HEAVY WORK OVER THE LAST, YOU KNOW, I'D SAY TEN YEARS, VERY CULTURALLY RELEVANT WORK, HISTORICALLY COMPLICATED WORK, AND I JUST -- I KIND OF NEEDED A MOMENT TO JUST KIND OF LET LOOSE AND HAVE SOME FUN.

AND ALSO STILL REPRESENT, YOU KNOW, A DIFFERENT SIDE OF MYSELF AS AN ARTIST, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, AS SOON AS YOU START DOING EXACTLY THE SAME STUFF TIME AND TIME AGAIN, YOU KIND OF START TO LOSE, I DON'T KNOW, YOU JUST -- IT'S IMPORTANT AS ARTISTS, I THINK, TO EXPLORE ALL THE DIFFERENT SIDES OF WHO WE ARE, BECAUSE IT STRENGTHENS THE OTHER SIDE THAT I HAD BEEN DOING.

AT LEAST THAT WAS THE THOUGHT.

>> WELL, YOU JUST TALKED ABOUT THE HISTORICALLY COMPLICATED WORK YOU'VE BEEN DOING.

WE TALKED ABOUT THAT A FEW YEARS AGO, YOUR RESEARCHES, EVERYTHING INTO THE BANJO AND INTO HOW MUSIC GETS MADE.

EXPLAIN TO PEOPLE WHAT YOU'VE BEEN DOING RECENTLY ON THIS HISTORICALLY COMPLICATED FIELD.

>> WELL, RECENTLY, MY TWO SORT OF BIGGEST PROJECTS IN THAT, ONE WAS AN OPERA, OR, IS AN OPERA, CALLED "OMAR" THAT'S ABOUT THE STORY OF A SENEGALESE THAT WAS SOLD INTO SLAVERY AND DIED AN ENSLAVED MAN OVER 50 YEARS IN NORTH CAROLINA, WHICH IS MY HOME STATE.

AND THE OTHER BIG PROJECT THAT I'VE BEEN WORKING ON,ESPECIALLY IN THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS, IS THE AMERICAN RAILROAD PROJECT, STARTED BY YO-YO MA OVER, GOSH, 20 SOMETHING YEARS AGO, AND THOSE WERE, YOU KNOW, THOSE HAVE BEEN A LOT OF TIME THINKING ABOUT SOME PRETTY -- PRETTY DARK STUFF, YOU KNOW?

>> I WAS SURPRISED TO READ ABOUT THIS OPERA, BECAUSE, BOY, IT'S COMPLICATED.

AND I REALIZE THAT YOU HAD STUDIED OPERA SO MUCH, AND THAT IT'S AN IMPORTANT PART OF YOUR BACKGROUND.

PEOPLE KIND OF INTIMIDATED BY OPERA.

TELL ME HOW YOU DECIDED TO GO DOWN THAT ROAD AND WHY OPERA WAS SO IMPORTANT.

>> WELL, IT'S REALLY INTERESTING, BECAUSE, YEAH, I STARTED AS AN OPERA SINGER, BUT I CAME TO CLASSICAL MUSIC PRETTY LATE.

I DIDN'T KNOW HOW TO READ MUSIC.

I WENT TO CONSERVATORY, IT WAS A STEEP LEARNING CURVE, BUT I FELL IN LOVE AS AN ADULT.

I GOT A DEGREE AND DID A LOT OF OPERA AND I LOVED OPERA, BUT I WAS KIND OF WONDERING, WHAT WAS MY ROLE IN THIS WORLD TO DO AND OPERA.

IT WASN'T SURE OPERA WAS IT, SO, THAT'S WHEN I FOUND THE BANJO AND KIND OF -- THAT TOOK ME DOWN ROADS THAT HAVE NOW, YOU KNOW, BEEN APART OF MY LIFE FOR A LONG TIME.

I DIDN'T EXPECT TO COME BACK TO OPERA, BUT WHEN THIS FESTIVAL APPROACHED ME ABOUT DOING AN OPERA ABOUT OMAR, I KIND OF WENT, WELL, THIS IS AMAZING, BECAUSE THIS IS A STORY THAT'S SO IMPORTANT AND AN ART FORM THAT IS STIGMATIZED, YOU KNOW, AND SORT OF PUT INTO THIS, YOU KNOW, KIND OF CLASSIC, OR CLASS WARFARE THING, YOU KNOW?

ONLY, YOU KNOW, THESE KIND OF PEOPLE ENJOY OPERA, ONLY THESE KIND OF PEOPLE DO OPERA.

AND THAT'S SUCH A FALSE NOTION, YOU KNOW, OPERA REALLY SHOULD BE FOR EVERYONE.

IT STARTED OUT AS SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE.

IT WAS JUST A MUSIC DRAMA.

AND BECAUSE OUR POP MUSIC IS SO DIFFERENT, IT'S SO FAR AWAY FROM OUR CLASSICAL MUSIC RIGHT NOW, IT'S HARDER FOR PEOPLE TO HAVE A DOOR INTO OPERA SOMETIMES.

SO, WE REALLY NEED STORIES THAT ARE RELEVANT TO PEOPLE.

>> SO, YOU DID SOMETHING THAT WAS VERY CULTURALLY RELEVANT AND BROUGHT IT TO OPERA, BUT TIE THAT BACK TO THE ALBUM, "YOU'RE THE ONE," THAT YOU RELEASED THIS YEAR.

♪ I NEVER KNEW THAT YOU WERE GOING TO BREAK MY HEART ♪ ♪ YOU LOUISIANA MAN ♪ ♪♪ >> YOU WERE GRAMMY NOMINATED IN THE AMERICANA MUSIC CATEGORY.

SO, EXPLAIN, WHAT IS THE AMERICANA MUSIC CATEGORY?

AND HOW ARE YOU TRYING TO RESHAPE IT?

>> WELL, I THINK IT'S -- THE PROBLEM WITH GENRES, THEY STAY THE SAME WHILE THE MUSIC CHANGES.

AND MUSIC IS ALWAYS CHANGING AND IT'S ALWAYS, LIKE, TURNING FROM THIS INTO THAT AND AMERICAN MUSIC PARTICULARLY BECAUSE OF ALL THE DIFFERENT INFLUENCES THAT HAVE GONE INTO IT, IT REALLY ESPECIALLY DOES THAT, WHERE, YOU KNOW, MUSIC IS A MOVING TARGET, YOU CAN'T EVER -- YOU CAN'T STEP IN THE SAME RIVER TWICE, RIGHT?

SO, THAT, AS GENRES CHANGE, WE HAVE TO KEEP INVENTING MORE AND MORE TO REPRESENT.

AND IT'S AN ATTEMPT TO REALLY CELEBRATE THE -- ALL OF THE INFLUENCES THAT GO INTO AMERICAN MUSIC, AND TO SAY, YOU KNOW, AMERICANA IS NOT ONE THING, IT'S ALL OF THE THINGS THAT MAKE AMERICAN MUSIC, YOU KNOW, SO UNIQUE, SO, THAT'S THE WAY I -- THAT'S THE WAY I LOOK AT IT, YOU KNOW, SO, IT'S ALWAYS AN HONOR TO BE NOMINATED AND TO BE IN THE AMERICANA CATEGORY WITH SO MANY OTHER INCREDIBLE ARTISTS.

I'M JUST LIKE -- I DON'T FEEL LIKE ANYBODY LOSES, BECAUSE IT'S SUCH A WONDERFUL REPRESENTATION OF WHAT'S GOING ON IN THE MUSIC WORLD.

IT'S NOT ALWAYS IN THE BRIGHT LIGHTS OF THE MAINSTREAM EYE, IF YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN.

>> WELL, YOU HELPED DEFINE THE AMERICANA CATEGORY BY YOUR PERFORMANCES AND YOUR MUSIC, BUT YOU'VE ALSO INFORMED IT BY YOUR HISTORICAL STUDIES, ESPECIALLY ON THE ROLE OF THE BANJO AND OTHER INSTRUMENTS.

TELL ME HOW YOUR HISTORICAL STUDIES HELP FORM THE MUSIC ON THIS ALBUM?

>> FOR ME, THIS RECORD IN PARTICULAR IS -- NOTHING IS EVER DETACHED FROM THE HISTORICAL -- MY HISTORICAL RECORD.

IT'S ALWAYS KIND OF INFUSED IN THE MUSIC.

SO, EVEN CREATING A TUNE, A SONG LIKE "LOUISIANA MAN" THAT IS, YOU KNOW, THE CENTERPIECE OF IT IS THE BANJO, THE CENTER OF IT IS THE BANJO, I WROTE IT ON THE BANJO AND MY PARTICULAR BANJO IS A REPLICA OF A BANJO FROM 1858, AND A BANJO THAT'S AT THE CROSSROADS BETWEEN AFRICA AND EUROPE, BANJO BEING INVENTED BY THE AFRICAN DIASPERA, BEFORE IT BECAME KNOWN AS THE SYMBOL OF BLACK PEOPLE FOR A LONG TIME, AND THEN IN THE 1840s AND '50s, IT STARTS TO MAKE THAT TRANSITION TO MAINSTREAM CULTURE.

AND THE BANJO I HAVE SITS AT THE CROSSROADS OF THAT.

SO EVEN JUST A SONG THAT'S CREATED AROUND THAT IS IMBUED WITH HISTORY, EVEN THOUGH IT'S A SONG ABOUT A BAD MAN WHO WASN'T A VERY NICE PERSON AND LEFT THIS, YOU KNOW, THE SINGER BEHIND AND SHE HAS TO KIND OF, LIKE, YOU KNOW, STRIVE ON, SO, THIS -- THIS RECORD IS A LITTLE SUBTLER.

THIS ONLY SONG ON THE RECORD THAT'S REALLY SPECIFICALLY TIED TO A HISTORICAL EVENT IS "ANOTHER WASTED LIFE" AND IT'S A VERY RECENT EVENT ABOUT A MAN PUT INTO PRISON FOR A CRIME HE DIDN'T COMMIT AND WAS PUT INTO SOLITARY CONFINEMENT AND WHEN HE WAS RELEASED, HE COMMITTED SUICIDE AND THE WHOLE -- WHAT THAT REPRESENTS ABOUT THE WHOLE SYSTEM, YOU KNOW, REALLY STRUCK ME IN A VERY FORCEFUL WAY AND I WROTE IT BASED ON THAT.

SO THAT IS REALLY MORE RECENT BIT OF HISTORY THAN WHAT I USUALLY DO IN MY MUSIC, BUT IT FELT LIKE A VERY IMPORTANT SONG TO WRITE AND THIS COLLECTION, IT FELT LIKE IT WAS IMPORTANT TO MAKE SURE THAT IT WAS LIVING IN OTHER SONGS THAT COULD, YOU KNOW, SURROUND IT.

>> HOW DID THE SONG ABOUT HIM GET YOU MORE INVOLVED IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE MOVEMENT?

>> WELL, I WANTED TO USE THAT SONG TO RAISE AWARENESS, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE WHEN I TELL THAT STORY, PEOPLE ARE ALWAYS LIKE, OH, MY GOSH.

AND I'M LIKE, YEAH, THERE'S SO MANY OTHERS LIKE HIM WHO ARE -- WHO ARE SITTING IN PRISON FOR SOMETHING THEY DIDN'T DO BECAUSE THEY GOT CAUGHT UP OR BECAUSE THEY WERE FINGERED, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE THE SYSTEM IS SO -- IN A LOT OF WAYS FOCUSED ON CLOSING CASES, AND IT'S NOT TO SAY THAT THERE'S NOT A LOT OF GOOD WORK DONE, THERE'S A LOT OF WORK THAT IS NOT SERVING US, YOU KNOW?

AND IT'S NOT SERVING THESE PEOPLE WHO ARE STUCK BEHIND BARS.

AND I THINK THAT THAT IS AN IMPORTANT -- IT'S A REALLY ABOUT, BECAUSE I DON'T THINK THEY REALIZE HOW MANY NUMBERS OF PEOPLE ARE WAITING TO, YOU KNOW, FOR A LAWYER TO COME REPRESENT THEM OR FOR THEIR CASE TO WIND ITS WAY THROUGH A YEAR'S LONG, YOU KNOW, APPEALS SYSTEM OR WHATEVER, AND SO THERE'S A REALLY WONDERFUL GROUP OF ORGANIZATIONS UNDER THE INNOCENCE PROJECT AND THERE ARE DIFFERENT ONES IN DIFFERENT STATES, AND THEY'RE DEDICATED TO HELPING THESE PEOPLE, SO, IT WAS KIND OF A NO BRAINER TO USE "ANOTHER WASTED LIFE" TO CONNECT WITH THOSE ORGANIZATIONS, PARTICULARLY THE ONE THAT WE CONNECTED WITH WAS THE PENNSYLVANIA INNOCENCE PROJECT, AND I MADE A VIDEO WITH 22 GUYS WHO HAD BEEN EXONERATED BY -- IN THE SYSTEM, AND WANTED TO REPRESENT, YOU KNOW, IN ORDER TO RAISE FUNDS, TO RAISE AWARENESS FOR THE GUYS WHO WERE STILL BEHIND BARS.

♪ IT'S JUST ANOTHER WASTED LIFE ♪ ♪ IT'S JUST ANOTHER WASTED LIFE ♪ ♪ IT'S JUST ANOTHER WASTED LIFE ♪ ♪ IT'S JUST ANOTHER WASTED LIFE ♪ THAT'S BEEN A REALLY AMAZING AND MEAN,FUL COLLABORATION FOR ME.

I -- I KIND OF MADE -- MADE THE WHOLE ALBUM ALIVE FOR ME, BECAUSE THAT'S REALLY WHAT I'M HERE TO DO, I FEEL LIKE, IS TO USE MY ART TO TRY TO RAISE AWARENESS OF, YOU KNOW, THINGS THAT WE REALLY NEED TO FIX IN OUR SOCIETY.

>> YOU SAID YOUR ALBUM HAS BEEN INSPIRED BY SOME OF THE GREAT FEMALE SINGERS OF OUR TIME.

OBVIOUSLY ARETHA, ALSO NINA SIMONE, I THINK DOLLY PARTON.

WHAT DID YOU TAKE FROM THEM?

>> I TOOK, LIKE, BITS AND PIECES FROM -- ALL OF THEM LIVED THEIR -- IN SOME CASES LIVE, LIKE DOLLY'S STILL AROUND, BUT YOU KNOW, DEDICATED TO LIVING THEIR LIVES THE WAY THEY WANTED TO LIVE THEIR LIVES, AND, YOU KNOW, FOR GOOD AND FOR BAD, LIKE, AT TIMES AND I JUST -- THAT'S SOMETHING THAT I DRAW A LOT OF INSPIRATION FROM, YOU KNOW, AND ALSO JUST THE SHEER TALENT, YOU KNOW?

THE SHEER TALENT OF SOMEBODY LIKE ARETHA FRANKLIN WHERE SHE JUST OPENS HER MOUTH AND YOU'RE LIKE, OH, MY GOSH.

BUT SHE ALSO JUST WOULD NOT NOT BE HERSELF, SHE WAS HERSELF, I MEAN -- AT LEAST AS FAR AS I KNOW, I DIDN'T KNOW HER PERSONALLY, I ONLY MET HER ONE TIME, BUT SHE JUST, LIKE, LIVED HER LIFE, YOU KNOW?

AND PUT THIS ART OUT AND JUST LIVED HER LIFE.

AND I DON'T KNOW, I JUST AM INSPIRED BY ALL OF THOSE LADIES, AND I CAN ONLY HOPE TO LIVE, YOU KNOW, A FRACTION OF THE TRUTH THAT THEY LIVED, YOU KNOW?

>> YOU ADDRESS SOME OF THAT WITH THE SONG "HEN IN THE FOX HOUSE."

>> YEAH.

>> WHAT IT'S LIKE TO BE A WOMAN IN THIS WORLD OF MUSIC.

♪ I'M JUST A HEN IN THE FOX HOUSE ♪ >> TIE IT INTO THAT, IF YOU WOULD.

>> YEAH, I MEAN, "HEN IN THE FOX HOUSE" IS OBVIOUSLY PLAYING ON WORDS, WHICH I LOVE TO DO.

AND THAT'S THE EARLIEST SONG ON THE RECORD, BECAUSE THEY WERE WRITTEN OVER A SELECTION OF YEARS, SO, THAT'S EARLIER, I MEAN, OF COURSE THINGS HAVE GOTTEN A LOT BETTER.

IT'S STILL, YOU KNOW, IT'S STILL -- IT'S STILL PRETTY MAN HEAVY IN THE WORLD, BUT IT'S GOTTEN BETTER, WHICH IS REALLY GREAT.

BUT AT THAT POINT, I WAS FEELING SOME THINGS, AND I WAS JUST THINKING ABOUT HOW I WAS OFTEN THE ONLY WOMAN IN THE ROOM, KIND OF OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN, AND JUST KIND OF WROTE THAT PIECE AS A -- AS A WAY TO SAY, LIKE, LOOK, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE TO DO THIS THING.

I WAS TALKING TO OTHER WOMEN WHO WERE BAND LEADERS AND, YOU KNOW, JUST THE FRUSTRATIONS THAT COME ALONG WITH THAT, AND, YOU KNOW, IT'S LIKE, I'M NOT THE ONLY HEN IN THE FOX HOUSE.

THERE'S MANY OF US.

AND SO, YOU KNOW, THE IDEA IS THAT WE KIND OF PULL -- WE PULL STRENGTH FROM EACH OTHER WHEN WE'RE IN THOSE SITUATIONS, EVEN IF WE'RE NOT THERE IN THE ROOM WITH EACH OTHER.

WE KNOW THAT -- YOU KNOW, WE KNOW EACH OTHER'S THERE IN THE WORLD, AND SO, WE HAVE THIS COMMUNITY AND THAT KEEPS US STRONG.

>> I THINK THE ONLY SONG ON THE ALBUM THAT'S A COLLABORATION IS WITH JASON ISABEL, RIGHT?

AND IT'S "YET TO BE" AND INVOLVES A RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN A BLACK AND AND IRISH PERSON.

♪ SHE WAS MOPPING THE FLOOR ♪ ♪ HE WAS WORKING THE ♪ ♪ IT WAS A DIVINE COLLISION ♪ ♪ OR THE HUMAN HEART ♪ ♪ IT WAS EAST OF HER ♪ ♪ AND WEST OF HIM ♪ ♪ THEY WERE WISHING ON THE SAME BRIGHT STAR ♪ ♪ AND THE BABY WAS THE BRAND NEW START ♪ >> THAT'S SORT OF DRAWN FROM YOUR EXPERIENCE.

TELL ME ABOUT THAT.

>> WELL, IT'S FUNNY.

IT'S LIKE -- YOU COULD SAY THAT, BUT IT'S ALSO -- I'M JUST THINKING OF REALLY MORE HISTORICALLY, YOU KNOW, SINCE, OF COURSE, I MET AND MARRIED AND IRISH MAN AND THAT'S -- IT IS A PART OF MY HISTORY, BUT I'VE BEEN DRAWN TO KNOWING MORE ABOUT THAT HISTORY IN AMERICA, YOU KNOW?

AND THE INTERACTION BETWEEN BLACK FOLKS AND IRISH FOLKS, AND WHERE AS, THERE'S A LOT OF POINTS OF CONTENTION AND VIOLENCE, YOU KNOW, WITH THOSE GROUPS OF PEOPLE.

THERE'S ALSO COUNTLESS, YOU KNOW, ACTS AND STORIES OF BLACK PEOPLE AND IRISH PEOPLE MAKING MUSIC TOGETHER AND DANCING TOGETHER AND MAKING BABIES TOGETHER, BECAUSE THAT'S KIND OF WHAT WE DO.

WE COME TOGETHER AND WE CREATE NEW THINGS, WHETHER THAT'S MUSIC OR CHILDREN.

AND THERE WAS SO MANY, YOU KNOW, MOMENTS OF THAT IN AMERICAN HISTORY, THAT WE DON'T TALK ABOUT, THAT WE DON'T REALLY, YOU KNOW, WE'LL TALK ABOUT THE DRAFT RIOTS, BUT WE DON'T TALK ABOUT THE COUNTLESS FAMILIES LIVING IN FIVE-POINT THAT WERE MIXED OR WHATEVER.

AND I'M A MIXED PERSON, SO IT'S REALLY A SONG ABOUT THAT.

IT'S A MOMENT OF KIND OF UNUSUAL OPTIMISM FOR ME.

JUST THINKING ABOUT, LIKE, WHAT CAN WE -- WHAT CAN WE CELEBRATE, LIKE, THINKING ABOUT MY PARENTS WHEN THEY GOT MARRIED, IT WAS THREE YEARS AFTER IT WAS, LIKE, FEDERALLY RECOGNIZED AS A LEGAL THING, YOU KNOW?

THAT'S INSANE, YOU KNOW?

I'M LIKE, 45 YEARS OLD AND I CAN, YOU KNOW, LIKE, MY PARENTS' GENERATION, YOU KNOW, IN A LOT OF PLACES, IT WAS ILLEGAL, YOU KNOW?

SO, THINKING ABOUT HOW FAR WE HAVE COME AND THINKING ABOUT HOW WE CAN'T TAKE THAT FOR GRANTED, AND SO, THAT'S A SONG THAT REALLY CELEBRATES THE BEAUTY OF THAT AND HOW WE CANNOT LOSE, YOU KNOW, WHAT IT MEANS TO COME TOGETHER AND TO SEE EACH OTHER AS HUMAN BEINGS AND NOT AS A COLOR OR A CREED OR A RELIGION.

>> YEAH, SO, YOU SING ABOUT PEOPLE COMING TOGETHER, NOT AS A COLOR OR A CREED, PEOPLE COMING TOGETHER FROM DIFFERENT BACKGROUNDS AS PART OF THAT SONG.

TO WHAT EXTENT IS THAT TRUE OF AMERICAN MUSIC?

THAT'S HOW IT IS FORMED?

>> THAT IS LITERALLY AMERICAN MUSIC.

IT IS, I MEAN, AND WE CAN'T FORGET CLASS HERE, BECAUSE FOR ME, THAT'S THE THING WE DON'T TALK ABOUT ENOUGH.

THAT AMERICAN MUSIC WAS FORMED AND CREATED BY PEOPLE FROM ALL DIFFERENT CULTURES.

AND SOME HAVE MORE OUTSIZED EFFECT THAN OTHERS, LIKE AFRICAN AMERICANS HAVE A HUGE EFFECT ON AMERICAN MUSIC, BUT THEY'RE NOT THE ONLY ONES.

THERE IS THIS COMBINATION OF PEOPLE LIVING CHEEK BY JOWL, TRADING LICKS, LEARNING FROM EACH OTHER, AND THESE GENRES THAT COME OUT OF THIS CULTURAL EXCHANGE, BUT IT'S ALSO ALL POOR PEOPLE, YOU KNOW?

IT'S PEOPLE OF THE WORKING CLASS.

PEOPLE WHO ARE TRYING TO MAKE A LIVING AND TRYING TO DO THE BEST THEY CAN, AND THEY'RE BRINGING THEIR MUSIC INTO THE MIX AND, LIKE, THERE'S A CERTAIN -- THERE'S A CERTAIN ENERGY THAT GOES INTO THAT, AND ALL FOLKS WHO ARE KIND OF, LIKE, SCRABBLING TOGETHER.

AND I'M NOT ROMANTICIZING IT, THEY FOUGHT A LOT, TOO.

BUT THE MUSIC KIND OF WINS OUT.

AND WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE HISTORY OF ANY KIND OF MUSIC IN AMERICA, THAT IS AT THE HEART OF IT, YOU KNOW?

AND THAT IS, FOR ME, THE CENTER OF WHAT I LIKE TO TELL ABOUT THIS STORY, IS THAT AMERICAN MUSIC IS A STORY OF TRIUMPH, REALLY.

IT'S A STORY OF, YOU KNOW, THIS COUNTRY THAT WAS BORN OUT OF BLOODSHED AND SO MANY TERRIBLE THINGS, YOU KNOW, AS A NATION STATE, BUT UNDERNEATH THAT, THERE'S ALL THIS CULTURAL MIXING THAT'S GOING FROM ALSO TRAGEDY, FROM, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE COMING OVER BECAUSE THEY'VE BEEN RUN OFF OR THEY HAVE NO OTHER OPTIONS OR WHATEVER, AND OUT OF ALL THIS NEGATIVITY AND UGLINESS, THERE IS THIS BEAUTY THAT'S BORN OF ALL OF THAT.

AND, LIKE, WE CAN'T -- WE CAN'T LOSE HOPE, LIKE, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE TO KIND OF LOOK AT THAT AND GO, ISN'T THAT BEAUTIFUL?

WE CAN DO IT -- WE CAN DO IT WITH MUSIC, WHY CAN'T WE DO IT ELSEWHERE?

>> RHIANNON GIDDENS, THANK YOU FOR JOINING US.

>> IT'S BEEN A PLEASURE.