Our Native Daughters — the collaboration of Rhiannon Giddens, Leyla McCalla, Allison Russell, and Amythyst Kiah — will launch their first-ever live performances this July in support of their LP ‘Songs of Our Native Daughters’ (out now via Smithsonian Folkways). This special series of dates includes rare, intimate performances at Washington DC’s Smithsonian Museum of African American History & Culture as well as Newport Folk Festival.
On this solo headlining tour Giddens, McCalla, Russell, and Kiah will be joined by a series top-shelf session musicians and multi-instrumentalists for a 60-90-minute set filled with the tales of historic black womanhood and survival from their latest album. In bringing to light the specific experience of black women through the beautiful music and writing of contemporary black female musicians, the album finds new touchstones in the story of American racism.
Tour Dates:
Tuesday, July 23 – Levitt Pavilion of the Performing Arts – Westport, CT
Wednesday, July 24 – Smithsonian Museum of African American History & Culture – Washington, DC
Thursday, July 25 – Chautauqua Institute – Chautauqua, NY
Friday, July 26 – The Egg – Albany, NY
Saturday, July 27 – Great Waters Festival – Wolfeboro, NH
Sunday, July 28 – Newport Folk Festival – Newport, RI
Here’s what critics are saying:
“an artistic mission to supplant the portrayals of slavery as an abstract, ancient sin with the imaginative, immersive contemplation of its individual human impact and aftermath” – NPR
“their music is an act of reclamation… [offering] a glimpse of the strength and solidarity necessary in dark times” – TIME
“devastating beauty from banjo supergroup… what Giddens and her cohorts have managed to create is a record of great importance and exceptional beauty, its darker moments countered by points of bright wonder” – The Guardian (5 star review)
“A crucial pronouncement in folk music” – Rolling Stone
“speaks truth to false narratives about racism and slavery” – Garden & Gun
“It’s exciting to find a project like this that puts a spotlight on the often overlooked history of Black women in America” – Refinery29
Learn more about the history of the record here:
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Official website: folkways.si.edu
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