Rhiannon Giddens Drops "At the Purchaser's Option" from Freedom Highway - LISTEN

"Rhiannon Giddens, whose new album, Freedom Highway, is releasing February 24, has unveiled a new song from the album called "At the Purchaser's Option," which you can hear in a lyric video below. The song is one of nine original songs Giddens wrote or co-wrote on the album, which also includes a traditional tune and two civil rights–era songs, "Birmingham Sunday" and Staple Singers' "Freedom Highway." That last track and "At the Purchaser's Option" come as instant downloads with pre-orders of the album.

Rhiannon Giddens Joins CMT's "Nashville" Cast

Rhiannon Giddens, whose new album, Freedom Highway, is out February 24 on Nonesuch Records, joins the cast of the television show Nashville as it returns for its fifth season on CMT.  Giddens made her own acting debut playing the role of Hanna Lee "Hallie" Jordan, a young social worker with "the voice of an angel," when CMT gave an hour-long sneak peek of the two-hour episode last month, leaving many a fan looking forward all the more to tonight's premiere. Nashville airs Thursday nights on CMT.

Freedom Highway, Giddens' follow-up to her highly praised solo debut album, Tomorrow Is My Turn, includes nine original songs she wrote or co-wrote; a traditional tune; and two civil rights–era songs, "Birmingham Sunday" and Staple Singers' "Freedom Highway." She co-produced the album with multi-instrumentalist Dirk Powell in his Louisiana studio, with the bulk of recording done in wooden rooms built prior to the Civil War, over an intense eight-day period. The result is an album that is rawer and more personal than its predecessor.

Listen to the album's title track, below.

Rhiannon Giddens Wins Steve Martin Prize for Excellence in Banjo and Bluegrass

Congratulations to Rhiannon Giddens, the recipient of the seventh-annual Steve Martin Prize for Excellence in Banjo and Bluegrass. "Rhiannon has made a rare contribution to American music," said Steve Martin. "She—along with the Carolina Chocolate Drops—has resurrected and revitalized an important part of banjo history." Created to bring recognition to an individual or group for outstanding accomplishment in the field of five-string banjo or bluegrass music, the prize highlights the extraordinary musicianship of these artists and bluegrass music worldwide. The award is given to a person or group who has given the board a fresh appreciation of this music, either through artistry, composition, innovation or preservation, and is deserving of a wider audience. Its first winner was Noam Pikelny of Punch Brothers.

Her Nonesuch Records release, Tomorrow is My Turn, is available now on cd, and vinyl, from B&T!

Listen to Rhiannon Giddens New "Tomorrow Is My Turn" Album

Rhiannon Giddens' debut solo album, Tomorrow Is My Turn, is due out next Tuesday, February 10, via Nonesuch Records. But you don't need to wait till then to hear it: the new album is streaming in full all this week as an NPR First Listen. Tomorrow Is My Turn, produced by T Bone Burnett, features a broad range of songs from genres as diverse as gospel, jazz, blues, and country, including works made famous by Dolly Parton, Patsy Cline, Odetta, and Nina Simone. "It's a scrupulously selected, richly realized collection of songs," writes NPR's Ann Powers.

"Tomorrow Is My Turn tells the story of how songs become crucial through certain performances that take them somewhere beyond their origin points. Giddens responds to these performances with highly nuanced, sometimes theatrical, always personal readings of her own, presenting an alternative history of folk and popular music that's particularly appropriate for today." Powers later concludes: "Though she didn't write most of these songs, Giddens owns them on Tomorrow Is My Turn ... Her voice—mobile, intelligent, ready to talk back to anyone's presumptions—is always at the center here, guiding the story. Let me be the first to say it: Today is Rhiannon Giddens' turn." Read more and listen to the complete album, streaming now here