Rhiannon Giddens

Two Grammys, a MacArthur, a Pulitzer, and a banjo.

Rhiannon Giddens has built a singular career by stretching folk music, with its deep historical roots and contemporary sensibility, into just about every field available: opera, ballet, film scoring, and everything in between. She is a two time Grammy winning singer and multi instrumentalist, a MacArthur genius grant recipient and a Pulitzer Prize winner.

The through line is a mission. Her work centers on lifting up the people whose contributions to American musical history have been overlooked or erased outright, and on arguing through the art itself for a more accurate account of where this country's music actually came from.

She has three albums under her own name and two with Italian multi instrumentalist Francesco Turrisi, all on Nonesuch. American Railroad, her first with the Silkroad Ensemble, arrived in November 2024, and What Did the Blackbird Say to the Crow, with Justin Robinson, followed in April 2025.

Pitchfork once wrote that few artists are so fearless and so ravenous in their exploration. NPR named her one of its 25 Most Influential Women Musicians of the 21st Century, and American Songwriter called her one of the most important musical minds currently walking the planet.

Getting tickets. Members get first crack in the pre sale; public on sale opens Friday 18 September at 10am. Membership gets you in immediately, and the box office is on 203-438-5795.

Where to go. The Playhouse is at 80 East Ridge Road in Ridgefield, behind the town hall, and it is an easy run in from anywhere in lower Fairfield County.