To Balance on Bridges Audiobook By Rhiannon Giddens cover art

To Balance on Bridges

Words + Music, Vol. 19

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To Balance on Bridges

By: Rhiannon Giddens
Narrated by: Rhiannon Giddens
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Rhiannon Giddens possesses the power to express herself and the human experience like few others. Journey with the inimitable folk musician and MacArthur "Genius Grant" recipient as the celebrated artist examines the multitude of influences and identities that have led her to a life "nestled in the nexus” - defined and further made whole by the sum of her parts.

Blending songs and stories from shared and personal histories, To Balance on Bridges finds Giddens in continued pursuit of truth in all its raw and underexposed forms. Performing tracks from several of her acclaimed albums, Giddens leads listeners through a multitude of musical styles, lyrical patterns, and instrumentation confronting questions on race, culture, appropriation, and class with searing precision. Hear an indelible artist reflect vividly on her own path as she, in turn, sheds light on our deeply connected journey ahead.

©2021 Rhiannon Giddens (P)2021 Audible Originals, LLC. Entertainment & Celebrities Celebrity Thought-Provoking Inspiring Heartfelt Funny Witty

About the Creator and Performer

The acclaimed musician Rhiannon Giddens uses her art to excavate the past and reveal bold truths about our present. A MacArthur "Genius Grant" recipient, Giddens co-founded the Grammy Award-winning Carolina Chocolate Drops, and has been nominated for six additional Grammys for her work as a soloist and collaborator. She was most recently nominated for her collaboration with multi-instrumentalist Francesco Turrisi, there is no Other (2019). Giddens’s latest album, They’re Calling Me Home, is a twelve-track album, recorded with Turrisi in Ireland during the recent lockdown; it speaks of the longing for the comfort of home as well as the metaphorical "call home" of death, which has been a tragic reality for so many during the COVID-19 crisis.
Giddens’s lifelong mission is to lift up people whose contributions to American musical history have previously been erased, and to work toward a more accurate understanding of the country’s musical origins. Among her many diverse career highlights, Giddens has performed for the Obamas at the White House, received an inaugural Legacy of Americana Award from Nashville’s National Museum of African American History in partnership with the Americana Music Association, and her critical acclaim includes in-depth profiles by CBS Sunday Morning, The New York Times, The New Yorker, and NPR’s Fresh Air, among many others.
Named Artistic Director of Silkroad in 2020, Giddens is developing a number of new programs for the organization, including one inspired by the history of the American transcontinental railroad and the cultures and music of its builders. She recently wrote the music for an original ballet, Lucy Negro Redux, for Nashville Ballet (premiered in 2019), and the libretto and music for an original opera, Omar, based on the autobiography of the enslaved man Omar Ibn Said for the Spoleto USA Festival (premieres in 2022).
As an actor, Giddens had a featured role on the television series Nashville.

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Audible Originals and the MacArthur folks sure knew what they were doing introducing us to this Woman. I have been a big fan of Rhiannon Giddens since I first saw her playing with The Carolina Chocolate Drops and later with Elvis Costello et al in the film Lost Songs: The Basement Tapes Continued a few years back, a terrific film by the way.

She is a tremendous talent, a brilliant singer and player, who sees herself as a Woman on a Mission. She is the Real Deal. This production, while too brief, showcases her many facets. Listen and enjoy. Five Stars!

The Journey of a Genius just beginning her Mission

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Enriching, engaging, and so much more. I was exposed to Giddens a few years ago when a friend sent me a recording of Julie. I have loved her work ever since then.
Enjoy!

Excellent and profound

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Rhiannon is such a gifted writer and storyteller. Listening to her tell of her journey was inspiring while also soothing as I reflect on my own and other’s sometimes precarious “bridge balancing.” She gives such refreshing insight and hope! All of that plus amazing music interspersed throughout.

To Balance on Bridges

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Rhiannon Giddens is a wonderful storyteller with a fascinating life story, as a unique young biracial American musician, songwriter, and musical historian. Her life's journey, like her voice, is clear, open-hearted….and incredibly powerful. Tracks of her music are interspersed along the journey, and track seven, when her banjo meets up with North African drums, is absolutely mesmerizing. I turned the volume up as loud as possible, and listened to it three times. This woman is a brave genius, and the people she has collaborated with along the way have helped to broaden and ripen her repertoire...until by the time you're at track seven, you will be BLOWN AWAY!

Best Audible Original story & music EVER!

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Such a great listen the music is so good and a history lesson too

Amazing

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Thanks to Rhiannon true music stories that make the resurrection of legendary banjo of African traditional music come alive.

Truth well told

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My only disappointment was that it was over so quick! I thoroughly enjoyed this. It was wonderful to hear Gidden’s story and wisdom. She shared honestly and humbly about how many life events shaped her music career and outlook. Giddens is an extremely important contemporary voice and I appreciate audibles creating space for her to tell her story. The versions of songs performed on this was incredible, too.

Amazing!

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Music and tales. How can it not be spectacular. a perfect way for a musician to tell a story. And the back to back treatments of an aria was enlightening.

Fabulous Listen

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I didn't know anything about this musical artist before listening. she has a very compelling story and is an amazing singer and musician!

love the story and the music

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What an incredibly educating, beautiful story and performance tracing this remarkable woman’s life and career. I’ve been a fan for a long time and I’m even more in awe of her talent, her heart and her curiosity… I’m sure I will listen to this again and again.

Inspiring, humbling and beautiful

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