Singer

Guitarist

Rhiannon Giddens returns to Athens with her band to take us on a journey through Black American music — from country, to the blues, to swing.

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Rhiannon Giddens

University of Georgia Performing Arts Center

This compelling reimagining of Silkroad’s acclaimed American Railroad program features an intimate, powerful ensemble of eight world-class musicians led by internationally renowned pipa master Wu Man. The program weaves a sonic tapestry that honors the often-overlooked contributions of Indigenous and African Americans, along with Chinese, Irish, Japanese, and other immigrant communities who laid the tracks that transformed a nation. Amplifying the voices of those who built the railroads—and those displaced by them—the Silkroad Ensemble reveals a richer, more inclusive portrait of America’s past.

American Railroad

The Music Center at Strathmore

International Guitar Night is the world’s premier touring guitar festival, each show bringing together the most interesting and innovative acoustic guitarists to exchange musical ideas in a public concert setting. Celebrating its 25th anniversary, this year’s IGN features all-time favorite Lulo Reinhardt alongside Alexandra Whittingham, Niwel Tsumbu, and Sonke Meinen. 

The evening will also feature a free pre-show talk with early music scholar August Denhard in conversation with the musicians of International Guitar Night. Learn more and register for the pre-show talk here.

International Guitar Night

Edmonds Center For the Arts

International Guitar Night is back with 3 exciting new guitarists making their US debuts and an Olympia favorite! We are thrilled to have LULO REINHARDT (Germany) return to our stage with his Latin Swing music, a combination of Gypsy Swing with Latin rhythms. We are excited to welcome ALEXANDRA WHITTINGHAM (Britain), a dynamic classical guitarist, NIWEL TSUMBU (Democratic Republic of Congo) who has a Congolese percussive style, and SOENKE MEINEN (Germany) a leading Contemporary Fingerstyle guitarist.

Washington Center Main Stage

For its 25th annual tour, Brian Gore has assembled a lineup of 3 exciting new guitarists making their debuts to join one of IGN’s all-time favourites.  LULO REINHARDT (Germany) is well known to IGN audiences. The grand-nephew of legendary Django Reinhardt, Lulo plays Latin Swing music. ALEXANDRA WHITTINGHAM (Britain) is a dynamic classical guitarist with a repertoire ranging from the classics to contemporary composers. NIWEL TSUMBU (Democratic Republic of The Congo) has kept his unique Congolese percussive style alive over the past twenty five years living in Ireland. SÖNKE MEINEN (Germany) is a leading Contemporary Fingerstyle guitarist, mixing the incredible dexterity of his high-speed compositions with sensitive ballads.

Massey Theatre

North America’s Premier Guitar Celebrates its 25th Touring Season. For their 25th annual tour, Brian Gore has assembled a lineup of 3 exciting new guitarists making their US debuts to join one of IGN’s all-time favorites. LULO REINHARDT (Germany) is well known to IGN audiences. The grand-nephew of legendary Django Reinhardt, Lulo plays Latin Swing music, a combination of Gypsy Swing with Latin rhythms. ALEXANDRA WHITTINGHAM (Britain) is a dynamic classical guitarist with a repertoire ranging from the classics to contemporary composers. NIWEL TSUMBU (Democratic Republic of The Congo) has kept his unique Congolese percussive style alive over the past twenty five years living in Ireland. SOENKE MEINEN (Germany) is a leading Contemporary Fingerstyle guitarist, mixing the incredible dexterity of his high-speed compositions with sensitive ballads.

SPOTLIGHT – International Guitar Night

The Port Theatre Main Stage

Led by Congolese guitarist and singer Niwel Tsumbu, a prominent figure in Ireland’s music scene, Ko Tonga Cheol exemplifies the contemporary identity of Irish music and the positive impact of migration on culture.

Ko Tonga Cheol

Field Arts & Events Hall

Singer and instrumentalist Rhiannon Giddens’ iconic brand of folk music spotlights people whose contributions to American musical history have been overlooked or erased, and advocates for a more accurate understanding of the country’s musical origins through art. A two-time Grammy Award winner, MacArthur fellow and composer, she was awarded the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for Music for her debut opera Omar. Her highly-anticipated new solo album, You’re the One, releases in August.

Granada Theatre

Under the leadership of 2023 Pulitzer Prize winner, the dynamic multi-instrumentalist Rhiannon Giddens, the Grammy-winning, genre-defying Silkroad Ensemble embarks on a new initiative that illuminates the impact of under-recognized voices in America’s expansion west. The project explores the creation of the Transcontinental Railroad through the contributions of African American, Chinese, Irish, Indigenous, and other communities, their cultures, and their music. Chinese traditional instruments like the guzheng, pipa, erhu, and qinqin are contrasted with the fiddle, bones, tambo, and banjo of Black musical traditions, and their Indigenous and Celtic counterparts. New compositions and commissions weave these disparate traditions together to tell a new version of the American story. As Giddens told the New York Times, “Silkroad has people from all over, and that’s what makes it such a great group to represent the American story, because that’s what the American story is. We are world music”.

American Railroad Silkroad Ensemble with Rhiannon Giddens

University of California, Berkeley

American Railroad highlights the cultural diffusion and collaboration that resulted as African American, Chinese, Irish, and Native American communities made vital contributions to the construction of the Transcontinental Railroad. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Rhiannon Giddens, the Grammy Award-winning Silkroad Ensemble recontextualizes the railroad through the sounds of the worlds that collided through its creation.

Stanford University

Silkroad’s newest initiative, American Railroad, illuminates the impact of African American, Chinese, Irish, and Native American communities on the creation of the Transcontinental Railroad and America’s Westward Expansion. Exploring the dissemination of cultures across the United States, the railroad was to North America what the Silk Road was to China, the Far East and Europe.

American Railroad: Silkroad Ensemble With Rhiannon Giddens

Soka Performing Arts Center

American Railroad Silkroad Ensemble with Rhiannon Giddens1

As a social-impact organization and home to a Grammy Award-winning musical ensemble, Silkroad works to inspire collaboration in innovative ways that add more equity and justice into the world through the power of the arts. Today, under the leadership of Artistic Director Rhiannon Giddens, Silkroad reaches new heights through a commitment to new music, a re-sparked mission towards cultural collaboration, and a reinvigorated focus to high-quality arts education that both reflects its mission and the times in which we live.

Singer, Guitarist

Niwel Tsumbu

Events

Past events

Apr 28, 2026

Rhiannon Giddens · UGA Performing Arts Center

Nov 16, 2025

American Railroad · Strathmore

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