After a short hiatus, Late for the Train is back for Week 7 of Fiddle Tune Tuesdays week with a tune by the contemporary songwriter, musician, and storyteller Rhiannon Giddens.
Rhiannon is originally from North Carolina, is a founding member of the Carolina Chocolate Drops, and is a true explorer of music and culture. She's been instrumental in reviving the lesser-shared (and sometimes intentionally erased) histories of black voices, instruments, and culture in folk and old-time music from the American South. For example, did you know that the banjo - often associated with "white" old-time music - was adapted from West African instruments and first played in the US by slaves?
"As You Wish" is one of her original tunes off of her most recent album, There is No Other, a collaboration with Italian musician Francesco Turrisi, and yet another testament to her tremendous versatility. Just before the California shelter-in-place orders went into effect in March, Laura was lucky enough to see Rhiannon and Francesco play live at SF Jazz - you can see excerpts from that show on their website. We highly recommend it!
All our love,
Late for the Train
P.S. She and Francesco also have a Patreon page if you want to get a behind-the-scenes look into their world.