MEDIA CONTACTS:
Kurie Fitzgerald: [email protected], 202-994-6461
Maralee Csellar: [email protected], 202-994-7564
EVENT:
Led by powerhouse singer-songwriter Rhiannon Giddens, recent Grammy nominee and founding member of Carolina Chocolate Drops, “Swimming in Dark Waters: Other Voices of the American Experience” with Leyla McCalla and Bhi Bhiman will explore the experiences of people of color as outsiders that stand against injustice. It will look at ways we can grapple with our sordid past to address contemporary issues like immigration. The performance will focus on songs of resistance from the South, both old and new, the history of protest songs from Ms. McCalla’s Haiti and Louisiana and the modern outsider-looking-in observations of first-generation American Mr. Bhiman.
WHEN:
Friday, Feb. 26, 2016; 8 p.m.
WHERE:
The George Washington University
Lisner Auditorium
730 21st St., NW
Washington, D.C.
Foggy Bottom-GWU Metro (Blue, Orange and Silver lines)
TICKETS:
Tickets are $35 and may be purchased by calling Lisner's box office at 202-994-6800, or by visiting www.lisner.gwu.edu. Tickets may also be purchased in person at the Lisner box office. Box office hours are Tuesday – Friday, noon – 6 p.m. The box office will also open one hour prior to the event.
RSVP:
Media interested in attending the concert must contact Kurie Fitzgerald at [email protected] or 202-994-6461 no later than 48 hours before the event. Photos and interviews are available upon request. Attention calendar editors: Please do not publish media contact information.
BACKGROUND:
Ms. Giddens, who was recently nominated for the 2016 “Best Folk Album” Grammy, is a folk scene wunderkind—she trained as an opera singer, but returned to her North Carolina roots with the formation of Carolina Chocolate Drops, a group that celebrates black Southern musical traditions. Her solo career took off after T Bone Burnett featured her in the 2013 concert celebrating the music in the film “Inside Llewyn Davis.”
She began her rise when the audience at T Bone Burnett’s concert at New York City’s Town Hall recognized her indisputable talent and raved about her performance. Her debut solo album “Tomorrow is My Turn,” produced by Mr. Burnett, explores her own creative life and was recorded in Los Angeles and Nashville with a multi-generational group of players
Ms. McCalla, one of her tour mates, finds inspiration from a variety of sources, including her Haitian heritage, living in New Orleans and dancing at Cajun Mardi Gras. She is a multi-instrumentalist, a cellist and singer whose distinctive sound is impossible to replicate.
Mr. Bhiman, the son of Sri Lankan immigrants, had what NPR called “an all-American childhood.” Despite his upbringing, his songs have an international flavor, pulling from his family’s history and providing commentary on social issues.
-GW-