Rhiannon Giddens has been named the winner of the 2016 Steve Martin Banjo Prize, the first person who is not a white male to be so honored.
She is best known to bluegrass & old-time music fans as the former lead performer in The Carolina Chocolate Drops, and to folk music fans from her appearance in the film “Inside Llewyn Davis.”
Giddens continues to tour internationally as an individual performer and has just been added (as a singing social worker) to the cast of the television drama “Nashville.”
She performed several years ago as part of the Northern California Bluegrass Society’s San Francisco Bluegrass & Old Time Festival. She reunited with the CCD for several Bay Area shows earlier this year.
The prize, now in its sixth year, comes with a $50,000 cash award.