there is no Other, the new album by Rhiannon Giddens with Francesco Turrisi, is out today on Nonesuch.  Tracing the overlooked movement of sounds from Africa and the Arabic world and their influence on European and American music, there is no Other illuminates the universality of music and the commonality of the human experience.  The album has received critical praise and later today the New Yorker Radio Hour will air an interview and performance with Rhiannon and Francesco.  Over the past week the duo has visited WNYC, WFUV, Sirius, and NPR’s World Café for interviews and performance segments; stay tuned for run dates. 

Giddens and Turrisi will perform there is no Other on an extensive fall tour that includes the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC on October 4 and at Pico Union in Los Angeles on October 19.  A European tour for November-December was announced this morning.  Full itinerary is below.

Produced by Joe Henry and tracked over an intensely productive five day period in Dublin, Ireland, there is no Other is at once a condemnation of “othering” and a celebration of the spread of ideas, connectivity, and shared experience.  It primarily features only Giddens and Turrisi playing one or two instruments together. The album comprises a mix of original songs penned by Giddens and a diverse set of interpretations ranging from Ola Belle Reed’s “I’m Gonna Write Me a Letter” and Oscar Brown, Jr’s “Brown Baby” to the Italian traditional “Pizzica di San Vito” to the aria “Black Swan” by Gian-Carlo Menotti. 

Watch the first in a series of behind-the-scenes interviews filmed during the making of the album with Giddens and Turrisi, producer Joe Henry and engineer Ryan Freeland: https://youtu.be/9NF1ufRGFNw

And watch the previously released video for original song “I’m On My Way”:

there is no Other “(shows) the ease with which the boundaries of genre and nationality can be broken through music.” NPR says. “There, this album dwells: in the quiet times where people live fully with each other … Rhiannon Giddens turns her exquisite voice and sensibility toward this psychic territory on … her new collaboration with the Italian multi-instrumentalist Francesco Turrisi … (an) exploration of heartfelt exchange and private longing.” – NPR Music

“For an album recorded in only five days, it wallops with impact.  Giddens is going supernova, and it’s a blistering thing.” – Guardian, 5 out of 5 stars / Folk Album of the Month

“This is acoustic roots music at its most glorious, and Giddens is fast becoming the genre’s brightest star in the firmament.” – Uncut , 9 out of 10

“(Francesco’s) accompaniments, often on old/unusual instruments, add a strange, delicate beauty to Giddens’ solemn, powerful soprano.” – Mojo, 4 out of 5

“These songs are as much about place as they are time, and it’s impressive how seamlessly Giddens and Turrisi can blend Arabic, African, Italian, and Americana sounds.” – No Depression

“There’s an intellectual thrill in hearing how the lyrical and musical themes intertwine – but it’s also a visceral album, equally enchanting and eerie.” – AllMusic

In addition to the release of there is no Other, Giddens will be joining the Boston Symphony Orchestra on May 22^nd and 23^rd for a pair of performances, and on May 24^th and 25^th she will curate concerts that highlight the great black composers who have been hiding in plain sight, featuring Lara Downes and Darius de Haas. She also appears in Ken Burns’ upcoming Country Music series airing in September on PBS, revealing the lesser-known black roots of country music.

The vinyl edition of the album is available for preorder at the Nonesuch store.  The two-LP set includes four previously unreleased songs, along with expanded notes about the album written by Rhiannon. 

there is no Other Track List

1. Ten Thousand Voices
2. I’m Gonna Write Me a Letter
3. Wayfaring Stranger
4. there is no Other
5. Trees On The Mountain
6. Pizzica di San Vito
7. Brown Baby
8. Briggs’ Forró
9. Little Margaret
10. Black Swan
11. I’m On My Way
12. He Will See You Through

Rhiannon Giddens Tour Dates:

5/16 – Baltimore, MD – Baltimore Symphony Orchestra

5/19 – Greensboro, NC – Harrison Auditorium (Q&A with Ani DiFranco)

5/19 – Greensboro, NC – Presbyterian Church of the Covenant (benefit concert for the Experiential School of Greensboro)

5/22 – Boston, MA – Symphony Hall (“Redefining American Music” series)

5/23 – Boston, MA – Symphony Hall (“Redefining American Music” series)

5/24 – Boston, MA – Symphony Hall (“Redefining American Music” series)

5/25 – Boston, MA – Symphony Hall (“Redefining American Music” series)

7/23 – Westport, CT – Levitt Pavilion for the Performing Arts (Our Native Daughters)

7/24 – Washington, DC – Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture (Our Native Daughters)

7/25 – Chautauqua, NY – Chautauqua Institution (Our Native Daughters)

7/26 – Albany, NY – The Egg (Our Native Daughters)

7/27 – Wolfeboro, NH – Great Waters Festival (Our Native Daughters)

7/28 – Newport, RI – Newport Folk Festival (Our Native Daughters)

there is no Other Tour – Rhiannon Giddens with Francesco Turrisi:

7/11 – Auburn, NY – Auburn Public Theater

7/12-7/13 – Guelph, Ontario – Hilldside Festival

7/14 – Greenfield, MA – Green River Festival

9/6-9/9 – Stanford Hall, Leicestershire, UK – The Long Road Festival

9/19 – Birmingham, AL – Alys Stephens Center

9/20 – Atlanta, GA – City Winery

9/21 – Nashville, TN – City Winery

9/23 – Charlotte, NC – McGlohan Theatre at Spirit Square

9/25 – Raleigh, NC – North Carolina Museum of Art

9/26 – Washington, DC – Kennedy Center Terrace Theater

9/27 – Princeton, NJ – McCarter Theater

9/28 – Wilmington, DE – Grand Opera House

9/29 – Burlington, VT – Flynn Center for the Performing Arts

10/1 – Brownfield, ME – Stone Mountain Arts Center

10/2 – Boothbay Harbor, ME – The Opera House at Boothbay Harbor

10/3 – Cambridge, MA – Sanders Theatre

10/4 – New York, NY – The Metropolitan Museum of Art

10/19 – Los Angeles, CA – Pico Union

10/23 – Kent, OH – The Kent Stage

10/25 – Ann Arbor, MI – The Ark

10/26 – Chicago, IL – City Winery

10/27 – Chicago, IL – City Winery

10/29 – Bloomington, IN – Buskirk-Chumley Theater

10/30 – Iowa City, IA – The Englert Theatre

10/31 – Minneapolis, MN – The Dakota

11/1 – Minneapolis, MN – The Dakota

11/2 – Stoughton, WI – Stoughton Opera House

11/3 – Stoughton, WI – Stoughton Opera House

11/22 – London, UK – London Jazz Festival

11/23 – Brighton, UK – St. Georges Church 

11/24 – Basingstoke, UK – The Anvil 

11/26 – Bath, UK – Forum 

11/27 – Buxton, UK – Opera House 

11/28 – Liverpool, UK – Grand Central 

11/29 – Gateshead, UK – The Sage  

12/1 – Edinburgh, UK – Usher Hall 

12/3 – Utrecht, Netherlands - TivoliVredenburg 

12/4 – Hamburg, Germany – Fabrik 

12/5 – Darmstadt, Germany – Central Station 

12/7 – Cologne, Germany – Kulturkirche 

12/8 – Leuven, Belgium – Het Depot 

12/9 – Paris, France – Café de la Danse 

12/10 – Amsterdam, Netherlands – De Duif

Tour dates and ticket links https://events.seated.com/rhiannon-giddens