Mack Lecture: Rhiannon Giddens

Rhiannon Giddens comes to the Walker Cinema on Sunday, November 1, as part of the Mack Lecture series. She's a singer and multi-instrumentalist who's spent her career tracing the history and evolution of American popular music, with a particular focus on the voices that usually get sidelined. Much of that work draws on the tradition of Black Americana, and this talk follows that same line.

If you're not already familiar with her, Giddens has a long list of credits. She was a founding member of the Carolina Chocolate Drops and the all-female banjo supergroup Our Native Daughters. Along the way, she's picked up two Grammy Awards, a Pulitzer Prize, and a MacArthur 'Genius Grant.' You might also recognize her banjo work from Beyoncé's Texas Hold 'Em, which hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100. These days, she's the Artistic Director of the Silkroad Ensemble and hosts the PBS show My Music with Rhiannon Giddens.

The Mack Lecture is the Walker Art Center's signature program, made possible by Aaron and Carol Mack. It brings together national and international changemakers—artists, writers, and thinkers—to explore transformation and the contemporary cultural moment. The format goes beyond a traditional podium lecture: each talk is followed by a moderated dialogue and Q&A, and a pop-up bar opens in the lobby an hour before the start. Past speakers include Sterlin Harjo, Claudia Rankine, Sadie Barnette, Arthur Jafa, and Saidiya Hartman.

Tickets are $18, with $14 for Walker members and seniors and $12 for students. The talk starts at 7 PM on Sunday, November 1, at the Walker Cinema in Minneapolis.