Rhiannon Giddens on Her New ‘Blackbird’ Album, the Impact of Her Beyoncé Banjo Cameo, and Why She Canceled Her Kennedy Center Show: ‘It’s Important to Be Clear Where I Stand’

Rhiannon Giddens on Her New ‘Blackbird’ Album, the Impact of Her Beyoncé Banjo Cameo, and Why She Canceled Her Kennedy Center Show: ‘It’s Important to Be Clear Where I Stand’

Rhiannon Giddens pauses for just a few moments as her image comes up on the Zoom screen. “Sorry, I was just turning my Facebook off,” she explains, looking up from her keyboard. “I wrote a post…” She elaborates on how “a post” should be punctuated, in this instance. “Capital A, capital P! So there’s been lots of chatter on it.” It turns out she had just put something up on her socials to lay out her reasons for canceling a concert at the Kennedy…