Rhiannon Giddens - Freedom Highway

Freedom Highway is the second solo studio album by American musician Rhiannon Giddens, released in February 2017 via Nonesuch Records.

Rhiannon Giddens is a folk revivalist who knows that old stories can still have a powerful and painful relevance. She has always been keenly aware of the arc of American history - the Carolina Chocolate Drops, the band she once led, was designed as a critique of the darker moments of Americana - but Freedom Highway puts her intent into perspective.

On Freedom Highway she sings about the history of America’s fight against racism, in order to warn of current dangers.

Her last album was an adventurous covers set, but here she matches her own powerful compositions based on vivid, true stories from the slavery era against classic blues, and civil rights songs from the 60s.

Throughout Freedom Highway, Giddens plays with the idea how oppression gave way to freedom, and it's not just through her lyrics, but how the music expands as the album reaches its conclusion. At the outset, it seems austere, but by its conclusion it's a robust celebration of all the weird, wonderful parts of America. This isn't an accident. Freedom Highway draws upon deep American traditions, and while its form may be a throwback, it speaks to a time when the phrase "Black Lives Matter" can be seen as controversial and, in doing so, it illustrates how these issues are deeply ingrained in American life and cannot be forgotten.

This LP record is on black vinyl with a printed inner sleeve and digital download code, pressed in Europe.