Rhiannon Giddens' Biscuits & Banjos festival has announced a series of free community programming that will be taking place at The Fruit on April 26, the day before Giddens takes the stage at DPAC with Mavis Staples, The Blind Boys of Alabama, Rissi Palmer, and Toshi Reagon for this year's scaled down version of the festival.
Highlights of the free programming include:
- A "songversation" between the Raleigh-based musician and Color Me Country radio host Rissi Palmer and Durham-based singer-songwriter and storyteller Kamara Thomas
- A book talk with banjo scholar Kristina Gaddy and Rhiannon Giddens centered around their book Go Back And Fetch It: Recovering Early Black Music in the Americas for Banjo and Fiddle
- A line and square dance featuring music from Jake Blount, Rhiannon Giddens, Justin Robinson, Jason Sypher, and Demeanor.
While the programming is free, the festival is urging people to RSVP ahead of time. You can find the full schedule and RSVP at the link located here.
The Biscuits & Banjos festival debuted in downtown Durham last year as a celebration of Black art, food, and music. Giddens announced earlier this year that while it would not return as a full blown festival in 2026, she still wanted to honor it with a scaled down celebration.
