Watch Rhiannon Giddens’ Rollicking Performance of ‘You Louisiana Man’ on ‘Kimmel’
Rhiannon Giddens stoped by Jimmy Kimmel Live to showcase her bluesy, Cajun-infused song “You Louisiana Man.” The musician was joined by her live band and a back-up for the rousing performance, which saw Giddens singing and playing banjo.
“You Louisiana Man” comes off Giddens’ most recent LP, You’re the One, which dropped last August. The album marked her first solo effort in six years and her first collection of all-original songs. It was produced by Jack Splash and featured musical contributions by Giddens’ partner, multi-instrumentalist Francesco Turrisi, as well as Dirk Powell, Jason Sypher, and Congolese guitarist Niwel Tsumbu. Singer-songwriter Jason Isbell got a featured credit on a track called “Yet to Be.”
More from Rolling Stone
Stephen Colbert Will Bring 'The Late Show' to Chicago for Democratic National Convention
Watch Chris Stapleton Improvise a Song About John Stamos on 'Kimmel'
Trump Takes Trial Break to Rant About Kimmel's Month-Old Oscars Performance
“I hope that people just hear American music,” Giddens said when the album was announced. “Blues, jazz, Cajun, country, gospel, and rock — it’s all there. I like to be where it meets organically. They’re fun songs, and I wanted them to have as much of a chance as they could to reach people who might dig them but don’t know anything about what I do.”
Last year, Giddens was awarded a Pulitzer Prize in Music for the opera Omar, which she co-wrote with Michael Abels. She is also a MacArthur Foundation “Genius Grant” winner. In February, she contributed a cover of “The Ballad of Sally Anne” to My Black Country: The Songs of Alice Randall, a tribute record to the songwriter and novelist that featured a generation of younger artists like Allison Russell and Adia Victoria interpreting Randall’s songbook.
Giddens is currently on tour in support of her album. She is set to perform at numerous festivals throughout the spring and summer, including New Orleans Heritage & Jazz Festival and Newport Folk Festival. Rolling Stone recently captured her concert at New York’s Beacon Theatre.
Best of Rolling Stone