Turning Heads welcomes American artist and performer Rhiannon Giddens. Rhiannon's latest release is They're Calling Me Home, her second consecutive collaboration with Italian multi-instrumentalist Francesco Turrisi. Get in touch: [email protected] classically-trained Rhiannon Giddens has been active in the blues, folk, country and bluegrass field for the last 15 years, starting her journey as one third of the string music revivalists, the Caroline Chocolate Drops. On albums such as Genuine Negro Jig, the group performed traditional folk songs that originated in North Carolina and underscored the influence of enslaved African Americans on the development of country and Americana music. Rhiannon broke away from the Chocolate Drops to release her debut album, Tomorrow is My Turn, in 2015. Much like the group's records, the tracklist was filled with interpretations, including songs by Dolly Parton and Sister Rosetta Tharpe. Her next album, Freedom Highway, was dominated by original compositions, many of which were based on slave narratives. The album also brought attention to Rhiannon's minstrel-era replica banjo, which has since become an essential part of her sound. Her first album with Turrisi was 2019's There is no Other, an ambitious work that encompasses not just folk and bluegrass, but also opera, gospel, and Italian traditionals. Theirs is an incredibly fruitful partnership, built around Rhiannon's deeply resonant voice and banjo playing and Turrisi's variety of frame drums. They're Calling Me Home was recorded in 2020 in the pair's current home city of Dublin, Ireland. It's made up of songs from America, Italy, and Ireland, which long for the comfort of home and gesture towards death. In the podcast, Rhiannon speaks about the nature of her collaboration with Francesco, what compelled them to make the new album and how music's given her strength over the last 12 months. Turning heads is recorded on the stolen land of the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin nation; the traditional custodians of the land. I pay my respects to their elders past and present, and acknowledge that sovereignty has never been ceded.