Grammy- and Pulitzer-winning musician Rhiannon Giddens, one of the leading artists in the roots and Americana realm, has signed with WME for representation in music worldwide, she and the agency announced Tuesday.
The move comes as Giddens prepares to unveil her seventh studio album, “Hope Is the Thing With Feathers,” on Sept. 18 on Nonesuch Records, a release that was first announced and previewed with an interview in Variety.
The singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist described the forthcoming album as a sort of culmination — or “punctuation point” — to “20 years of me being a roots and Americana artist.” She explained, “I feel so beautiful about so many things, amidst the just horrible nature of what’s going on in the world right now. So it’s a weird position, but I just will just continue to fight all of that with joy and kindness.” A new single, “Carolina Rain,” was released to preview the album.
Giddens’ shelf of honors includes the Pulitzer Prize for Music she was awarded in 2023 for her opera, “Omar,” written about Omar ibn Said, a Muslim scholar in Africa who found himself sold into slavery in the 1800s. She has also won the National Humanities Medal, a MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship and two Grammys.
