100 Quotes by Rhiannon Giddens

It's kind of remarkable, everything that's happened to me. It's been such a whirlwind, but in a good way.

I wouldn't be out here touring constantly if I didn't hope that my music was going to do something to somebody.

People think art comes out of strife. No, art comes out of love, and it comes out of freedom, and it comes out of feeling safe, and it comes out of feeling embraced by the vibe and by the energy. That's when you can make your best stuff.

I don't consider myself at the kind of stature of somebody who can play five cities on a tour, and that's it. I go where I'm wanted, and I've always had the rural areas of the country. We've always gone there, since the Carolina Chocolate Drops. There's a fan base that's there, and if I can afford to do it, I do it.

I don't have a genre because I play lots of different music that people would say are different genres.

I hate genres. I think they're just marketing labels.

White people are so fragile, God bless 'em. 'Well, I didn't own slaves.' No you didn't. Nobody is asking you to take personal responsibility for this. But you're a beneficiary of a system that did. Just own that and move on.

American music is always best when it comes from a mixture of things.

My work as a whole is about excavating and shining a light on pieces of history that not only need to be seen and heard, but that can also add to the conversation about what's going on now.