[PREORDER] Rhiannon Giddens - Hope Is the Thing with Feathers

140g Black Eco-Vinyl, Carbon Neutral

Pulitzer- and Grammy-winning artist Rhiannon Giddens releases her seventh studio album, Hope Is the Thing with Feathers, on September 18, 2026 on Nonesuch Records. The 10-song collection was recorded live with no frills and few overdubs, in sessions at The Cypress House in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana, nestled within tours in 2024 and 2025. It was co-produced by Giddens and longtime collaborator Dirk Powell, who also engineered and mixed the album.

Giddens (lead vocals, minstrel banjo, fiddle) is joined by key collaborators from throughout her career: bassist Jason Sypher, Italian multi-instrumentalist Francesco Turrisi, Congolese guitarist Niwel Tsumbu, Dirk Powell on multiple instruments, her first bandmate Justin Robinson, her nephew Justin Harrington on bones, Amelia Powell, Charly Lowry, and her sister Lalenja Harrington. Recording live was meant to bring the listener into the center of the room; background noise and the musicians talking between takes were intentionally left in.

The album includes four original songs written by Giddens and Powell, among them lead single "Carolina Rain," alongside interpretations of Ola Belle Reed's "High on a Mountain," Elizabeth Cotten's "Freight Train," Pura Fe's "Going Home," and the traditionals "Cluck Old Hen" and "Walk with Me," a duet with her sister. The title track was inspired by the Emily Dickinson poem. The cover art is a six-by-six-foot patchwork quilt by textile artist Uzoma Samuel Anyanwu, based on a photograph of Giddens by Ebru Yildiz.

The vinyl edition is a 140-gram pressing made from 100% recycled vinyl and is carbon neutral. Also available on CD.

Tracklist

1. Angel Fire Rise
2. Hope Is the Thing with Feathers
3. Step Away Blues
4. Wish in Vain
5. Carolina Rain
6. High on a Mountain
7. Freight Train
8. Walk with Me
9. Cluck Old Hen
10. Going Home