Freedom highway

"This isn't the old weird America so often romanticised in contemporary roots music, but rather an America not too far removed from the one that exists today. Giddens writes and sings and plays banjo in a way that allows these songs to toggle between the past and the present, presenting slave narratives that sound starkly relevant to Trump's America".

"Rhiannon Giddens emerges as a peerless and powerful voice in roots music on her second solo album, a record that traces the power of African-American song from 200 years ago to today".

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" Freedom Highway draws upon deep American traditions, and while its form may be a throwback, it speaks to a time when the phrase "Black Lives Matter" can be seen as controversial and, in doing so, it illustrates how these issues are deeply ingrained in American life and cannot be forgotten".

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"Already recognized as a performer possessed of a voice that elevates everything she sings, Giddens' emergence as an astute and memorable songwriter enhances her reputation still further. By turns heartbreaking, inspiring and uplifting, "Freedom Highway" is both a political and profoundly personal record that everybody needs to hear".