Rhiannon Giddens discusses ancestral connections through music

Musician Rhiannon Giddens discusses her connection to her ancestors through the Black string band tradition and the banjo. She describes the instrument as a spiritual link to those who came before her.

Giddens, who performed banjo on Beyoncé’s “Texas Hold ’Em,” serves as the artistic director of the Silk Road Ensemble, an organization founded by Yo-Yo Ma that focuses on global musical traditions. Her recent album, “Hope Is the Thing with Feathers,” draws its title from an Emily Dickinson poem and explores themes of hope in relation to her ancestors' experiences with poverty in the American South.