Silkroad Ensemble with Rhiannon Giddens at Center for the Arts at George Mason University

Returning for their second of three years as a Mason Artist-in-Residence, Silkroad Ensemble presents American Railroad, an initiative that maps American music through the various immigrant communities involved in building the late-1800s Transcontinental Railroad. Artistic Director and 2023 Pulitzer Prize winner Rhiannon Giddens joins the ensemble for this performance, which is told through the stories and sounds of African American, Chinese, Irish, Mexican, and Native American communities. Traditional instruments—such as the guzheng, pipa, erhu, and qinqin—cross paths with fiddles, bones, tambo, and banjo to remind audiences of America’s intricately interwoven history.