Rhiannon Giddens Brings Her Expansive Folk Vision to The Glasshouse

Rhiannon Giddens comes to The Glasshouse on Tuesday 8 December, bringing one of the most wide-ranging catalogues in contemporary folk and roots music to Sage Two.

The Grammy-winning singer, multi-instrumentalist and composer has spent her career pulling at the threads that connect folk, Americana, blues and classical music, while shining a light on stories that have often been pushed to the edges of music history.

Rhiannon Giddens returns to the North East

If you know Giddens from the Carolina Chocolate Drops, her solo records or her work with Francesco Turrisi and the Silkroad Ensemble, you’ll already know how difficult she is to squeeze into one genre. That’s part of the appeal. A set can move from traditional material into original songs and much bigger arrangements without feeling like three different shows stitched together.

Sage Two should suit that perfectly. It’s intimate enough for the detail in her voice, banjo and viola to stay front and centre, but there’s still room for the music to open up when it needs to.

Giddens has also written for opera, ballet and film, so there’s a much broader musical world behind these songs than the folk label sometimes suggests. Live, that gives her plenty to draw from without losing the storytelling that sits at the heart of what she does.

For anyone who likes folk music that keeps looking backwards and forwards at the same time, this is one of the standout Sage Two dates in The Glasshouse’s December programme.

Tickets and event details

Date: Tuesday 8 December 2026
Time: 8pm
Venue: Sage Two, The Glasshouse, Gateshead

Tickets and the latest event information are available from The Glasshouse. Check the event page before travelling in case any details change.

See more North East gig previews or browse upcoming gigs at The Glasshouse.

SoundBite gig listings: 2026-12-08.