American Railroad musical project showcases untold immigrant stories [Video]

The Grammy- and Pulitzer-winning artist Rhiannon Giddens has long made music that sheds light on America’s untold stories, and her latest project brings to the fore marginalized groups that built its railroad.

The ambitious, multi-year “American Railroad” project tells the story of the transcontinental grid’s construction through the lens of workers including African American, Chinese, Japanese, Irish and Indigenous peoples whose labor, displacement and subjugation made possible the westward expansion of the United States in the 19th century.

Giddens introduced the project in 2020 as she stepped into the role of artistic director at Silkroad, the ensemble that Yo-Yo Ma conceived of in 1998.

Giddens is a scholarly minded fiddler, banjoist, vocalist and composer who has spent much of her career highlighting the weighty role of Black musicians in American bluegrass, country and folk.

This year her name cropped up in pop circles after she played the now-iconic opening banjo …