Rhiannon Giddens Earns Steve Martin Prize For Excellence In Banjo & Bluegrass

Banjo player Rhiannon Giddens has been named this year’s recipient of the Steve Martin Prize For Excellence In Banjo & Bluegrass. The prize includes $50,000 for the co-founding member of the Carolina Chocolate Drops.

A native of North Carolina, Giddens is the first female to win the award, joining previous winners including Danny Barnes, Eddie Adcock, Jens Krueger and others. Comedian/banjoist Steve Martin and a board made up of Béla Fleck, J.D Crowe, Pete Wernick, Tony Trischka, Anne Stringfield, Noam Pikelny, Alison Brown and Neil V. Rosenberg select the annual winner. Funded personally by the Steve Martin Charitable Foundation, the award:

[I]s given to a person or group who has given the board a fresh appreciation of this music, either through artistry, composition, innovation or preservation, and is deserving of a wider audience. Recipients must be a professional or semi-professional and should currently be active in their careers.

In addition to her music career, Giddens is set to join the cast of the Nashville television program.

[Hat Tip – New York Times]