When artistic director and composer Rhiannon Giddens brought her idea of a musical project built around the American railroad to the Grammy Award–winning musical ensemble, Silkroad, she was met with some initial skepticism.
“It was a little jarring — I couldn’t see how to make the shift (from the Silk Road in Asia to the U.S.),” admitted Kaoru Watanabe, a Japanese flutist and Taiko player with the international ensemble. “But when she talked about how the railroad is a conduit of information, technology and music, it’s a perfect analogy of culture traversing great distances.”
Yo-Yo Ma founded the Silkroad organization in 1998, bringing together musicians from around the world to write and perform together. When Giddens — who debuted her Pulitzer Prize–winning opera, Omar, at Spoleto Festival USA in 2022 — became Silkroad’s artistic director in 2020, she naturally drew the connection to the Appalachian music she studies and plays.
American Railroad draws from the intermingling of cultures as the U.S. Transcontinental Railroad, constructed between 1863 and 1869, pushed west. Chinese, Scotch and Irish immigrants, along with formerly enslaved people from Africa, toiled together, using songs to both lighten the mood and time their syncopated sledgehammer strikes to drive railroad ties.
The project includes a podcast and PBS television show hosted by Giddens, a 13-track album released this week, and a tour that heavily favors the Southeastern U.S — including a show at the Charleston Gaillard Center on Nov. 19.
The album’s first release, “Swannanoa Tunnel/Steel-Driving Man,” recalls the story of men trapped when one of the tunnels carved through Swannanoa, N.C.’s steep mountains collapsed. Its release — scheduled for Oct. 1, months in advance — coincided with the near-total destruction of much of that town just days before by Hurricane Helene’s floodwaters.
“The story itself is already very tragic, and we try to channel that when we perform it,” Watanabe said. “The timing of its release feels profound — it adds another layer of weight.”
Like the album, the tour draws from the international influences of its 13 musicians, including Scottish harpist Maeve Gilchrist, indigenous American singer Pura Fé, Malian balafon player Balla Kouyaté and Indian tabla player Sandeep Das. The sounds come together in the most eclectic “world” music possible.
“Silkroad musicians are not just masters of their instrument, but they also have the mentality of reaching across to other types of music,” Watanabe said. “This lets us come together outside of our own musical worlds.”
Watanabe wrote a piece for American Railroad (“Fukagu Sanjurokkei”) and participated in the project’s outreach, including busking at Grand Central Station as a trio with Gilchrist and Syrian clarinet player Kinan Azmeh.
“I play Japanese flutes and drums, which is already different to some people, but you bring together Irish harp and Syrian clarinet, and it leads to a lot of questions,” Watanabe said. “The fact that it works well together is pretty magical. People are surprised and delighted that it can sound like a natural thing that’s been around for centuries.”
During research for the American Railroad project, Silkroad discovered stories of late 19th-century dance halls in lower Manhattan where Irish immigrant and African former slave communities came together for what Watanabe described as “dance battles.”
“You’d have this Celtic dancing versus dancing from across the African diaspora, with the audience deciding the winner,” he explained. “The accompanying music might include an African drummer, an Irish fiddle player, singers and guitar players.
“Recording technology didn’t exist back then, but if you try to imagine what it sounded like, that’s part of the language we’re trying to tap into.”
When the Silkroad Ensemble visits the Gaillard to perform songs from American Railroad this month, the audience can simply enjoy the music or pick up a free booklet in the lobby that offers background on each composition, which pairs with the multimedia podcast, website and TV show offerings.
Watanabe said, “The concert is part of a larger package. … It’s all driven by good storytelling and music making and trying to create a beautiful sound.”
Find tickets for American Railroad, Silkroad Ensemble with Rhiannon Giddens, 7:30 p.m., Nov 19, starting at $29 at gaillardcenter.org.
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