The Connecticut Forum season kicks off with an evening featuring the acclaimed musician Rhiannon Giddens, exploring the power of art to understand our past and reveal our present. Giddens will be in conversation with fellow musician Allison Russell about the intersection of music, history, and storytelling. An artist, creator, and critical thinker, Giddens' work reframes the history of country music, starting with the banjo.

Both are powerful artists, singer-songwriters, and multi-instrumentalists, and mainstays in the folk/Americana music scene, as well as knowledgeable voices on music history and powerful speakers on creativity, activism, and equity in the arts.

The evening will include musical performances.

Rhiannon Giddens is a Grammy Award-winning musician, singer-songwriter, playwright, historian and MacArthur “Genius Grant” recipient whose work defies definition or genre. Giddens’s lifelong mission is to lift up people whose contributions to American musical history have previously been erased, and to work toward a more accurate understanding of the country’s musical origins. Pitchfork has said of her work, “few artists are so fearless and so ravenous in their exploration,” and Smithsonian Magazine calls her “an electrifying artist who brings alive the memories of forgotten predecessors, white and black.”

Allison Russell, is a musician, poet, singer, songwriter, and activist. She is an extraordinary artist of power, empathy, and grace. In 2021, she released her debut solo LP, Outside Child, hailed around the world as one of 2021’s best and most essential new albums. Outside Child is a heartbreaking reflection and powerful reclamation of her childhood.

Join us for our pre-Forum MUSIC FEST!


A free outdoor street festival celebrating our local music and arts community, presented by The Connecticut Forum with support from The Greater Hartford Arts Council. 

Friday October 14, 2022 from 5:00-7:30 – along Capitol Avenue, in front of The Bushnell. Featuring entertainment, including – Booyah!, Khaiim the Rapoet, Sonia Plumb Dance and Anne Cubberly’s Puppets. With local food trucks, including – Cousins Maine Lobster, The Rolling Roti, Square Peg Pizzeria, and Capital Ice Cream. 
 
Guests do not need tickets to The CT Forum event to enjoy the street festival!