Silkroad presents Train Station Trios: Songs & Stories of the American Railroad

A concert series joining scholars and artists to share historical insights, untold stories, and original music as part of Silkroad’s exploration of the U.S. Transcontinental Railroad and North American railways

Boston, MA — Silkroad announced today a new series of concerts, Train Station Trios: Songs & Stories of the American Railroad, that is tied to its multi-year initiative led by Artistic Director Rhiannon Giddens. In the series, local scholars and Silkroad artists will gather to shed light on hidden chronicles and powerful stories through new music and storytelling, painting a richer and more accurate picture of the origins of the American Empire. The first Train Station Trios concert will be held on Saturday, February 11 at the California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento, California. Upcoming performances are slated to take place in April and June at venues in New York and North Carolina respectively; details will be announced at a later date.

“From the beginning, an integral aspect of American Railroad has been to uncover the unseen and untold. Over the past two years, my Silkroad colleagues and I have been researching and studying, listening and learning, so that we can tell a more complete and truthful version of American history through our music. We invite audiences in California, New York, and North Carolina to join us in this process as we present the Train Station Trios concerts,” said Giddens.

First made public in 2020, American Railroad is a wide-ranging initiative envisioned and conceived by Giddens to illuminate the impact of African American, Indigenous, Chinese, Irish, and other immigrant communities on the creation of the U.S. Transcontinental Railroad and connecting railways in North America. These and other populations played a fundamental role in one of the most important technological and economic achievements of the 19th century, yet their contributions have been mostly erased from history. Giddens and Silkroad are fulfilling their vision for this initiative through new commissions and performances, residencies, curriculum development and educational activities, and a host of artistic projects spanning from 2021-2026.

In Train Station Trios, members of the Grammy Award-winning Silkroad Ensemble will contextualize—or rather, re-contextualize—the North American railroads through music. Trios formed by Silkroad artists will collaborate with local scholars to offer an hour-long performance that features: new music inspired by the history of the railroads, songs and tunes collected from railroad workers and the impacted communities, and storytelling with an emphasis on histories and cultural ties to the area where each concert is being held. The original and unearthed music will serve as the basis for future national tours as part of the American Railroad initiative.

For more information about American Railroad, please visit silkroad.org/american-railroad.


Silkroad’s Train Station Trios: Songs & Stories of the American Railroad Series
February Concert Details:

Saturday, February 11, 2023 at 2 p.m. PST
California State Railroad Museum (125 I Street Sacramento, CA 95814)
Tickets: Free with admission to the Museum
Artists: Mario Gotoh, violin/viola; Edward Pérez, bass; Shane Shanahan, percussion
Scholar: Anna Eng, Lecturer Faculty at San Francisco State University and University of California, Berkeley

Funding Credits
Support for American Railroad is provided, in part, by the Alice L. Walton Foundation, Barr Foundation, Mellon Foundation, Pershing Square Foundation, Wagner Family Foundation, and Whitehead Foundation.

About the California State Railroad Museum
The California State Railroad Museum (CSRM) in Old Sacramento is the world-class tribute to the role of the "iron horse" in connecting California to the rest of the nation. Our museum features numerous expertly restored locomotives and cars, some dating back to 1862. There is a full-scale diorama of an 1860s construction site high in the Sierra Nevada, historic cars that visitors can walk through, displays on model railroad and toy trains, and activity areas for children.

To learn more, please visit californiarailroad.museum, and @californiastaterailroadmuseum and @csrm_foundation on social media.

About Silkroad
Yo-Yo Ma conceived Silkroad in 1998, recognizing the historical Silk Road as a model for cultural collaboration—for the exchange of ideas, tradition, and innovation across borders. In a groundbreaking experiment, he brought together musicians from the lands of the Silk Road to co-create a musical language founded in difference, thus creating the foundation of Silkroad: both a touring ensemble comprised of world-class musicians from all over the globe and a social impact organization working to make a positive impact across borders through the arts.

Today, under the leadership of Artistic Director Rhiannon Giddens, Silkroad leads social impact initiatives and educational programming alongside the creation of new music by the Grammy Award-winning Silkroad Ensemble.

To learn more, please visit silkroad.org and @silkroadproject on social media.

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