It is an understatement to report that multifaceted artist Rhiannon Giddens has been enjoying multiple spotlights in the past few years, and in multiple, sometimes surprising dimensions. This especially fertile and versatile phase could be identified by the span her entry into the world of Opera — the chamber opera Omar (co-composed with Michael Abels) earning her a Pulitzer Prize — and her hip banjo picking cameo on “Texas Hold ‘Em,” from Beyonce’s buzzed-about and chart-topping country album Cowboy Carter.
In between those poles, Giddens has worn other hats and modes of musical dress and has thankfully included the 805 region on her touring map. She appeared in the lofty role of music director/performer in last June’s Ojai Music Festival, then returned as director/performer with the Silkroad Ensemble at The Granada Theatre last fall.
The saga continues as Giddens’s band rolls into the Arlington Theatre on Tuesday, April 23, hosted by UCSB Arts & Lectures (also behind the Silkroad evening). Her return to town is part of a promotional tour for her 2023 album You’re the One, which finds Giddens tackling yet a new terrain, that of the blues-flavored, old school, soul format along with touches of gospel, jazz, and Cajun sauce, in a more electrified texture than her past acoustic-leaning projects.