Article Contributed by 2b entertainment
Published on 2026-05-30
5x Grammy-winning soprano Renée Fleming and 19x Grammy-winning banjo virtuoso Béla Fleck have unveiled their collaboration album The Fiddle and the Drum. Arriving just in time for the United States’ 250th anniversary, the album draws from a deep well of America’s musical heritage. Across mountain songs, haunting ballads, and folk hymns, the album pairs Fleming’s expressive voice with Fleck’s banjo, joined by leading voices and instrumentalists from the bluegrass and country worlds to celebrate the enduring traditions of Appalachian music.
The Fiddle and the Drum is available beginning today via Thirty Tigers HERE.
Listen to the focus track “The Scarlet Tide” (feat. Vince Gill) HERE.
Though best known for her career on the world’s greatest opera stages, Renée Fleming has long held a deep love for American folk music. When she and Béla Fleck first met, years ago, they discussed the idea of recording an album rooted in the Appalachian tradition. But busy schedules kept it on the back burner until the two revisited the idea in 2023 and brought The Fiddle and the Drum to life.
“I was fascinated by the long, trans-Atlantic history of American and Appalachian folk music from an early age,” shares Fleming. “The themes of loss in songs like ‘Come All Ye Fair and Tender Ladies’ were perfect for my teen melancholy. I have always felt that the direct simplicity of this tradition is universal.”
“I was thrilled to join Renée on a project to honor her love of folk music,” adds Fleck. “Like her, I have been hearing that music since I was young, and the folk boom (or folk scare as some call it) put it front and center in New York City where I grew up. Pete Seeger and Joan Baez were superstars there. The music is deceptively simple, but there is enormous depth. And because the music is simple, it can be manipulated and expanded very naturally.”
Recorded in Nashville, TN with Béla Fleck serving as producer, The Fiddle and the Drum features a host of world-class bluegrass musicians alongside guest appearances from some of the genre’s most celebrated artists. Fleming and Fleck announced the project in March alongside the release of lead single “In The Pines,” featuring 11x Grammy-winning icon Dolly Parton. Last month, the duo unveiled the album’s second single “My Epitaph,” which features vocals from 3x Grammy-winning singer and songwriter Aoife O’Donovan. Additional contributions come from Vince Gill, Jerry Douglas, Sierra Hull, and Sarah Jarosz.
Fleming and Fleck brought The Fiddle and the Drum to the stage earlier this month with debut performances at Nashville’s historic Grand Ole Opry and Charleston, SC’s Spoleto Festival, joined by Fleck’s rising all-star bluegrass band My Bluegrass Heart with guests Sarah Jarosz and Aoife O’Donovan, respectively. Upcoming appearances include the Telluride Bluegrass Festival and a performance at the Chautauqua Institution. The run will also include special performances at Los Angeles, CA’s Walt Disney Concert Hall on September 22 and New York City’s legendary Carnegie Hall on December 3. Guests from the album will continue to join along the way.
The Fiddle and the Drum Tracklisting
1. He’s Gone Away / Storms Are on the Ocean
2. In The Pines (feat. Dolly Parton)
3. The Fiddle and the Drum (feat. Jerry Douglas)
4. My Epitaph
5. The Scarlet Tide (feat. Vince Gill)
6. The Cuckoo (feat. Jerry Douglas)
7. Blackest Crow (feat. Aoife O’Donovan)
8. Scarlet Ribbons
9. he’s gone away (reprise)
10. Pretty Bird (feat. Sierra Hull & Sarah Jarosz)
Renée Fleming with Béla Fleck Tour Dates
June 19, 2026 - Telluride, CO - Telluride Bluegrass Festival
August 20-22, 2026 - Chautauqua, NY - Chautauqua Institution
September 22, 2026 - Los Angeles, CA - Walt Disney Concert Hall
December 3, 2026 - New York, NY - Carnegie Hall
