So much of the Americana and country music we love has roots outside of the United States. Take the banjo, whose rhythmic plucks can be heard in traditional bluegrass, contemporary “bro” country and everything in between, but which originated in Africa. Rhiannon Giddens and Francesco Turrisi are here to connect those dots and so many more on Musical Routes Radio, a six-episode show on Apple Music Country illustrating the many intersections between country/roots music and global musical traditions, including Celtic music, Caribbean music, Indigenous music and more. Listeners will discover new artists, broaden their own musical knowledge and enjoy unscripted, far-reaching conversations from two of music’s most encyclopedic minds. “I'm always learning something new when I talk to Francesco about music,” Giddens tells Apple Music. “He just has such a wide knowledge of so many things outside of my sphere. So it's always a learning process for me, too, which is great.” Partners in music and life, the Grammy-winning pair are uniquely suited to such a task: Giddens is a critically acclaimed singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist with a deep knowledge of folk traditions, while Turrisi is an internationally renowned composer and performer. Giddens and Turrisi recorded Musical Routes Radio from their home, adding intimacy and spontaneity to an already fascinating concept. “I think that, hopefully, we found a good balance of nerdery and musical connections that anybody can see,” Giddens says. “It's listening to music, talking about music,” Turrisi adds. “And hopefully we'll get some people interested in music that they aren’t used to listening to.”