The Great Lawn Folk Festival, an evening of brilliant folk music featuring Carolina Chocolate Drops founder Dom Flemons, will kick off at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, July 22 at the Great Lawn and Bandshell at Myriad Botanical Gardens, 301 W Reno. The free event, sponsored by the Ad Astra Foundation, will feature local food trucks for a perfect evening of entertainment under the stars.
Dom Flemons, the Grammy-winning founder of the Carolina Chocolate Drops will kick off Hancock Shaker Village’s music in the barn series on Friday night. Before he made his trip to the Berkshires, he shared with us his playlist — a varied list of songs that shows just how talented and well versed this American songerster really is.
(See Flemons take the stage in the 1910 Barn Hayloft at 8 p.m. Barn doors open at 7. Tickets are $15 advance, $20 day of show. HancockShakerVillage.org)
What’s your favorite ….
… toe-tapping song?
“Maybellene” by Chuck Berry: I cannot listen to this song enough times! Chuck Berry has always been an inspiration to me and I was sad to hear of his recent passing. “Maybellene” is the first single. This is the song that set the path for rock ‘n’ roll. It also shows a very interesting intersections of musical cultures. Having adapted the song from Bob Wills’ “Ida Red,” “Maybellene” shows its roots in country music as much as it does the blues. I remember the first time I watched the PBS documentary “The History of Rock ‘n’ Roll” and Chuck Berry changed my life! Look up a video of this entertainer strutting his stuff. The documentary “Hail Hail Rock ‘N’ Roll” will reveal a complex figure who changed the world with his highly idiosyncratic music!
Read more here.
Dom Flemons of the Carolina Chocolate Drops just released his first solo album, Prospect Hill. He joined us in the studio and did impressions of Lightnin Hopkins, Bob Dylan and Dave Van Ronk ! Check it out here!
For too long, it was his subjects who were invisible. They are American roots musicians, many of whom were “ignored in their communities for decades,” which prompted Mr. Duffy to step in and help. In 1994, he founded the Music Maker Relief Foundation, which helps them cover basic living expenses as well as promote and develop their careers. By helping them, the foundation has also preserved the work of these musicians, who are the living history of American music’s foundation. Read more here.
Check out these cool photos from amazing photographer Laura Carbone! To see more, click on the link.
Dom Flemons is a multi-instrumentalist and songwriter. He plays a wide range of musical genres including old-time, blues, country, string band, rock, and jazz. As a member of the influential string band Carolina Chocolate Drops, Flemons toured throughout the world and performed at high profile venues.
Even though he has studied music independently for the past years Flemons continues to study with elders in the North Carolina community. Flemons has met and played with traditional music artists such as Joe Thompson, John Dee Holeman, Mike Seeger, Greg Wilson, John Hammond, Lightnin’ Wells, Algia Mae Hinton, Odetta Jools Holland, Don Vappie, Cheick Hamala Diabate, Marty Stuart, Sharon Jones, Alvin “Youngblood” Hart, Boo Hanks and has played on stage with Old Crow Medicine Show.
In November 2013 Dom Flemons left the Carolina Chocolate Drops to pursue a solo career.
Read more here.
This year marks the 150th anniversary of the community of Miser Station in Blount County. The historic unincorporated area is around a 10-minute drive west of Alcoa and Maryville. Most of the traffic in Miser Station these days is headed somewhere other than Miser Station.
For the last three years, there’s been a sound reason to consider Miser Station a destination rather than a cut-through. At the corner of Miser Station Road and Vinegar Valley Road, family members have transformed an old farmhouse into a bustling home for Americana music. The rustic venue simply named “The Station” has hosted performers ranging from talented novices to expert Grammy-winning musicians.
Read more here.
America fell in love with the Carolina Chocolate Drops a decade ago. They blended country blues upon a plate of folk within a string band structure as played in a fervent old-time gospel fashion.
Dom Flemons co-founded the Carolina Chocolate Drops. He makes his Song of the Mountains debut on June 3 at the Lincoln Theatre in Marion, Virginia. Graced with a guitar, banjo, and bones to play, Flemons bills as an American songster within the ongoing year of the folk singer.
Flemons rates as unforgettable. With a Grammy in hand, he exited the Chocolate Drops in late 2013. Bound for a solo career, ambitious folk albums including 2014’s “Prospect Hill” featured Flemons as an archaeological musician. With banjo in hand, he digs back, brings forth his finds, and graces audiences worldwide with tuneful discoveries. In heart and song, he’s a true folk singer.
Read more here.
