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Live Music: Folk

8 pm

The Carolina Chocolate Drops is a group of young African-American string band musicians that have come to together to play the rich tradition of fiddle and banjo music in Carolinas’ piedmont. Rhiannon Giddens and Justin Robinson both hail from the green hills of the North Carolina Piedmont, while Dom Flemons is native to Arizona.
Although the members of the group have diverse musical backgrounds, their musical heritage is drawn from the foothills of North and South Carolina. They have been under the tutelage of Joe Thompson, said to be the last black traditional string band player, of Mebane, NC and strive to carry on the long-standing traditional music of the black and white communities.
  Joe’s musical heritage runs as deeply and fluidly as the many rivers and streams that traverse the Carolina landscape. The Carolina Chocolate Drops prides itself on carrying on the tradition of black musicians like Odell and Nate Thompson, Dink Roberts, John Snipes, Libba Cotten, Emp White, and countless others who have passed beyond memory and recognition.
  Elder Sule Greg Wilson often joins the trio of Durham-based musicians during their performances. Born and raised in Washington, DC, Wilson now makes his home in Tempe, AZ with his wife and daughters. A dancer, multi-percussionist, string player and author, Wilson first picked up a banjo in the early 1980s. Wilson also plays washboard, tambourine, trump, jug, five-string banjo, mandolin, ukulele, bones, bodhran, brushes, kazoo and, like the others, sings and dances.

Piedmont String Band Music
  When most people think of fiddle and banjo music, they think of the southern Appalachian Mountains as the source of this music. While the mountains of Virginia, Tennessee, North and South Carolina are great strongholds of traditional music today, they are certainly not the source.
The nuances of piedmont string band music stem from the demographics of the piedmont and thereby focuses on the banjo as the lead instrument. Among black ensembles, the banjo often sets the pace if a fiddle is not present.
  Otherwise, it serves as an accompaniment and not as the lead instrument, as is more common in the Appalachian tradition. A guitar or mandolin is rare, but not unheard of, in these bands, but the foundation of this tradition lies rooted in the antebellum combination of fiddle and banjo.

More Information:
http://www.carolinachocolatedrops.com/
http://www.myspace.com/carolinachocolatedrops

Details

COST:

$26

BROUGHT TO YOU BY: The State Theatre
WEBSITE: http://www.thestatetheatre.org/Events/viewevent.php?id=459