The term “Folk music” means much more today than it did in the heyday of The Weavers, “Kumbaya” clichés and mind-numbing Peter, Paul & Mary sing-alongs. The “Folk” descriptor now encompasses a wide variety of music, including sounds created by people from different cultures and backgrounds.
In that vein, Dom Flemons feeds off of many different styles of Roots music and digs deep into the Great American Songbook, but he often explores the more ethnic and obscure sides of the traditions.
Flemons’ first steps to becoming widely known in Americana circles came in 2005 when he met Justin Robinson and the now-ascending solo artist Rhiannon Giddens at the Black Banjo Gathering being held at Boone, N.C.’s Appalachian State University. It was at that event that the three musicians formed the Carolina Chocolate Drops. The festival celebrated the origins of the banjo, an instrument born in Africa and brought to America by slaves. The Chocolate Drops took that theme and widened their scope, adding some contemporary flourishes and eventually winning a Grammy for their efforts.
In late 2013, Flemons left the Drops, striking out on his own to explore his side of American Roots music. He is now touring as a duo with fellow multi-instrumentalist Brian Farrow, who is playing fiddle and bass on their current trek. Songs from Flemons’ critically acclaimed latest releases, the 2014 album Prospect Hill and last year's What Got Over EP, have made up a lot of the setlists at his recent shows, but he also digs deep into Blues and other Old Time tunes, often playing an array of instruments that include banjo (of course), guitar, harmonica, fife, the quills (a type of pan flute) and various percussion.
Just like with the Chocolate Drops, Flemons is about bringing a contemporary approach to older music. Because those original cats that played their tunes back in the day were not throwback artists — like Flemons today, they were making music with urgency in their own time and place.
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