Tuesday, January 31, 2012 ● 1 pm (est)
WTJU 91.1 FM/Streaming at wtju.net
Internationally renowned string band, the Carolina Chocolate Drops will Walk Right In to WTJU at the end of January for some live music and conversation. Later that evening they will be performing at the Jefferson Theater in Charlottesville.
In the summer and fall of 2005, three young black musicians, Dom Flemons, Rhiannon Giddens, and Justin Robinson, made the commitment to travel to Mebane, N.C., every Thursday night to sit in the home of old-time fiddler Joe Thompson for a musical jam session. Joe was in his 80’s, a black fiddler with a short bowing style that he inherited from generations of family musicians. He had learned to play a wide ranging set of tunes sitting on the back porch with other players after a day of field work. Now he was passing those same lessons on to a new generation.
When the three students decided to form a
band, they didn’t have big plans. It was mostly a tribute to Joe, a
chance to bring his music back out of the house again and into dance
halls and public places. They called themselves The Chocolate Drops as a
tip of the hat to the Tennessee Chocolate Drops, three black brothers
Howard, Martin and Bogan Armstrong, who lit up the music scene in the
1930’s. Within a few months, they were headlining music festivals all
over the globe, and found themselves featured on MSNBC television, and in the pages of Newsweek magazine.
Justin left the Chocolate Drops in 2010, and Hubby Jenkins and Adam Matta joined the group this past year. The band continues to perform all over the globe, including right here on WTJU!
Submitted by Peter Jones, WTJU Folk
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