“The American Songster,” Dom Flemons, will be appearing in concert as a part of Joe Shannon’s Mountain Home Music’s 25th Silver Anniversary 2018 Concerts on Saturday, July 28th! The show will happen at the Harvest House Performing Arts Venue in Boone, beginning at 7:30pm.
Dom Flemons is originally from Phoenix, Arizona and currently lives in the Washington, D.C. area. He is known as “The American Songster” since his repertoire of music covers nearly 100 years of American folklore, ballads, and tunes. Flemons is a music scholar, historian, record collector and multi-instrumentalist. He is considered an expert player on the banjo, fife, guitar, harmonica, percussion, quills, and rhythm bones.
He has performed with leading musicians, such as Mike Seeger, Joe Thompson, Martin Simpson, Boo Hanks, Taj Mahal, Old Crow Medicine Show, and Guy Davis. He has been a professional touring musician for the past ten years and has traveled around the nation and the world presenting traditional folk and roots music to diverse audiences. Flemons has performed as a soloist at prestigious venues, such as Carnegie Hall, Cecil Sharp House, the Grand Ole Opry, the Opening Ceremony for the National Museum of African American History and Culture, National Cowboy Poetry Gathering and Newport Folk Festival and has represented the United States at the 2017 Rainforest World Music Festival in Kuching, Malaysia.
In 2005, Flemons co-founded the Carolina Chocolate Drops, who won a GRAMMY for Best Traditional Folk in 2010. He left the group to pursue his solo career in 2014. In 2016 the Carolina Chocolate Drops were inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame and are featured in the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.
JSMHM director, Rodney Sutton, said of Flemons, “Dom and I are long time buddies from his early days with the Carolina Chocolate Drops – back when they were just getting started and playing for square dances in the Triangle Area of Durham and Chapel Hill. But Dom is not someone to rest on his laurels. Since the Carolina Chocolate Drops parted ways, he is always following some new interest down some path of a specialty musical style. This newest trail led him to releasing his latest project, “Dom Flemons presents Black Cowboys”.
This recent Flemons recording pays tribute to the music, culture and complex history of black cowboys in the golden era of the Wild West. In this single volume of music, the first of its kind, Flemons explores and re-analyzes this important part of our American identity. The songs and poems featured on the album take the listener on an illuminating journey from the trails to the rails of the Old West. This century-old story follows the footsteps of the thousands of African American pioneers who helped build the United States of America.
“Having the pleasure of watching Dom wow audiences at numerous festivals and concerts over the years, I am excited to have been able to include him as a part of JSMHM 25th Anniversary Concert season,” Sutton stated. “I am sure he will present a saddle bag full of music from his new project on “Black Cowboys,” plus a mix of his other musical interest from the black string band era to early rural blues,” Sutton added.
Private sponsors for this concert are Tony and Lynn Barbour. Business Sponsors include Advanced Realty, BB&T Bank, Stick Boy Bread Company, Mast General Store, Mountain Time Publishing and High Country Press. Additional support is provided by Boone TDA, The Watauga County Arts Council and Grassroots Funds from The NC Arts Council. Joe Shannon’s Mountain Home Music is also proud to be included as a site on the Blue Ridge Music Trails of North Carolina (BlueRidgeMusicNC.com).
The Harvest House Performing Arts Venue is located at 247 Boone Heights Dr. in Boone.
Tickets cost $18 in advance and $20 at the door. Student tickets are $5. Children 12 and younger are admitted free. Advance tickets may be purchased online and at the Mast General Store (Boone and Valle Crucis), Fred’s Mercantile on Beech Mountain and Stick Boy Bread Company(345 Hardin St, Boone), plus Footsloggers and Pandora’s Mailbox on Main Street in downtown Blowing Rock.
Tickets, directions and more info can be found at the JSMHM website – www.mountainhomemusic.org/
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