Carolina Chocolate Drops Bring African American String Band Music to the Appalachian Coalfields

The Carolina Chocolate Drops are a group of young African-American string band musicians that play in a fiddle and banjo tradition learned from Joe Thompson, a North Carolinian fiddler said to be the last black traditional string band player. Over the past year, the band has gained national attention and is slated to headline some of the nation's biggest festivals, including MerleFest, the Festival of American Fiddle Tunes and Bristol Rhythm and Roots festival. The band is composed of Dom Flemons, Rhiannon Giddens, and Justin Robinson, three young and talented musicians who have been recognized for leading the revival of old-time string music.

Appalshop will present the Carolina Chocolate Drops to the region through a community residency that will entertain while also educating audiences about the diverse roots of Appalachian music. Performances and workshops will inform audiences about the history and influence of African Americans on Appalachian music and dance. Workshops will be offered in banjo, fiddle, rhythm guitar, string band, jug band, vocals and a variety of dance styles, including frolick and buck.

On February 13, the Carolina Chocolate Drops will bring their unique antebellum combination of banjo and fiddle music to Mountain Empire Community College (Big Stone Gap, VA) at 12:15 in the Goodloe Center. It is free and open to the public. In addition to the band's public performance at MECC, they will also visit English Instructor Rita Quillen's Appalachian Literature class on the morning of February 13.
Quillen, a fan of the group, says that she is excited about the opportunity for her students to see the "oral history" they talk about in class brought to life by the Chocolate Drops.

"The Carolina Chocolate Drops just electrified the audience at last year's Rhythm and Roots Reunion in Bristol," states Quillen, "They got a huge standing ovation. They went to one of the best of the old-time fiddlers, Joe Thompson, and learned all they could. Now they are carrying his music on to another generation. That's a truly special thing."

After their performance at Mountain Empire Community College, the Carolina Chocolate Drops will travel to Letcher County for two performances in McRoberts. They will perform at 4pm for McRoberts Elementary School's after-school program. At 6pm they will join members of the public for a potluck dinner at the McRoberts Community Center where they will visit with community members and also perform.

Wednesday, February 14, the Chocolate Drops will join the Letcher County Seniors at their special Valentine's Lunch at the Boone Fork Senior Center, hwy 343 in Neon, from 11 am until 1pm. At 7pm Appalshop will host a special Valentine's dance at the Old Whitesburg Post Office in downtown Whitesburg. Tickets are $10 for adults and include a free dance lesson with Rhiannon Giddens. There will be light snacks and a dessert buffet.

Thurs, February 15, Cowan Elementary Students will get a special treat with the Carolina Chocolate Drops in residence at their school all day.
The Chocolate Drops will perform for music classes and conduct workshops with students. The rest of the public is invited to meet the band at Appalshop Thursday evening. There will be a potluck dinner at 6pm followed by a song swap and string band workshop with the band at 7pm.

Friday, February 16th the Chocolate Drops will join Letcher County's Pick & Bow string band students as the featured band at Cowan Community Center's Valentine's Dinner & Square Dance. A spaghetti dinner will be served at 6 pm followed by dancing at 7pm. All ticket sales for this event will support the Pick & Bow after-school program. Call (606)
633-3187 for information on tickets.

A variety of workshops will be offered at Appalshop on Sat, Feb 17^th starting at 10 am. All string instrument workshops are for intermediate to advanced students. The first session of workshops is from 10 am until Noon and includes Old Time Banjo with Rhiannon Giddens, Fiddle with Justin Robinson and Rhythm Guitar with Dom Flemons. At 1pm the Carolina Chocolate Drops will perform in the Appalshop Theater and live on WMMT-FM. A Jug Band Workshop will be held from 2pm until 4pm and is open to intermediate to advanced string band students and anyone interested in learning how to play jug, bones, spoons, and kazoo. Workshops are $15 each and include admission to the afternoon concert. Non-workshop participant concert admission is $5.

The Carolina Chocolate Drops will end their residency with a night of music and dancing at Appalshop starting at 7pm Saturday with a dance workshop led by Rhiannon Giddens. The music and dancing will begin at 8 pm, and tickets are $10 for adults.

These performances are made possible by a grant from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation administered by the the National Performance Network and the Network of Cultural Centers of Color. For more information about any of the Carolina Chocolate Drops events, contact Suzanne Savell or Julie Shepherd at Appalshop (606) 633-0108 or visit www.appalshop.org/traditional/calendar.htm

Appalshop is a multi-disciplinary arts and education center in the heart of Appalachia, producing original films, video, theater, music and spoken-word recordings, radio, photography, multimedia, and books. It is located in Whitesburg, Kentucky.