Old Time Confections

When you think of traditional African-American music, fiddle and banjo music probably isn't the first thing that comes to mind. But as Dom Flemons of the Carolina Chocolate Drops explains, though the banjo is usually thought of as an American invention, it actually came to this country with African slaves, and it was those slaves who first paired it with the European fiddle sometime in the 1700s. "For the first hundred years of this country, the banjo was played only by blacks," he says.

Black string-band music prospered through the nineteenth century, laying the groundwork for what became country and bluegrass. But by the early 1920s, black string-band music was waning, a change Flemons attributes to both the record industry, which was marketing blues, and the fact that blacks were migrating to the North and separating themselves from their Southern roots.

Since meeting in 2005 at the Black Banjo Gathering in Boone, North Carolina, the Chocolate Drops—Rhiannon Giddens (fiddle, banjo, vocals), Justin Robinson (fiddle, banjo), and Flemons (guitar, banjo, jug, harmonica, vocals)—have been digging up those old musical traditions and garnering national attention for their foot-stomping performances. Though the repertoire is traditional, a Chocolate Drops performance is not an academic affair. "The chemistry between us is just awesome," Flemons says. "I never planned on being in a band. There's an affect on the people we play for that is beyond us."

The band has also been taking their music to schools in the towns where they tour. "We just try and show that the music is cool," Flemons explains. "The seed gets planted in their heads that a black person can play a banjo or a fiddle—and they can be proud of it." That's a powerful thing to get across, says Flemons, because many African Americans still don't see this as their music, and few play it.

"I've gained a lot of pride [through the music]," he says. "As people who were brought over as cattle—slaves—we've done a good job of getting our voices heard." Jan. 20. The Cedar, 416 Cedar Ave. S., 612-338-2674