NICK LOSS-EATON MEDIA AT AMERICANAFEST: KEVIN GORDON, MELANIE BRULÉE, DANNY SCHMIDT, DOM FLEMONS, LELAND SUNDRIES

Dom Flemons - Thursday, September 13 - 2-3pm - The Westin, Vanderbilt III

‘Black Cowboys’ (Smithsonian Folkways) has garnered spotlights in Wide Open Country, Cowboys & Indians Magazine, Washington City Paper, American Blues Scene, and American Songwriter. In a performance/chat NPR’s Ann Powers said, “The work Dom Flemons is doing on the West is flat-out revolutionary. Take the time to listen to him talk about 'Black Cowboys.'"

Dom Flemons - Thursday, September 13 - 8:30pm-9:15pm - the Station Inn

Danny Schmidt & Carrie Elkin - Thursday, September 13 - 7:30pm-8pm - Radio Café - Green Room Music Source East Nashville Party

Schmidt has won a Kerrville New Folk award and was named to the Chicago Tribune's 50 Most Significant Songwriters in the Last 50 Years. "Standard Deviation" is the first single from his 2019 album of the same title, which will marks 10 albums and 20 years as a recording artist. His hometown Austin Chronicle said, "Danny Schmidt is spoken of in reverent tones." Q called his art "beautifully crafted, lonesome pines music and complex beguiling words." As fellow songwriter Jeffrey Foucault put it: "Everything about the man is gentle, except for his capacity for insight, which is crushing." He recently released the single “Standard Deviation,” which was posted to Wide Open Country and played on an episode of Welcome To Night Vale and will be played on an episode of Star Talk (with Neil deGrasse Tyson).

Kevin Gordon – Friday, September 14 - 5:30-7 - City Winery Lounge in round w/ Paul Burch and Becky Warren, presented by 30A Songwriters Festival

"Brilliance… Mesmerizing... Gordon delivers another album that comes as close to sonic poetry as anything from any musician who hasn’t already won a Nobel Prize for literature... earthy, literary music... visceral, electric blues-based vibe."

- Scott Stroud, Associated Press, July 27, 2018

“Terrific… Another keeper… He’s one of America’s finest, most literary and talented musicians… it’s the way Gordon crafts his words to reflect reality without cliché that helps the music resonate long after the last note has faded.”

- Hal Horowitz, American Songwriter, July 23, 2018

"'Tilt and Shine' may be the best rock ’n’ roll album anyone will release this year in Davidson County and its environs... impressive achievement."

- Edd Hurt, Nashville Scene, July 26, 2018

"I'm struck by his mastery... Nobody in this town is better."

- Ted Drozdowski, Premier Guitar, September, 2018

"Saint on a Chain" music video

Danny Schmidt & Carrie Elkin - Friday, September 14 at 5:35-6:05 - Dee's Country Cocktail Lounge - 5th Annual Wild Ponies Happy Hour

Melanie Brulée – Friday, September 14 - 6:10-6:35pm - 12th & Porter - Folk Alliance’s Finest Folk

Melanie Brulée – a powerful new Americana voice – will release ‘Fires, Floods & Things We Leave Behind’ on October 19. Inspired by a road trip from Nashville to Las Vegas along Route 66, the music unfolds in widescreen, western textures influenced by Enio Morricone and Quentin Tarantino soundtracks. Her single “I’ll Get Over You” is out now and has already been added to Spotify’s official Down Home Country and Renegade Folk playlists (shareable YouTube link).

Melanie Brulée – Saturday, September 15 - 12:45-1:15pm - InDo Nashville - Canadian Blast

Danny Schmidt & Carrie Elkin - Saturday, September 15 - 1-1:30pm - Michael Weintrob Photography Studio - Campfire Propaganda AMA Day Party

Leland Sundries - Saturday, Sept 15 – 4-4:45pm – Tennessee Brew Works – Finely Tuned Showcase

+ We completed a Paste Magazine session that streamed live via Facebook and YouTube and is archived on the Paste site.

+ We opened the May 18 Low Cut Connie show at Bowery Ballroom in NYC.

+ We will be releasing the single “If You’re Gonna Drive, I’m Gonna Drink” backed with a punk/Americana version of a traditional cowboy song on September 21 followed by a northeast tour. Click to hear both.

Kevin Gordon – Saturday, Sept 15 – 8-9:30pm – Tennessee Brew Works – Finely Tuned Showcase

Kevin Gordon - Sunday, September 16 – 6-6:45pm - The Compound – Sunday Morning Coming Down

GRAMMY AWARD WINNER DOM FLEMONS, “THE AMERICAN SONGSTER” PERFORMS ON THE GRAND OLE OPRY, MAKING HIS SOLO DEBUT

FLEMONS PLOTS NATIONAL TOUR

‘BLACK COWBOYS’ CHARTS FOR 7 CONSECUTIVE WEEKS ON BILLBOARD BLUEGRASS

PERFORMED AND INTERVIEWED ON WORLD CAFÉ AND NPR’S ‘HERE AND NOW’

NPR’s Ann Powers recently did a performance/chat on “The American Songster” Dom Flemons’ new Smithsonian Folkways album ‘Black Cowboys,’ an exploration of the often prominent role that African-American pioneers played in the westward expansion: https://www.npr.org/sections/world-cafe/2018/04/12/601799377/world-cafe-nashville-dom-flemons

Ann Powers said, “The work Dom Flemons is doing on the West is flat-out revolutionary. Take the time to listen to him talk about 'Black Cowboys.'”

Flemons, who appeared at the Grand Ole Opry on Friday May 11, plans to hit the road this year for a series of tour dates. As a founding member of Carolina Chocolate Drops, they were the first all-black string band to perform at the Opry ten years ago. This time he was the only solo performer on a night that celebrated Carrie Underwood as a 10-year Opry member and also showcased Old Crow Medicine Show, Riders in the Sky and others.

‘Black Cowboys’ has spent seven consecutive weeks on Billboard Bluegrass, charted up to #2 on the Folk radio chart, and has garnered other spotlights in Wide Open Country, Cowboys & Indians Magazine, Washington City Paper, American Blues Scene, and American Songwriter.

Dom Flemons Tour Dates:

June 2 – Spirits of Summer Festival – Winston-Salem, NC
June 9 – Kingman Island Bluegrass & Folk Festival – Washington, D.C.
June 10 – Sellersville Theater 1894 – Sellersville, PA
June 17 – Birchmere Old Time Banjo Festival – Alexandria, VA
June 23 – Salute! Music and Brew Fest – Greensboro, NC
June 24 – Athfest – Athens, GA
June 29 – OK Theatre – Enterprise, OR
July 6 – Off Broadway – St. Louis, MO
July 7 – Crystal Bridges Museum – Bentonville, AR
July 15 – 3rd & Lindsley – Nashville, TN
July 19 – Ace Hotel – Pittsburgh, PA
July 26 – Eddie’s Attic – Decatur, GA
July 28 – Harvest House Performing Arts Venue – Boone, NC
August 8 – Hopewell Theater – Hopewell, NJ
August 31 – Delaware Valley Bluegrass Festival – Woodstown, NJ
September 1 – Hawks & Reed Performing Arts Center – Greenfield, MA
September 13 – Americana Music Festival – Nashville, TN
September 15 – Pickin’ in the Pines Bluegrass & Acoustic Music Festival – Flagstaff, AZ
September 22 – The Grand Annex – San Pedro, CA
September 25 – The Side Door @ The Fifth String – Sacramento, CA
September 27 – Freight & Salvage Coffeehouse – Berkeley, CA
February 21 – Oxford American Concert Series – Little Rock, AR

The first album of its kind, 'Black Cowboys' takes the listener on an illuminating journey "from the trails to the rails" of the Old West. The 18-song set traverses a varied soundscape featuring string blues, old-time square dance music, and cowboy poetry. Flemons is joined by a celebrated group of backing musicians throughout the record, such as GRAMMY-winning bluesman Alvin "Youngblood" Hart, Jimbo Mathus (Squirrel Nut Zippers), and decorated folklorist and Folkways' director emeritus Dan Sheehy, who co-produced the album.

Dom Flemons "Steel Pony Blues" music video

Dom Flemons 'Black Cowboys' videos

Dom Flemons "He's a Lone Ranger"

"The American Songster" Dom Flemons photos

Credit: Tim Duffy

Click each for high res

"The American Songster" Dom Flemons Explores History of the American West With Collection of African American Cowboy Songs

'Black Cowboys' Due Out March 23 on Smithsonian Folkways Recordings 
 
'Black Cowboys' is the new album from multi-instrumentalist, songster, and co-founding member of the GRAMMY Award winning Carolina Chocolate Drops, Dom Flemons. More than a collection of songs from the "Wild West," the record sheds light on the prominent but often overlooked role African American pioneers played in westward expansion.

In 2018, Smithsonian Folkways Recordings celebrates its 70th anniversary, honoring Folkways founder Moses Asch's mission to "document the people's music." As a musical torchbearer and innovator, Dom Flemons is committed to extending and reinterpreting Asch's legacy in the modern age. Joining him on this year's extensive release schedule are avant-garde folk duo Anna & Elizabeth, Iraqi-American oud virtuoso Rahim AlHaj, Tejano giants Los Texmaniacs, and special projects that include the 'Smithsonian Anthology of Hip-Hop and Rap,' a topical box set on 'The Social Power of Music,' and extensive retrospectives on Folkways greats Pete Seeger and Barbara Dane.

Listen to this 3-song sampling of the record.

The first album of its kind, 'Black Cowboys' takes the listener on an illuminating journey "from the trails to the rails" of the Old West. The 18-song set traverses a varied soundscape featuring string blues, old-time square dance music, and cowboy poetry. Flemons is joined by a celebrated group of backing musicians throughout the record, such as GRAMMY-winning bluesman Alvin "Youngblood" Hart, Jimbo Mathus (Squirrel Nut Zippers), and decorated folklorist and Folkways' director emeritus Dan Sheehy, who co-produced the album.

From the first, plaintive line sung on the album opener, a field holler called "Black Woman," it's clear that Flemons' relationship with this material runs deep. Indeed, in 2016, Flemons himself followed the westward path taken by Lewis and Clark and their slave, York, "crossing every original cattle trail and Indian trading post along the way."

In addition to the album's re-worked traditional songs, Flemons includes original songs written specifically for the occasion. "One Dollar Bill" reflects on the portrayal of black cowboys in Hollywood Westerns, "He's a Lone Ranger" tells the story of Bass Reeves (an escaped slave who became the first African American Deputy US Marshal west of the Mississippi), and "Steel Pony Blues" pays tribute to Nat Love, the former slave turned Pullman porter who spent time as a rancher in Flemons' native state of Arizona.

Flemons is also a historian, music scholar, and collector. He has long carried a torch of awareness that many traditional American songs and tunes in fact originated from, or were influenced by, the musical and storytelling traditions of African Americans and Native Americans. Flemons illustrates the complex cultural exchange that happened on the frontier in the 40-page liner notes booklet, reminding us that the American West was a much more diverse environment than old Western films and dime novels would have us believe. On his rendition of "Home on the Range," arguably one of the most celebrated Western songs of all time, Flemons explains that the popularized version came from a variant recorded in 1908, sung by a black bartender in San Antonio.

Flemons' love of cowboy songs and history traces back to his manifold familial connections to the region in which he was born and raised. His grandfather worked as a preacher and sawmill laborer in the same Arizona town Nat Love called home, and after emigrating from Mexico, his maternal ancestors became civil rights leaders in Arizona. A decade ago, after serendipitously coming across the book 'The Negro Cowboys' on a road trip from North Carolina to Phoenix, Flemons began immersing himself in research and interviews on the subject. After his first experience at the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering in February 2016, he was inspired to bring his passion for this material into the studio, and began recording 'Black Cowboys' two months later.

Along with its substantive liner notes, the album packaging includes historic portraits of many of the songs' subjects, Flemons' personal family photos, tintype wet plate photographs taken on a 19th-century camera, and cover art featuring a portrait of Flemons by the celebrated Western artist William Matthews.

Part of the Smithsonian Folkways' African American Legacy Series, the album was produced in conjunction with the National Museum of African American History and Culture. Flemons joins the Smithsonian Folkways Recordings family as the label celebrates its 70th anniversary, in part with an initiative to partner with more contemporary, living artists who carry on traditional forms of music in the modern age.

Though extensively researched and likely educational for many listeners, 'Black Cowboys' is much more than a history lesson. It's a collection both plaintive and upbeat, which evokes the familiar nostalgia for the Old West without sacrificing the truth of the matter. With this recording, Flemons further solidifies his place at the contemporary forefront of the American song tradition, and presents an innovative blend of traditional forms with a modern sensibility for the 21st century.

'Black Cowboy Track List:
1. Black Woman
2. Texas Easy Street
3. One Dollar Bill
4. Going Down the Road Feelin' Bad
5. Tyin' Knots in the Devil's Tail
6. Home on the Range
7. Ol' Proc
8. John Henry y los vaqueros
9. Po' Howard/Gwine Dig a Hole to Put the Devil In
10. Knox County Stomp
11. He's a Lone Ranger
12. Steel Pony Blues
13. Little Joe the Wrangler
14. Charmin' Betsy
15. Goodbye Old Paint
16. Lonesome Old River Blues
17. The March of Red River Valley
18. Old Chisholm Trail

For more information on Dom Flemons tour press, please contact Nick Loss-Eaton at nick.losseaton@gmail.com or 718.541.1130.

TAJ MAHAL AND DOM FLEMONS WEIGH IN ON ETTA BAKER AS ‘RAILROAD BILL’ DELUXE LP REISSUE COMES OUT THIS WEEK ON MUSIC MAKER RELIEF FOUNDATION

Etta Baker’s ‘Railroad Bill’ comes out this week as a deluxe LP reissue with new packaging, an unreleased bonus track “Police Dog Blues.” It includes a digital download of her entire catalog and new liner notes. Taj Mahal and Dom Flemons weighed in on the reissue:

Americana Lifetime Achievement Award winner and Blues Hall of Famer Taj Mahal says, "Possessing a stunning beauty, Etta's husband refused to let her travel and perform away from home. She never stopped playing music! This gracious grandmother was the source of a great deal of joy and surprise when I found out that she still played guitar after I heard her early recordings in the '60s. One of the signature chords of my guitar vocabulary comes from her version of 'Railroad Bill.’"

GRAMMY winner Dom Flemons says, “For more than half a century, Etta Baker has been considered by many to be the most important piedmont blues guitar player of all time. Her delicate and nuanced playing have influenced generations of finger picking guitarists. ‘Railroad Bill’ is an excellent collection of the songs that Etta recorded for Music Maker in the early ‘90s and is still considered her finest recording to date. Anyone who might ask you to narrow it down to one album to get started needs to own this record!  A classic for longtime fans as well as new listeners!"

LEAD BELLY FEST ADDS SPECIAL GUEST KENNY WAYNE SHEPHERD TO THE FEB. 4 CARNEGIE HALL SHOW

OTHER NEW ADDITIONS TO THE LINEUP INCLUDE: HITMAKER, EDGAR WINTER; AMERICAN SONGSTER, DOM FLEMONS; NYC PIANIST, JOHN DAVIS; NYC’S VERY OWN MARKY RAMONE, & NEW YORK STATE-RENOWNED BLUESMAN, GUY DAVIS.

Lead Belly Fest – the Carnegie Hall all-star celebration of the music and influence of Huddle "Lead Belly” Ledbetter on February 4, headlined by five-time GRAMMY Award winner BUDDY GUY along with the legendary Animals’ frontman ERIC “House of the Rising Sun" BURDON – today announced additions to the lineup. These include special guest multi-million seller, and GRAMMY-nominated blues rock guitarist, KENNY WAYNE SHEPHERD; American songster, DOM FLEMONS; “Free Ride” singer EDGAR WINTER; New York state bluesman and Pete Seeger cohort GUY DAVIS; also now on the bill are renowned pianist JOHN DAVIS; and NYC’s very own MARKY RAMONE. 

A Spotify playlist of the artists performing at Lead Belly Fest is here.

Photos of artists performing at Lead Belly Fest are here.

+ Born in Shreveport, the same town where Lead Belly was born, Kenny Wayne Shepherd’s provenance virtually destined him to become a great bluesman. Twenty years into his recording career he continues to create genre-defining blues-infused rock n' roll. Shepherd has built an enviable resume as an accomplished recording artist, a riveting live performer and one of the most talented and distinctive guitarists of his generation. He has been dubbed “the guitarists’ guitarist”. Shepherd has sold millions of albums worldwide, received five GRAMMY® nominations, two Billboard Music Awards, as well as a pair of Orville H. Gibson awards, the Blues Foundation's Keeping The Blues Alive award and two Blues Music awards. He's had seven #1 blues albums and a string of #1 mainstream rock singles. As part of his GRAMMY Award-nominated CD/DVD ‘10 Days Out: Blues from the Backroads’, he jammed with fellow blues musicians at Lead Belly’s grave.

+ Dom Flemons is the "American Songster," pulling from traditions of old-time folk music to create new sounds. Having performed music professionally since 2005, he has played live for over one million people just within the past three years. As part of the Carolina Chocolate Drops, which he co-founded with Rhiannon Giddens and Justin Robinson, he has played at a variety of festivals spanning from the Newport Folk Festival to Bonnaroo, in addition to renowned venues such as the Grand Ole Opry and such radio shows at NPR Fresh Air. Flemons was both host and performer at the recent Lead Belly 125 tribute concert at the Kennedy Centre in Washington DC.

+ From Edgar Winter’s critically acclaimed 1970 debut release, Entrance, he has demonstrated his unique style and ability to cross the genre lines and do the unexpected. His early recording of "Tobacco Road" is a powerful, emotionally devastating masterpiece that propelled him into the national spotlight. With over 20 albums and numerous collaborative efforts to his credit, Edgar Winter has appeared in the film "Netherworld", and the TV shows The Late Show with David Letterman, and Jimmy Kimmel Live.

+  Guy Davis is an artist who has excelled in many disciplines; he is a musician, composer, actor, director, and writer. He has received accolades and praise for his performance off-Broadway as the legendary Robert Johnson in “Robert Johnson: Trick The Devil,” winning the Blues Foundation's "Keeping the Blues Alive Award”.  Likewise, he received rave reviews for his appearance on Broadway in “Finian's Rainbow”, playing the part originally played by the legendary Sonny Terry.  He has been nominated for nearly a dozen Blues Awards and has performed on such shows as Prairie Home Companion, Late Show With David Letterman and Late Night With Conan O'Brien. Most recently, he is nominated for two 2016 Blues Music Awards. A friend of Pete Seeger’s, the two used to perform “Midnight Special” in concert frequently. 

+ With his latest Newport Classic recording, Halley’s Comet: Around the Piano with Mark Twain & John Davis, pianist John Davis pays musical tribute to our country’s most celebrated and influential author whose career, like Davis’s, lies at the intersection of white and black culture and high and low culture in American society. The Twain-related works included on the CD, “played powerfully and with a rich palette” according to The New York Times, further Davis’ effort to define, excavate, and disseminate a previously-unacknowledged American roots music initiated by two earlier hit recordings on Newport Classic.

+ Marky Ramone is a New York original, best known for the 15 years he spent drumming for Rock & Roll Hall of Famers and MTV’s Lifetime Achievement Award winners The Ramones. He has also been a member of Richard Hell & the Voidoids, ayne County and The Backstreet Boys, and presently fronts Marky Ramone’s Blitzkrieg.

Unsung heroes of roots music to perform at 2015 Newport Folk Festival Sunday, July 26

Music Maker Relief Foundation is pleased to announce a performance by pioneers of Southern Roots music at Newport Folk Festival on Sunday, July 26th. The show, called “Music Maker Relief Foundation Hosted by Dom Flemons,” will bring together musicians across folk genres for “three hours of the most authentic, rooted and dynamic Southern artists you’ve never heard,” says Tim Duffy, Music Maker’s founder and Executive Director.

Multi-instrumentalist, GRAMMY Award-winner and Carolina Chocolate Drops’ founding member Dom Flemons will host the performance featuring Daptone Records gospel trio The Como Mamas, keyboard player Ironing Board Sam, Piedmont blues guitarist Boo Hanks, rhythm and blues guitarist Albert White, trombone master Lil’ Joe, bassist Nashid Abdul, drummer Ardie Dean and Music Maker Founder Tim Duffy.

Watch: Newport Lineup Teaser Video from Music Maker here:


This will be the first performance at Newport Folk Festival for all the artists save Flemons, who has taken the stage at the festival twice before.

Dom Flemons is best known for founding the Grammy award winning Carolina Chocolate Drops and more recently for reviving the songster tradition.

Watch: Dom Performs “But They Got It Fixed On Right” on Folk Alley.

The Como Mamas, all granddaughters of Miles Pratcher, who was recorded by Alan Lomax in the 1950’s, share raw Mississippi gospel, with soaring harmonies unencumbered by instrumentation. The trio has releases on the Daptone label and has been spotlighted by Wax Poetics.

Watch: The Como Mamas “On the Battlefield”

Ironing Board Sam, 76, has been playing for over 55 years, and his powerful, soulful voice and remarkable piano prowess remain undiminished. Sam is the new celebrity spokesperson for Faultless Spray Starch and will be releasing a record on Big Legal Mess in September.  He was profiled on PBS Newshour last year and performed at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival earlier this year.

Watch: Ironing Board Sam on “The Night Train” in 1965.

Boo Hanks, is the greatest Piedmont Blues rediscovery in many years, whose style is reminiscent of the legendary Blind Boy Fuller. At 85 years old he has performed at prestigious venues all over the US and abroad, including the Lincoln Center. His most recent album, Buffalo Junction, was a collaborative project with Carolina Chocolate Drops co-founder Dom Flemons and was reviewed positively in the Washington Post.

Watch: Boo Hanks & Dom Flemons.

Albert White began playing guitar in the late 1950s with his legendary uncle, Piano Red, and his group “Dr. Feelgood & the Interns.” Since, Albert has performed with Joe Tex, The Tams, Ray Charles, Elvin Bishop, and others.

Trombone player Lil’ Joe’s career began in 1964 with the late, great, Junior Wells.  He has appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show, Midnight Special, Soul Train and toured with B.B. King for ten years. Joe is known for his heart-wrenching solos and tasteful high-energy performances.

Tim Duffy, co-founder of Music Maker Relief Foundation, has spent his life recording and documenting and performing alongside the greatest unheralded roots musicians of our time. An accomplished guitar player in his own right, Duffy has backed up many Music Maker artists on stage during the last two decades.

Nashid Abdul, a graduate of Berklee College of Music, played with Muddy Water's son Big Bill Morganfield. On his incredible jazz album and through performances around the globe, Nashid showcases his musical versatility and smooth six-string bass skills.

Ardie Dean has been keeping blues time since 1969. He started out with Homesick James and then paid his dues on the Chitlin’ Circuit leading the band for R&B singer Chuck Strong. Dean has been performing and managing with Tim Duffy and Music Maker since the organizations’ founding twenty years ago.

Tim Duffy said of the invitation to perform at Newport, “I grew up listening to Pete Seeger, and we are so deeply honored to have Music Maker pay tribute to him on the ‘For Pete’s Sake’ stage. The authentic Southern artists presented in our show are those whose musical traditions are at the very heart of American culture. Music Maker works with these artists to help them share their music with the world, and what better stage to make their voices heard than the finest folk festival in the world.”

Music Maker Relief Foundation at Newport Folk Fest 2015

THE AMERICAN SONGSTER DOM FLEMONS TO HOST LEAD BELLY TRIBUTE AT THE KENNEDY CENTER, FEATURING ROBERT PLANT AND ALISON KRAUSS

Dom Flemons – a founding member of the GRAMMY-winning Carolina Chocolate Drops – has been announced as the host of “Lead Belly at 125: A Tribute to an American Songster,” a one-night-only show taking place at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. on April 25 at 8:00pm.

The show, which is produced by the Kennedy Center and the GRAMMY Museum, features Flemons as master of ceremonies for a star-studded lineup of talented artists, including Robert Plant, Alison Krauss, Buddy Miller, Lucinda Williams, and Valerie June.

Huddie Ledbetter, or Lead Belly as he was known, is a folk blues legend who has influenced countless artists from Nirvana to Led Zeppelin. He ranks among other pillars of American folk music such as Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger.

 “Lead Belly showed me there was a strong secular black folk song repertoire, separate from the blues,” Flemons says. He continues, “Lead Belly’s legacy can show us something that is truly human in music. I’m honored to have the opportunity to pay tribute to someone who has had such a strong influence on me.”

Lead Belly has received newfound attention this year with the release of “Lead Belly: The Smithsonian Folkways Collection” box set and documentary film “Legend of Lead Belly,” which has aired on the Smithsonian Channel.

Flemons pulls from traditions of old-time folk music to create new sounds. Having played music professionally since 2005, he received acclaim, including a GRAMMY win and nomination, as part of the African American string band the Carolina Chocolate Drops. His most recent album, “Prospect Hill,” his first since leaving the group, has received praise from The Boston Globe, Paste Magazine, and Living Blues Magazine, and he has been featured on NPR’s “Fresh Air with Terry Gross.”

Event link here.

THE AMERICAN SONGSTER DOM FLEMONS ANNOUNCES ‘WHAT GOT OVER’ EXCLUSIVE RECORD STORE DAY EP

Dom Flemons – a founding member of the GRAMMY-winning Carolina Chocolate Drops – has announced a 10-inch vinyl EP to be sold in local record stores exclusively for Record Store Day on April 18th.

'What Got Over,' which comes out on Music Maker Relief Foundation, is a collection of songs from the vault—tracks that didn’t make it onto his highly praised 2014 album Prospect Hill along with alternate versions of songs on that album. Here are two teaser videos:




NPR Fresh Air aired a full-length performance/chat on the American Songster last year.

List of stores where “What Got Over” is available.

Esquire called ‘Prospect Hill’ “finger-pickin', good-old-fashioned tin-cup barn-dance fun.”

Paste said of ‘Prospect Hill,’ “Flemons’ harmonica-heavy, foot-tapping folk makes for the perfect hot summer soundtrack.”

Peter Cooper wrote a profile for the Tennessean, writing, “Everything Flemons does as an entertainer is informed by his deep listening and study. But ‘study’ sounds like something academic, and Flemons trades on something more fun than academia. He internalizes his learning, then externalizes it, and then we hear it and tap our feet and smile.”

"No musician in recent memory has tackled so many different idioms with such sincerity and style as Flemons, making him easily the most gifted American songster of his generation." -Living Blues Magazine

"This is interracial hoedown music, irresistibly delivered with a wink and a strut, and it sounds unlike anything else on the market today." -Wondering Sound

‘Dom Flemons, American Songster, Presents: What Got Over’ Track List:

SIDE ONE
1. Big Head Joe's March
2. Milwaukee Blues
3. Clock on the Wall
4. Keep On Truckin'
SIDE TWO
1. Hot Chicken
2. Have I Stayed Away Too Long?
3. Going Backward Up The Mountain
4. Til' The Seas Run Dry
5. What Got Over

Dom Flemons 'What Got Over' trailer

PETE SEEGER TO DOM FLEMONS: MY GRANDFATHER AND WOODY GUTHRIE BOTH PLAYED THE BONES

BACKSTAGE CONVERSATION WITH SEEGER PIVOTAL IN FLEMONS’ CARRYING ON TRADITION

HEADLINING DATES & OPENING SLOTS FOR OLD CROW MEDICINE SHOW CONTINUE

Backstage at the Ann Arbor Folk Festival, Tao Rodriguez-Seeger introduced Dom Flemons to Pete Seeger, an enthralling moment for the young American Songster. The elder told Flemons, “I like the way you play the bones. My grandfather played the bones.” (The bones are a pair of cow bones played together as a percussion instrument, related to the spoons. Old Crow Medicine Show was also backstage and that was the first time that they had met Seeger; Flemons and OCMS will play shows together in November.) Seeger also told the rising folk artist that Woody Guthrie used to play the bones but Flemons could not find a recording of Woody playing the bones until TIME Magazine debuted this duet with Sonny Terry from the new album ‘My Name Is New York: Ramblin’ Around Woody Guthrie’s Town’ earlier this year.

Flemons has been playing the bones since receiving a set as a gift at North Carolina’s Mt. Airy Fiddler's Convention in 2006. Flemons’ new album ‘Prospect Hill’ features “Marching Up To Prospect Hill,” a tribute to harmonica great Sonny Terry and harmonica and bones player JC Burris (Terry’s nephew) based on a video of the duo shot by Seeger.

Flemons is the American songster, a master of a variety of African-American musical forms and digging to a depth and breadth not seen since the emergence of Taj Mahal. Flemons plays guitar, banjo, quills, and percussion as well as the bones and dig deeply into hokum tunes, jug band material, New Orleans jazz, ballads, original folk songs, rhythm and blues, ragtime, spirituals, and fife and drum music.

Peter Cooper of the Tennessean recently profiled Flemons.

Flemons expounds on his idea of the American songster here.

Dom Flemons Tour Dates

October 15 – Rocky Mount, VA – Harvester Performance Center
October 17 – Black Mountain, NC – Lake Eden Arts Festival
October 18 – Black Mountain, NC – Lake Eden Arts Festival
October 19 – Charlottesville, VA – The Southern
October 23 – Easton, MD – Avalon Theatre
October 24 – New York, NY – City Winery (Wesley Stace's Cabinet of Wonders)
November 4 – Minneapolis, MN – Cedar Cultural Center
November 6 – Urbana Champaign, IL - Krannert Center
November 10 – Ann Arbor, MI – The Ark
November 12 – Blacksburg, VA – Burruss Auditorium (Virginia Tech) *
November 13 – Ashland, KY – Paramount Arts Center *
November 14 - Louisville, KY - Palace *
November 15 - Memphis, TN - Orpheum *
November 20 - Athens, GA -The Classic Center *
November 21 - Birmingham, AL - Alabama Theatre *

* With Old Crow Medicine Show

“AMERICANA MASTER” (NASHVILLE SCENE) DOM FLEMONS TO PERFORM AT MADISON SQUARE PARK OCTOBER 4, SUBCULTURE OCTOBER 11, AND CITY WINERY CABINET OF WONDERS (NPR)

The American Songster Dom Flemons’ October tour will include three performances in NYC:

* October 4 in Madison Square Park
* October 11 at SubCulture
* and October 24 as part of the Cabinet of Wonders at City Winery, also featuring Eric Andersen, Mac McCaughan (of Superchunk), Eugene Mirman, Dani Shapiro, and Sarah Vowell.

Cabinet of Wonders has been picked up by NPR as a syndicated program and is hosted by Wesley Stace.

Flemons last performed in NYC at Lincoln Center Out of Doors in August. He earlier discussed what it means to be the American Songster in an extended interview with Terry Gross on NPR Fresh Air.

A founding member of the GRAMMY-winning, Newport Folk Festival-playing Carolina Chocolate Drops, Flemons lived in NYC until last year, when he made the move back to North Carolina. Here’s what others are saying about the new album ‘Prospect Hill,’ which features a guest spot from New Yorker Guy Davis:

“Exceptional.”
-Robin Denselow, The Guardian (UK), July 28, 2014

“Unforgettable.”
-Clive Davis, The Times (UK), July 25, 2014

“Flemons’ harmonica-heavy, foot-tapping folk makes for the perfect hot summer soundtrack.”
-Dacey Orr, Paste, June 2, 2014

“This is interracial hoedown music, irresistibly delivered with a wink and a strut, and it sounds unlike anything else on the market today.”
-John Morthland, Wondering Sound / eMusic, July 25, 2014

“Dom Flemons satisfied an old-time craving.”
-Chris Parton, CMT Edge, June 4, 2014

“A mix of traditional and original songs that explore different moods and strains of Americana… from both the head and the heart.”
-James Reed, Boston Globe, June 26, 2014

DOM FLEMONS ANNOUNCES TOUR DATES SUPPORTING OLD CROW MEDICINE SHOW, ON TOUR NOW WITH POKEY LAFARGE AS SUPPORT AND EMCEE, HEADLINING IN OCTOBER

MUSIC CITY EMBRACES DOM FLEMONS

The American Songster Dom Flemons has thirty tour dates this fall, in September with Pokey LaFarge on the revue-style Central Time Tour, headlining in October, and newly announced dates in November supporting Old Crow Medicine Show.

Photos of Dom: http://nicklosseaton.blogspot.com/2014/04/dom-flemons-photos.html

Flemons just played Nashville, TN where the Nashville Scene called him an “Americana master” and Peter Cooper wrote a profile for the Tennessean, writing, “Everything Flemons does as an entertainer is informed by his deep listening and study. But ‘study’ sounds like something academic, and Flemons trades on something more fun than academia. He internalizes his learning, then externalizes it, and then we hear it and tap our feet and smile”: http://www.tennessean.com/story/entertainment/2014/09/12/dom-flemons-mines-annals-american-song/15362357/

NPR Fresh Air recently aired a full-length performance/chat on the American Songster: http://www.npr.org/2014/07/30/336577946/dom-flemons-holds-onto-that-old-time-root

Flemons performed at Lincoln Center last month and was the subject of a New Yorker illustration.

Dom Flemons Tour Dates:

September 23 - Iowa City, IA - The Englert Theatre *
September 24 - Columbia, MO - The Blue Note *
September 27 – Peninsula, OH – G.A.R. Hall **
September 28 – Pittsburgh, PA – Club Cafe **
September 30 – Lancaster, PA – Tellus 360 **
October 1 – Washington, D.C. – The Hamilton **
October 3 – Arden, DE – Arden Gild Hall **
October 4 – New York, NY – Madison Square Park
October 5 – Providence, RI – Columbus Theatre **
October 7 – Philadelphia, PA – Tin Angel **
October 8 – Hamden, CT – The Outer Space Ballroom **
October 9 – Northampton, MA – Iron Horse **
October 10 – Cambridge, MA – Club Passim **
October 11 – New York, NY – SubCulture **
October 13 – Burlington, VT – Higher Ground **
October 15 – Rocky Mount, VA – Harvester Performance Center **
October 17 – Black Mountain, NC – Lake Eden Arts Festival
October 18 – Black Mountain, NC – Lake Eden Arts Festival
October 19 – Charlottesville, VA – The Southern
November 14 - Louisville, KY - Palace ***
November 15 - Memphis, TN - Orpheum ***
November 20 - Athens, GA -The Classic Center ***
November 21 - Birmingham, AL - Alabama Theatre ***

* Central Time Tour with Pokey LaFarge; Joel Savoy, Jesse Lége & The Cajun Country Revival; The Tillers; and The Loot Rock Gang
** With Grace and Tony
*** With Old Crow Medicine Show

Dom Flemons & Pokey LaFarge

Credit: Photo Copyright: Nate Burrell / beforetheblink.com
Taking in Nashville, TN, September, 2014

Dom Flemons "'Til' the Seas Run Dry" embeddable mp3

NPR FRESH AIR HOSTS 38-MINUTE PERFORMANCE/CHAT WITH AMERICAN SONGSTER DOM FLEMONS AS NEW YORKER ILLUSTRATION RUNS

NEW TOUR DATES ADDED

Terry Gross’s 38-minute in-depth interview with the American Songster Dom Flemons aired last week on NPR’s Fresh Air.

Meanwhile, the New Yorker ran an illustration of Dom Flemons alongside those of Beverly “Guitar” Watkins and Ironing Board Sam, each of whom will perform Sunday at Lincoln Center Out of Doors as part of Americana Fest NYC. See the illustration here.

Gross says, “It is so much fun to hear that and so educational, too.”

Flemons talks about adapting songs from the banjo to the guitar and vice versa, how oldies got him into old time music, the influence of the elder folk and blues artists of Music Maker Relief Foundation, how rhythm and blues and country music and Broadway connect on “Have I Stayed Away Too Long,” the lonesome feeling of being on the road, cutting excess verses from original songs, the largest banjo Terry Gross had ever seen (which Dom nicknamed “Big Head Joe”), how hokum music uses double entendres, playing esoteric instruments like the bass drum, quills, bones and an extra-large banjo, and finding fresh material to interpret from some of his favorite artists.

Dom also impresses with impressions of influences on him, including Paul Simon, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Jim Croce, ‘Freewheelin’-era Bob Dylan, ‘Nashville Skyline’ Dylan, Dave Van Ronk, and Van Morrison.

He also discusses the impact of Pete Seeger, who passed away the night before Flemons started recording the album ‘Prospect Hill,’ saying, “Pete’s been an essential part of my life as a lover of folk music” and talking about his influence as a banjo player.

Dom Flemons Tour Dates

August 8 – Fall River, MA – Narrows Center for the Arts
August 10 – New York, NY – Lincoln Center Out-Of-Doors
August 15 – Saratoga Springs, NY – Caffe Lena
September 10 - Tulsa, OK - Cain’s Ballroom *
September 11 - Kansas City, MO - Knuckleheads Saloon *
September 12 - St Louis, MO - Old Rock House (outside) *
September 13 - Nashville, TN - Mercy Lounge *
September 15 - Charleston, IL - Dvorak Concert Hall at Doudna Fine Arts Center *
September 16 - Middletown, OH - Finkelman Auditorium at Miami University *
September 17 – Carbondale, IL – Hangar 9 *
September 18 - Bloomington, IL - The Castle Theatre *
September 19 - Chicago, IL - Old Town School of Folk Music *
September 20 - Stoughton, WI - Stoughton Opera House *
September 21 - Minneapolis, MN - The Cedar Cultural Center *
September 23 - Iowa City, IA - The Englert Theatre *
September 24 - Columbia, MO - The Blue Note *
September 27 – Peninsula, OH – G.A.R. Hall **
September 28 – Pittsburgh, PA – Club Cafe **
September 30 – Lancaster, PA – Tellus 360 **
October 1 – Washington, D.C. – The Hamilton **
October 3 – Arden, DE – Arden Gild Hall **
October 4 – New York, NY – Madison Square Park
October 5 – Providence, RI – Columbus Theatre **
October 7 – Philadelphia, PA – Tin Angel **
October 8 – Hamden, CT – The Outer Space Ballroom **
October 9 – Northampton, MA – Iron Horse **
October 10 – Cambridge, MA – Club Passim **
October 15 – Rocky Mount, VA – Harvester Performance Center **

* Central Time Tour with Pokey LaFarge; Joel Savoy, Jesse Lége & The Cajun Country Revival; The Tillers; and The Loot Rock Gang
** With Grace and Tony