Veteran bluesman brings music forward with Buffalo Junction

Music Maker Relief Foundation is pleased to announce the release of Boo Hanks’ & Dom Flemons’ Buffalo Junction. This album is the result of a partnership between Piedmont-style blues guitarist Hanks and Flemons, who in 2011 won a Grammy Award and played the Newport Folk Festival with his group the Carolina Chocolate Drops. Hanks worked the tobacco fields near his Virginia home for the majority of his 83 years. In 2006 he began a partnership with Music Maker Relief Foundation that led to opportunities such as opening for the Chocolate Drops collaborating with Dom Flemons on their album, Buffalo Junction, named for Boo Hanks’ hometown. The album, which will be released June 19, 2012, features upbeat, country blues that crosses generational lines.

Boo Hanks grew up sharecropping in Vance County, N.C. His father played blues guitar in the style of then-popular Blind Boy Fuller, and would entertain their small community at local events and during all-night tobacco curing. Boo was able to learn Piedmont-style blues guitar during these sessions, and from listening to Blind Boy Fuller records on a wind-up gramophone. He bought his first guitar from the Sears-Roebuck mail-order catalog for two dollars, money he had earned working in the tobacco fields. Boo began to play for the community in the same way his father had before him – at gatherings and to pass the time while working. He continued playing for that small audience until the age of 79, when he met Music Maker Relief Foundation.

Boo never thought of his guitar as a way to make a living, but after partnering with Music Maker he has played for thousands including venues in Belgium and the Lincoln Center. This past year Boo has traveled to the Savannah Folk Festival, the Black Banjo Gathering, where he is a regular, and performed for local N.C. events such as the Music Maker Jubilee and Warehouse Blues Series in Durham. During the six years he has worked with Music Maker Boo has cultivated a friendship with Dom Flemons, and the album Buffalo Junction came about from their collaborative relationship.

Tim Duffy, Music Maker’s founder, says, “Boo Hanks is the last remaining beacon of pure Piedmont Blues. Buffalo Junction demonstrates the passing of the torch from the Piedmont Blues style created by Blind Boy Fuller in 1930 to an artist like Dom, who is poised to carry the sound into this new century.”

The album highlights Boo on the guitar and vocals, while Flemons plays a variety of traditional instruments such as the jug, harmonica, bones and also sings backup vocals. The album was recorded when Tim Duffy and Flemons went to visit Boo’s home in Buffalo Junction, leading to the album’s title.

In addition to advocating for traditional music and working with elderly musicians, Music Maker brings traditional music forward with their Next Generation program, which promotes younger artists playing in a traditional style. Through Next Generation partnerships like the one between Boo Hanks and Dom Flemons, MMRF is able to foster the continuation of Southern traditional music among younger generations of musicians. Buffalo Junction is a collaborative album that does just that.

Music Maker Releases Boo Hanks & Dom Flemons Collaboration

January 4, 2012 – Music Maker Relief Foundation is pleased to announce the release of Boo Hanks’ & Dom Flemons’ Buffalo Junction. This album is the result of a partnership between Piedmont-style blues guitarist Hanks and Flemons, who in 2011 won a Grammy Award and played the Newport Folk Festival with his group the Carolina Chocolate Drops. Hanks worked the tobacco fields near his Virginia home for the majority of his 83 years. In 2006 he began a partnership with Music Maker Relief Foundation that led to opportunities such as opening for the Chocolate Drops and playing at Lincoln Center. Hanks met Flemons on the day he arrived at the Music Maker Relief Foundation office, and the two have remained friends. Their collaborative album, Buffalo Junction, named for Boo Hanks’ hometown, features upbeat, country blues that crosses generational lines.

Learn more about Hanks’ life in Virginia:

The album highlights Hanks on the guitar and vocals, while Flemons plays a variety of traditional instruments such as the jug, harmonica, bones and also sings backup vocals. The album was recorded when Music Maker Founder Tim Duffy and Flemons went to visit Hanks at his home in Buffalo Junction, leading to the album’s title.

Dom Flemons said of the recording experience: "Boo Hanks is a treasure. His vocal and guitar phrases are something so unique and forgotten in the modern world of folk and blues. He an absolutely engaging songster and it has been a pleasure to have played with him for several years and to be a part of this album which will hopefully present his music to a much wider audience.”

Hanks has been a Music Maker Partner Artist since 2006, and up until that time his music was only heard by those in the communities close to his Virginia home. Since beginning work with Music Maker, he has performed all over the country, and developed a professional friendship with Music Maker Next Generation Artists Flemons. Through Next Generation partnerships, MMRF is able to foster the continuation of Southern traditional music among younger generations of musicians. Buffalo Junction is a collaborative album that does just that.

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About Music Maker Relief Foundation:

Music Maker Relief Foundation, Inc. is a tax exempt, public charity under IRS code 501(c)3. Music Maker aims to keep our Southern culture vital by directly supporting senior (over 55) American roots musicians in need, expanding their professional careers, and assisting Next Generation artists in the development of their professional careers. Since the organization’s founding in 1994, Music Maker has assisted hundreds of musicians who represent the traditions of Blues, Gospel, Old-Time String Band, Jazz and more. Music Maker’s programs ensure the talents of these cultural treasures are accessible so that our rich musical heritage can be shared with the world and preserved for future generations.