Carolina Chocolate Drops

I’m proud to present the Carolina Chocolate Drops in their only appearance (besides the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival) west of St. Louis for the rest of 2010. The Carolina Chocolate Drops are the newest and youngest players in a long lineage of Black String Bands. The Carolina Chocolate Drops formed after all three members — Rhiannon Giddens, Dom Flemons and Justin Robinson — attended the 2005 Black Banjo Gathering in Boone, N.C. Giddens, Flemons and Robinson then created Carolina Chocolate Drops, a band which combines traditional string-band elements with several modern twists. Two of the three members of Carolina Chocolate Drops are classically trained: Rhiannon Giddens studied opera at the Oberlin Conservatory and Justin Robinson studied classical violin. Dom Flemons studied guitar and slam poetry. This trio has been taking the national festival circuit by storm and I encourage you to bring the whole family. This is quite possibly one of the most original and inspiring groups I’ve ever presented.