The Carolina Chocolate Drops pursue an intriguing, almost paradoxical aim: to play in the traditional Piedmont folk style as modern musicians. This Saturday, the Drops, along with singer-songwriter Joe Henry—who also produced their most recent album—will showcase their contemporary roots at Reynolds Theater as a part of Duke Performances’ “Witnesses”.
Hailing from the Durham area, the Drops trace their origins to the 2005 Black Banjo Gathering at Appalachian State University. The band formed under the tutelage of fiddler Joe Thompson, who taught them his skills and the traditional folk tunes of the Carolina Piedmont region.
The backgrounds of each member help to explain their overall musical versatility. Rhiannon Giddens’ studies at the Oberlin Observatory, Justin Robinson’s upbringing among musicians and Dom Flemon’s interest in records of the past provide a glimpse of their diverse histories.
Released this past February, their newest album, Genuine Negro Jig, features a rendition of both Tom Waits’ “Trampled Rose” and Blu Cantrell’s “Hit ‘Em Up Style.” Equally eclectic is Henry, who epitomizes the Renaissance man, exploring all angles of the music enterprise and dabbling in a myriad of genres. The sound of the Carolina Chocolate Drops resonated deeply with Henry and his interests.
“ I am always interested in the place where traditional forms of music intersect with the ether and become not relics, but living things,” Henry said. “I saw [the Drops] as an example of that and still do.”
Over the past decade, the Drops have captured the public eye, gaining national acclaim and traveling the nation on tour. This weekend, the Drops and the esteemed Henry come together for their first-ever live collaborative performance. Tickets to the show are sold out, with a large quantity purchased by Duke students, Director of Duke Performances Aaron Greenwald said.
“Folk music is made in the context of the community,” Greenwald said, attributing this trend of pronounced student interest to the highly social component of folk music.
The Carolina Chocolate Drops are one of the few remaining African-American string bands in the country. A half-century ago, white artists dominated Carolina folk music, and the African-American variety was slowly becoming a vestige of the past. The Drops have since reclaimed the African-American string folk tradition while making it their own.
The effect of the Drops’ presence has been two-fold. For one, it has served to clarify misconceptions of the string tradition as one only culturally endemic to white Appalachia. Secondly, it has breathed new life into the genre. The Drops present string folk music that is not merely a vague musical memory, but rather a vital element of present North Carolina culture.
But perhaps what makes the Drops most unique is their breadth of both talent and genre. Each member of the band sings and plays various traditional instruments, from the fiddle to the kazoo. And it is just that history and diversity which the Carolina Chocolate Drops are so intent upon preserving.
“Tradition isn’t about nostalgia. It’s a code within a seed that allows new things to flourish outward from a time-tested design,” Henry said. And it seems that the Carolina Chocolate Drops have had the sweetest of blooms.
Carolina Chocolate Drops and Joe Henry perform Saturday in Reynolds Industries Theater at 8 p.m. Tickets for the show are sold out.
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