Dom Flemons
Dominique Flemons (born August 30, 1982) is an American old-time music, Piedmont blues, and neotraditional country multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter. He is a proficient player of the banjo, fife, guitar, harmonica, percussion, quills, and rhythm bones.[2] He is known as "The American Songster" as his repertoire of music spans nearly a century of American folklore, ballads, and tunes.[3] He has performed with Mike Seeger, Joe Thompson, Martin Simpson, Boo Hanks, Taj Mahal, Old Crow Medicine Show, Guy Davis, and The Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band.[2]
Dom Flemons
Dominique Flemons
August 30, 1982
Phoenix, Arizona, United States
Multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter
2000s–present
Various
A member of the Carolina Chocolate Drops from their inception in 2005 until 2013, Flemons has released five albums in his own name, although two of those were collaborations with other musicians. Flemons appreciates the tradition inherent in his solo work and once stated, "I want to experiment rather than to merely replicate. It can never be as good as the original, so I make the music fit my own style. I look at the old time music, the originals of black banjo music for the Carolinas, the fiddle and the sounds of folks like Sid Hemphill, Henry Thomas and Peg Leg Howell."[4]
His album, Black Cowboys (2018), was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Folk Album at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards,[5] and for a Blues Music Award at the 40th Blues Music Award ceremony in the 'Acoustic Album' category.[6]
Biography[edit]
Early life[edit]
Flemons was born in Phoenix, Arizona, United States.[7] He is of African American and Mexican heritage. He played percussion in his high school band, and whilst a teenager played guitar and harmonica in local coffee houses.[4] He grew up listening to his parents' record collection, and expanded his knowledge by studying recordings by Bob Dylan, the Beatles, and Chuck Berry. This led him to the pioneers of American folk music, including Woody Guthrie, Tom Paxton, and Ramblin' Jack Elliott.[8] Flemons became a frequent busker and performer on the Arizona music scene. He obtained a major in English at Northern Arizona University, in Flagstaff, Arizona, and partook in two national poetry slams in 2002 and 2003.[4] In Flagstaff, Flemons met Sule Greg Wilson, a local percussionist, banjo player, and folklorist. Wilson became a mentor to Flemons, assisting with his playing techniques and understanding of the history of the blues and American folk music.[8]