Hello, folks! Dom Flemons here. Its been a pretty chilled out week for everyone in the group here.

My girlfriend Reanna and I took a trip down to NC to witness our tour manager Jimmy Rhine marry his girlfriend Katherine Allen. Yeah for Jimmy and Kat!! Justin was down there as well and we watched with great pleasure this union between two great folks while munching on pork tamales.

Not too much to say except give a few dates for everyone:

Dom
Dec. 6- Mike Seeger Memorial (Private Event)
Dec 7- Jammin Java (Vienna, VA)
Dec 12- Banjo Jim's (CD release party for both Dom and East River String Band)

For a review of American Songster, click right here.

And for more info go to myspace.com/domflemonsmusic

Justin
Dec 5th Duke Coffehouse, Durham NC
Dec 6 Evening Muse, Charlotte NC w/ Greg Humphreys
Dec 8th : VH1 Save the Music @ Broad St. Cafe, Durham NC 7pm
Jan 5th: Visulite Theater, Charlotte NC w/ Sam Quinn and Sallie Ford

For more info go to myspace.com/birdsormonsters.

Rhiannon is off with her husband and daughter, visiting in Ireland!

I'd like to put another reminder out there for the Mississippi Sheiks Tribute. Its been getting good reviews and I just listened to it recently and was pleased by the results. We have a version of "Sitting On of The World" on it with Justin singing the lead. Other tracks that I liked were Bill Frisell's "That's It", Geoff Muldaur's "The World Is Going Wrong", Jim Barnes' "Too Long" and Del Ray's "We Both Are Feeling Good Right Now".

Here is a blog from producer, Steve Dawson about the sessions: herohill.com

Oh - and here's an interview we did backstage in Charlotte, NC with Robo Robb: roboblog.com. Enjoy, and thanks again, folks!

Till next time,

Dom

We have a couple of big things to share!

First of all, we are very very excited to announce that our new album, Genuine Negro Jig, will be released on Nonesuch Records on January 25th in the UK and February 23rd in the US! We have worked very hard on this album, produced by the legendary Joe Henry and can't wait to share it with you.

Second, we have posted a handful of new tour dates! We'll be touring in the UK in support of the new record, starting January 26th at the Celtic Connections Festival.

And don't worry, US friends, we'll be posting a bunch of new tour dates in the homeland very soon, so stay tuned!

Last, but certainly not least, we've got three more shows before we call it a year, and they are all in NC this week!

November 18 :: Canyons :: Blowing Rock, NC

November 19-20 :: Caswell County Civic Center :: Yanceyville, NC

Hope to see you out there!

Hello out there! We've had another great, great week on the road.

We had a wonderful time at Eastern Kentucky University (read about that show here). Kent Stage also treated us kindly, and we even got to have dinner with our friend Todd Kwait. His film, Chasin' Gus Ghost, will be out on DVD soon.

Then it was off to the State Theatre, a beautiful place in State College, PA ... and then three sold out shows -- two at the Ark in Ann Arbor, MI and one in Chicago! To read a review of the first night in Ann Arbor, click here.

NEWS AND NOTEWORTHY
Another noteworthy event -- we got to meet and interview with Dena Epstein, author of Sinful Tunes and Spirituals, the first book to recognize the banjo as an African- derived instrument. Dena is 93-years-young and was in great spirits when we talked to her.

And last but not least, our co-manager, Dolphus Ramseur of Ramseur Records, was recently featured on The State of Things. He discussed music, his company, how he got started and more. It's an interesting listen and can be found here.

WE'RE COMING HOME
We've spent this year doing a lot of big things, and have traveled from coast to coast. But we are very excited to finish out October playing shows right here in the Carolinas and our neighboring Tennessee. We could really use your support at these shows, so we hope you'll come out and bring a friend! There are more tools to help spread the word right here: ccdteam.ning.com.

Here are the dates!

October 9 :: Grey Eagle :: Asheville, NC
October 10 :: CoMMA :: Morganton, NC
October 11 :: Bijou Theatre :: Knoxville, TN
October 13 :: The Basement :: Nashville, TN
October 15 :: McGlohon Theatre @ Spirit Square :: Charlotte, NC
October 16 :: The Soapbox :: Wilmington, NC


We hope to see you out there on the open road sometime soon!

Thanks to all for your support.
-the CCDs

THANKS TO MISSOURI
What a great start to our fall tour! We began the festivities in Columbia, MO at the Roots, Blues & BBQ Festival - got to hang out with the Music Maker Revue some, which was awesome, and we played our set at the festival. The crowd was simply amazing! So enthusiastic and welcoming - this was our third time in Columbia, and it just gets better and better! And special thanks to the Main Squeeze restaurant.

From there we made the short hop to St. Louis to play Off Broadway - it was a really nice gig and a full house. The next day we hooked up with Greg, who works at Grant's Farm (owned by Anheuser-Busch) - he gave us a fabulous behind the scenes tour of the Farm. We got to see the animals up close and personal, like cockatiels, elephants, huge boa constrictors, and an actual live possum (you know, we've mostly seen dead ones... ) It was a really great day. We got up early on Monday to see St. Louis' monument to Westward Expansion, the Arch. We went up to the top to witness St Louis in all its glory, and then got on the road down to Kentucky.

There's pictures on our Facebook - check 'em out!

SHOWS THIS WEEK - ANN ARBOR AND CHICAGO SOLD OUT!
This week, we've got shows in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Chicago. Here are the details:

Sept 30 :: The Kent Stage :: Kent, OH

Oct 1 :: The State Theatre :: State College, PA

Oct 2-3 :: The Ark :: Ann Arbor, MI - SOLD OUT

Oct 4 :: Old Town School of Folk Music :: Chicago, IL - SOLD OUT

KNOXVILLE AND ASHEVILLE COMING UP
Just a reminder to all our Tennessee and North Carolina friends -- there are still tickets available for our shows in Asheville on October 9th at the Grey Eagle and in Knoxville October 11th at the Bijou Theatre.

To help spread the word, click here.


Thanks and see you out there!
-the CCDs
 


Photo of the youngest Chocolate Drop, Aoife, showing off her credentials.

After being on maternity leave, we are ready to gear up for our Fall '09 Tour.

During the break, we've mostly been unwinding, taking care of the baby (not me), and writing new songs. We'll, hopefully, be showcasing some new material as well as the old favorites. I've been working with my new band, Birds or Monsters (mypsace.com/birdsormonsters and facebook) and played with my square dance band Sister Christian's CrysTal Methodists at the Hoppin' John Fiddle Convention and discovering lots of new music.

But, now we're back on the road and can't wait to see your faces!


THIS WEEK'S SHOWS: MO, KY & OH
To round out September, we'll be stopping in Missouri, Kentucky and Ohio over the next week or so. Here are the details:

September 25 :: Roots 'N Blues BBQ Festival :: Columbia, MO

September 26 :: Off Broadway :: St. Louis

September 29 :: Eastern Kentucky University :: Richmond, KY

September 30 :: The Kent Stage :: Kent, OH


ANN ARBOR & CHICAGO TIX GOING FAST
We've also got a bunch of big shows coming up in October -- including 2 dates in Ann Arbor, MI and 1 in Chicago that are almost sold out, so make sure to get your tickets now! Click here for Ann Arbor and here for Chicago.


TWITTER, STREET TEAM
Ya'll have been so good to us in our homestate and second homes like Chicago and Ann Arbor - but we need your help spreading the word to places that aren't so familiar with us yet! There are a few ways to help -- you could be our friend on facebook (and tell your friends), follow us on twitter (and maybe you could tell your friends) and join our street team (did we mention you could tell your friends?).

Right now, we really need some help spreading the word about our shows in Kent, OH on Sept 30th and State College, PA on Oct 1st. These shows are pretty close, so we can't really send out posters -- but there are a bunch of tools to spread the word online right here and there's also the old-fashioned "word of mouth" method. You guessed it - tell your friends!

TWITTER TO WIN
Another way to spread the word -- if you have a Twitter account, send out a tweet and tag the @_CCDs with a mention of the upcoming shows in State College, PA and Kent, OH (and anything else you'd like to say :) -- and we'll randomly select 3 of you to win an autographed CD!

We'll see you out there very soon. Thanks for all the support!


-Justin (and Dom and Rhiannon :)




Painting by David Spear

Hello again, folks. Dom Flemons here. The last few weeks have been pretty action-packed.

VISITING NC
First thing I did as I got off the plane was visit the folks down at Music Maker. September 4th was going to be the last in their "Warehouse Blues" concert series for the summer and they had invited Mudcat to come out and play. The group first met Mudcat a few years back at the Congressional Blues Festival in Washington DC and every once we would cross paths. As I made my way out to Hillsborough, Tim told me to come on down and record a few tunes with Mudcat and his band. This was a great time but cut short because they had to go to their gig and I had to go to mine.

Soon enough, though, the group was off the whole next week so I decided to stay in North Carolina to see friends and visit some of my favorite Music Maker artists in the area. On Tuesday, Tim Duffy and I, along with Tony Young, went out to Boo Hanks' house out in Virgilia, VA. Its always a pleasure to sit down with Boo whenever I can and we played the blues late into the night while the crickets loudly chirped outside the door.

Next day, John Dee Holeman came out to Hillsborough and we played a few tunes with him. It's been amazing to me that only 5 years ago John Dee was just a guy I had heard on a CD. It has been a great honor to have gotten to know him and to also play music with him.

As the week moved on, I geared up to go to Rockbridge, which is a summer music festival out in Buena Vista, VA (pronounced out there be-you-nah vista). I unfortunately couldn't stay the whole weekend but I got to get a good taste of the festivities. It was fitting to go out because this was a festival that Mike Seeger helped to establish and it made me glad to see another piece of his legacy. There were a lot of jams going on out there but I tended to stay toward my friends Hugh and Anastastia's place. The group of folks around that camp comprise several great groups, Skeedaddle, The Eno River Islanders and Acme Swing Manufacturing Company among them. Oh, what a time!

THANKS TO CAT'S CRADLE, MT. PLEASANT AND HAMPSTEAD!
But, I'm not going to leave out the biggest reason I was in NC -- to play some shows!! First, we played on the WKNC 88.1 in Raleigh promoting the Cat's Cradle show. Hopefully we'll be able to access the show soon because it was recorded on tape and video. I'm sure that the radio helped out because the next night at the Cradle was packed out. A lot of good friends came out to support us and it was a wonderful line-up. John Dee Holeman (with backup by Tim Duffy & myself) as usual was wonderful and he got the crowd whipped up into a frenzy. Next, Greg Humphreys smoothed the crowd with an acoustic set while having Justin join him on a few numbers. After that, it was our turn to play and we played a hometown set like you wouldn't believe. We were all so glad that so many came out to support us in the place that we started. Thanks, everyone!

Next day, it was back in the van for our next show opening up for Ricky Skaggs at Boone Hall Plantation in Mount Pleasant, SC. Rhiannon and I got to spend a little time jamming and then we took the stage. We finished up and had enough time watch a little bit of Ricky Skaggs before heading back to NC that same night where we listened to the soundtrack of "Avenue Q" and Tom Waits' "Frank's Wild Years."

And after a week of Boo Hanks, John Dee and the lovely Rockbridge fest, I took the trip from Buena Vista, VA all the way down to Hampstead, NC (which is near Wilmingtion, NC) to a show with the group at Topsail High School for the premiere of the new auditorium. The show went wonderfully, though I was dead tired. After the show, we all stayed at house on the beach which was just breathtaking. As the sun came up it was off to Ferrington Village in Pittsboro to do a show for the NC libraries. We shared the night with a number of authors as well as the band, The Midtown Dickens. After that, I hit the hotel and it was on Monday morning I took a plane to NYC.

UPCOMING SHOWS IN COLUMBIA AND ST. LOUIS, MO
The next bit of traveling for the group will be going to Columbia, MO for the Roots 'N" BBQ festival on September 25th, where will be sharing the bill with such acts as Dan Tyminksi, the Steeldrivers, The Blind Boys of Alabama, Junior Brown, Music Maker Revue and many many more. After that, we'll be in St. Louis to play at Off Broadway on the 26th.



As for me, I'm going to be doing a CD release party for the reissue of the Red Fox Chasers on the bill with John Cohen and Peter Stampfel on the 17th. On the 20th, I will also be playing at the opening of the New England Folk Music Archives in Boston where I will be on the bill with Jim Kweskin, Geoff Muldaur and Jonatha Brooke. It should be a great time! Well, that's it for now, folks! Till next time!

-Dom



Photo by Andi Rice

Hello folks, Dom Flemons here giving you the scoop on the last few weeks here on the Carolina Chocolate Drops' return to the road.

Our first venture on the road was playing at the Ramshead in Balitimore opening up for Donna the Buffalo. It had rained quite a bit but fortunately the die-hards came out to support our bands.

Next stop was Washington DC to be a part of the Indian Summer Showcase for the Museum of The American Indian. We joined the George Leach Band, The Rez Blues All-Starz and Corey Harris to make an action packed evening that has been captured on video. Thanks to the Museum for putting this show up online. Enjoy it folks (see below)!

It was also a great pleasure to be visited by the Malian Jali Cheick Hamala Diabate who lives in Washington. It was almost a reunion of the Centrum Country Blues Week with Corey, Cheick and myself all in one room.

I took the train back to NYC for another gig I had at the Jalopy Theater with Ken Waldman and the East River String Band. What a time!

As the next weekend rolled on, we played at the American Tobacco Warehouse in Durham. Man, the place was packed. We were all surprised to see how many folks came out to represent NC at the show. We thank you so much for the support, Durham!

Next night I stayed around the Durham area to participate in the Warehouse Blues Show for Music Maker. The show had Boo Hanks and George Higgs as the headliners and I backed them both up. If you've never heard these two amazing musicians pleas look up their CDs on musicmaker.org.

Then, it was off to Greensboro with the whole group where we did a workshop talking about the group's history and the music followed by a show later in the afternoon. We played the bill with the Hushpuppies and the Apple Chill Cloggers. It was so good to play next to some of our favorite North Carolina musical acts. I also got to smoke pipes with Steve Terrill.

Finally, I had my 27th birthday on the 30th of Aug, and what better way to spend it than getting a portrait done on Times Square and going to the Off-Broadway Production of The Toxic Avenger: The Musical. Wow! What an amazing show!

A release that features our group is the documentary, Always Been A Rambler: The New Lost City Ramblers Story about the influential string bands of the 60's and who were also great influence on our group.

Well, folks, that's it for the updates -- we've got a very big hometown show coming up at the legendary Cat's Cradle this Saturday, the 5th. Tickets are selling fast in advance, so make sure to get yours here. This is a big show and you won't want to miss it!!

..

We are so excited to be back out on the road!

We're starting off with a few shows close to home that we're really excited about.

This week, we'll be in Durham at the American Tobacco Campus on Thurs, Aug 27th and then in Greensboro @ the Festival Park Stage on Saturday, the 29th.

Then, we've got a BIG show at the Cat's Cradle in Carrboro on the 5th -- and we really need your help spreading the word!! If you live in or around Chapel Hill, Raleigh, Durham or Greensboro, please send an email with your mailing address to Stephanie by clicking here, and she will send you some posters.

For more tools to help spread the word about this show and others, like printable fliers and web banners, click over to our new street team page!

Hope to see you soon.

-the Carolina Chocolate Drops