By Cameron Lee
April 27, 2025
The original members of the Grammy Award-winning, North Carolina-based, genre-blending old-time string band Carolina Chocolate Drops reunited for the first time in over a decade at the Biscuits & Banjos Festival in Durham over the weekend. Their sound, which modernized African American folk music rooted in the Piedmont region of North Carolina, was founded by members Dom Flemons, Rhiannon Giddens, and Justin Robinson. Combining traditional instruments like banjo and fiddle with bones, jug, kazoo, and beatboxing, they created a style that resonated across multiple genres.
The group’s roots trace back to the Black Banjo Gathering in 2005 in Boone, where they met the legendary North Carolina fiddler Joe Thompson, who took the young musicians under his wing, teaching them his families time-honored songs. With frequent jam sessions at Thompson’s home in Mebane, Carolina Chocolate Drops were formed, dedicated to preserving a musical legacy at risk of being lost.
The trio released their debut album, Dona Got a Ramblin’ Mind, blending Appalachian string band music with elements of African American folk and blues. After signing to Nonesuch Records in 2009, the band released Genuine Negro Jig the following year, winning a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Folk Album. Best known for its reimagining of Blu Cantrell’s early 2000s hit “Hit ‘Em Up Style (Oops!),” the album raised significant awareness about African American folk traditions, particularly from the Appalachian region.
Spanning multiple genres, it attracted a wide-ranging audience while sparking conversations about race, history, and identity in American music. They went on to perform at prestigious festivals and venues such as the Newport Folk Festival, the Grand Ole Opry, Bonnaroo, and MerleFest, and were inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame in 2016.
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The Biscuits & Banjos Festival, a three-day event held from April 25-27 in Durham and curated by the Grammy and Pulitzer Prize-winning Giddens, featured not only performances but also workshops and discussions about regional Black music history. The festival reunited all of the original Carolina Chocolate Drops members — Giddens, Flemons, and Robinson — along with longtime collaborators and former bandmates Sule Greg Wilson, Hubby Jenkins, and Leyla McCalla, culminating in a large group performance of “Sourwood Mountain.”
Other notable performers throughout the weekend included legendary blues artist Taj Mahal, jazz virtuoso Christian McBride, country singer Rissi Palmer, folk musician Amythyst Kiah, Southern Gothic artist Adia Victoria, and the sibling R&B/soul group Infinity Song.
You can learn more about Biscuits & Banjos Festival and the Carolina Chocolate Drops from their official website.
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