Dom Flemons

Dom Flemons
Dom Flemons in September 2021, after a performance at The Barns at Wolf Trap
Dom Flemons in September 2021, after a performance at The Barns at Wolf Trap
Background information
Birth nameDominique Flemons
Born (1982-08-30) August 30, 1982 (age 42)
Phoenix, Arizona, United States
GenresOld-time music, Piedmont blues, Neotraditionalist country
Occupation(s)Multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter
Instrument(s)Banjo, bones, jug, quills,[1] guitar, harmonica, drums, vocals
Years active2000s–present
LabelsVarious

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]

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]

  1. ^ "How to Play Quills with Dom Flemons" – via YouTube.
  2. ^ a b "Dom Flemons – Susquehanna Folk Festival". Susquehannafolkfestival.org. Archived from the original on February 26, 2019. Retrieved February 21, 2019.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Passim was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Country was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ "61st Annual GRAMMY Awards". National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. December 6, 2018. Retrieved February 21, 2019.
  6. ^ "40TH BLUES MUSIC AWARD NOMINATIONS ANNOUNCED". Blues.org. January 7, 2019. Retrieved February 21, 2019.