String Band Music Comes To Napa Valley Opera

Think of traditional African-American music and the genres that come to mind are gospel, blues and jazz; few people think of old-time string band music. But the antebellum combination of banjo and fiddle used to be a tradition in most rural communities in the South.

Recently featured on NPR's "Fresh Air" and "Prairie Home Companion," The Carolina Chocolate Drops honed their skills under the tutelage of octogenarian fiddler Joe Thompson, a North Carolinian said to be the last African-American traditional string band player. Thompson, who grew up playing at barn dances, "frolics" and corn shuckings, wound up performing in venues across the country, including Carnegie Hall.

Coming together to carry on the rich tradition of fiddle and banjo music of the Carolinas' piedmont, The Carolina Chocolate Drops consist of Dom Flemons, whose guitar and jug playing root the band in an infectious rhythm. He plays the harmonica for additional melody. Banjo and fiddle player Rhiannon Giddens, who became inspired by old-time music when she fell into contra dancing after graduation from Oberlin Conservatory of Music and Justin Robinson, the band's primary fiddler. Trained in classical violin, he became interested in bluegrass and old-time fiddle music, as well as the fife and drum tradition of African-Americans in the Deep South. -- www.napavalleyoperahouse.org