Hubby jenkins, of the Carolina Chocolate Drops, speaks of his path to membership in the band as “my own educational journey.” Jenkins, 27, is fairly new to the group; Carolina Chocolate Drops formed ...

Giddens' banjo and viola are featured on Beyoncé's new country album. We listen back to a 2010 interview and in-studio performance by Giddens and the Carolina Chocolate Drops. This is FRESH AIR. I'm ...

A new North Carolina festival founded by the musician Rhiannon Giddens highlighted Black string music and flaky treats. The culmination of the Biscuits & Banjos ...

Growing up in Flagstaff, Ariz., as an African-American kid in love with prewar American folk music, Dom Flemons knew he was a little weird. He didn't quite know how weird, though, until he went to see ...

Giddens first met Flemons at the Black Banjo Gathering in Boone, N.C., in 2005. The encounter led to visits with mentor Joe Thompson, who lived in Mebane, N.C. Thompson, who was 86 at the time, had ...

Beyoncé's highly anticipated country album, Cowboy Carter, is out today. One of the musicians on it is fiddle and banjo player Rhiannon Giddens. We'll listen to our 2010 in-studio performance with the ...

When the Carolina Chocolate Drops, who are playing tonight at Appalachian State University, perform for schoolchildren, they always ask the kids where they think the banjo comes from, and they always ...

The Chicot Cheetahs Stringband is getting ready to jam. The group's six members -- Ethan Judge, 11, mandolin; Genesis Starks, 10, vocals; Zayden Basir, 10, vocals; Ra ...

This is FRESH AIR. I'm David Bianculli. Beyonce's new country album, "Cowboy Carter," was released today. A single from the album, "Texas Hold 'Em," went straight to No. 1 on Billboard's Hot Country ...

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