Dom Flemons - Prospect Hill (2015) [Official Digital Download]

Known for his work as a founding member of the Grammy-winning Carolina Chocolate Drops, Dom Flemons continues to perform as an accomplished solo musician, pulling from traditions of old-time folk music and Americana to create a sound that feels both classic and fresh for a new generation of listeners.

Phoenix native Flemons picked up the guitar and harmonica as a teenager, eventually becoming a regular performer on the Arizona folk music scene. He spent his early adult years listening to records and discovering his love for blues, jazz, jug bands, country and ‘50s rock ‘n’ roll, taking particular interest in singer-songwriters like Phil Ochs, Pete Seeger, Mississippi John Hurt, and Hank Williams. These influences are heard in his music today.

A multi-instrumentalist, Flemons plays his trademark banjo, guitar, harmonica, fife, bones, drums and quills in addition to singing. His work with the Carolina Chocolate Drops earned the group a Grammy Award for its 2011 album Genuine Negro Jig. They were again nominated for the follow-up record Leaving Eden in 2012. Flemons’ recent solo album, Prospect Hill, explores ragtime, Piedmont blues, spirituals, southern folk music and jug band tunes. The album has received praise from National Public Radio’s “Fresh Air,” The Boston Globe, Paste Magazine and more.

Where the Chocolate Drops focused on one style of music, Flemons takes a broader approach on Prospect Hill, an album that encompasses folk tunes, ragtime, early jazz and rock and roll and fife-and-drum music…

… Flemons' songs may draw heavily from old styles, but Prospect Hill is never locked in the past. 'I've worked a lot of years, trying to balance that,' he says. 'I tried to make sure when I presented songs, I made them as good as the old songs I might try to interpret.'

Prospect Hill is a well-traveled album, with songs set in locales ranging from Arizona to Georgia, from San Francisco to Nashville. 'These are all places that meant something to me,' says Flemons, who lives near Chapel Hill, N.C. (USA Today)

Tracklist:
01. Til the seas run dry
02. Polly put the kettle on
03. But they got it fixed right on
04. Have I stayed away too long?
05. Georgia drumbeat
06. I can't do it anymore
07. Sonoran church two-step
08. Too long (I've been gone)
09. Marching up to Prospect Hill
10. It's a good thing
11. Grotto beat
12. Hot chicken
13. San Francisco baby
14. My money never runs out

Personnel:
Dom Flemons, Vocals, Guitar, Harmonica, Background Vocals
Brian Horton, Clarinet
Keith Ganz, Mike Seeger's 6-String Banjo
Kobie Watkins, Drums, Woodblocks solo
Ron Brendle, Bass
Guy Davis, Guitar
Ben Hunter, Fiddle, Background Vocals
Joe Seamons, Background Vocals
Pura Fé, Background Vocal
Brian Horton, Soprano Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone