City: Durham, North Carolina

Members: Rhiannon Giddens, Dom Flemons, Justin Robinson

Instruments: fiddle, banjo, jug, fyfe, kazoo, bones, guitar, snare drum

I feel giddy right now courtesy of the Carolina Chocolate Drops. This three-piece band from North Carolina just put on one of the most dazzling performances I’ve ever seen. Not to toot my own horn, but I’ve seen my share of performances. Bob Dylan and Tom Petty at ACL, Pearl Jam and Bruce Springsteen at Bonarroo, U2 in Miami, just to name a few. It may seem hyperbolic, but this band really struck a chord with me and in fact, topped the aforementioned performances.

Let’s start with the music: The sound is a blend of old-timey string, Americana, and southern folk. It’s anti-contemporary, and not even my preferred style of music. But I enjoy the fact that they “go there”. This isn’t some novelty act trying to get a quick radio hit. You can sense the passion during their performance, they bleed this music. Between songs they talk about the history of string bands, and pay homage to those that taught them, namely fiddler Joe Thompson. And that is what essentially won me over. There ability to merge music, performance art, and history seamlessly into their act.

The performance: This is a group where everyone does everything. One song had Rhiannon singing, Justin on fiddle, and Dom playing the jug (yes, literally a jug, but one of those old-school jugs you see in westerns). The next song, Dom is singing, Justin is beat boxing, and Rhiannon is dancing- and very well, I might add. During a performance of “Trouble in Your Mind”, Dom demanded the crowd participate by singing along, then assisted by teaching us the proper lines. As the 40 minute show went on, the once quiet “Day Stage Café” transformed into an afternoon “hootenanny”.

For anyone that’s a fan of eclectic music, I implore you to check this band out. Unfortunately my camera battery went dead during a fiery cover of Blu Cantrell’s “Hit’em Up Style”, but here’s a little taste of “Your Baby Ain’t Sweet Like Mine”.