Cultural Exchange and coming together

Last month, my husband and I went to see two performances at the same theatre two nights in a row. One was seeing the “Carolina Chocolate Drops”(www.carolinachocolatedrops.com), an absolutely wonderful old time African American string band from North Carolina. Yet they are much more than that. This group  which includes a cellist, learned much of their music by listening to, and playing in the company of elders, especially Joe Thompson, who, in his 90’s still mentors them. Through their learning and understanding of the music, they manage in a joyful, high energy and stunningly deep  way, to portray and translate and speak to the complex issues of the day, be it in the late 1920’s or today.

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