Carolina Chocolate Drops

Leaving Eden, the new album by the Grammy-winning Carolina Chocolate Drops, moves beyond the old-time fiddle and banjo combo perfected on Genuine Negro Jig with the addition of a beatboxer and a cellist. The scholarly approach to creating music that The Drops have exhibited, often referencing string and jug bands from the ‘20s and ‘30s, makes the band’s transition towards modernity even more apparent. The Drops strive to create music that is “ever-evolving” and the new album has certainly achieved this goal. The track “Country Girl” makes it clear that Southern music can be urbane. Its anthem: “I am a country girl / I been all around the world / And every place I been / Ain’t nothing like living in the South / I wanna shut your mouth”. Enough said. (Appearing at Lincoln Hall on May 5) –text: Hilary Telford