Music on the Porch Concert with Hubby Jenkins of the Carolina Chocolate Drops and Steve Kruger

Multi-instrumentalist Hubby Jenkins honed his craft busking up in New York, but the songs he became most interested in came straight from the South. Drawn to blues recordings by the likes of Howlin’ Wolf, Robert Johnson, Reverend Gary Davis, and Blind Willie Johnson, Jenkins explored the southern roots of American popular music. He performed all across the blues and roots scene, recording many a YouTube instructional video in the process. Jenkins met Dom Flemons of the Carolina Chocolate Drops at a recording session with Blind Boy Paxton (who will perform at the Center on April 8th), and the two kept in touch. When the Chocolate Drops found themselves down a musician after fiddler Justin Robinson’s amicable departure from the group, they asked Jenkins to come try a few tunes with them. Jenkins’ talents and background proved an excellent fit for the Grammy Award-winning Chocolate Drops’ evolving sound, and he has been an integral member of the group since early 2011. Jenkins plays primarily guitar, but also banjo, mandolin, and percussion. He is passionate about Thirties jazz as well as country blues.

Another multi-instrumentalist, Steve Kruger is most well known for his fiddle playing in old time, roots, and other genres. Kruger is a folklorist who trained at UNC-Chapel Hill, and he has moderated a Music on the Porch concert here not too long ago. We are glad to have him back to play this time!

Cece Conway will introduce the concert and provide context for the music. A well-known scholar of traditional music, and especially banjo music, Dr. Conway is key to North Carolina’s Black Banjo Gatherings in the western part of the state, and to keeping traditional music alive for contemporary audiences.

This concert is cosponsored by the Banjo Roots Project of the National Endowment for the Arts, and by the Questell Foundation.