Dom Flemons

Grammy winner Dom Flemons is a songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer, actor, music scholar, and historian. He is known as “the American Songster,” and his repertoire covers more than 100 years of early American popular music. He was the cofounder of the groundbreaking Carolina Chocolate Drops, the first Black string band to win a Grammy, and he is an expert player on banjo, guitar, harmonica, jug, percussion, quills, fife, and rhythm bones.

Originally from Phoenix, Flemons received an honorary doctorate from his alma mater, Northern Arizona University, in 2022 and was the commencement speaker at the graduation ceremony. In 2024, Flemons made history by becoming the first Black artist to win the grand prize for the International Acoustic Music Awards for Traveling Wildfire. He is also the producer and host of the American Songster Radio Show on WSM Radio in Nashville.