This week in Philly music, Dom Flemons plays City Winery. And Taylor Swift drops ‘Tortured Poets Department’ right in time for Record Store Day.
Plus: Jon Langford and Sally Timmes, Michael Hurley and Shannen Moser, and more.
Dom Flemons won a Grammy back in 2011 for the Carolina Chocolate Drops’ album Genuine Negro Jig, and he’s been nominated for two more as a solo artist, for 2018′s Black Cowboys and last year’s Traveling Wildfire.
The singer, scholar, and multi-instrumentalist playing City Winery Philadelphia on Thursday has trademarked the moniker “The American Songster” and made a fruitful career of bringing Black roots music history back to life.
Talking from his home outside Chicago, Flemons, who grew up in Arizona, says he was drawn to the “songster” term because like prototypical songster Mance Lipscomb, “my musical style went beyond just being a blues singer, or a folksinger, or a country artist. It’s a hodgepodge, and I didn’t want to limit myself.”
Flemons finds inspiration in early 20th-century musicians “who were playing before the birth of the recording industry,” and was struck by the similarities “to 21st-century listeners, and how they’re less inhibited by genre.”
Of course, the pop music superstar making genre-busting moves in the Black country space these days is Beyoncé, whose duet with Miley Cyrus “II Most Wanted” features steel guitarist Matthew Pynn, who also played on Traveling Wildfire’s lead track, “Slow Dance With You.”
Cowboy Carter is a bright lights moment for the Black country and roots music that Flemons has been advocating for, going back to Dona Got a Ramblin’ Mind, the Chocolate Drops’ 2006 debut.
Increased visibility is everywhere, from Black Opry Revue concert tours to a forthcoming tribute album to Black songwriter Alice Randall.
Flemons recently appeared on an episode of Celebrity Family Feud scheduled to air this summer, joining The War & the Treaty, Valerie June, Rissi Palmer, and South Jersey-raised country rapper Breland. The Americana artists faced off against Earth, Wind & Fire.
“It was a blast,” Flemons says, but won’t reveal the victor. “It was a nail-biter, I’ll tell you that.”
Flemons, who will perform solo at City Winery playing guitar, banjo, rhythm bones, and hand pipe quills, is cautiously optimistic that the Cowboy Carter spotlight will have a positive effect on under-the-radar Black roots music acts.
“The way it’s raising awareness is a very good thing,” he says. “And it’s been great to see the audience advocating for Black country music as well. We’ll just have to see what the long-term effect is.”
Dom Flemons at the Loft at City Winery Philadelphia, 990 Filbert St., at 7:30 p.m. Thursday. $20-$30. citywinery.com/philadelphia.
The big pop show in Philly this week is Bad Bunny at the Wells Fargo Center, which will happen either Thursday or Friday, depending on whether the Sixers defeat the Miami Heat Wednesday. Read all about that here.
The other mega-pop news dwarfing anything that stands in its way: Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department, which comes out Friday.
That’s the day before Record Store Day, and while Swift does not have an RSD exclusive, she is releasing various vinyl and CD versions of the album that contains bonus tracks “The Manuscript” and “The Bolter.” So expect Philly area shops — and Target, which has exclusive Tortured Poets editions — to be full up of Swifties on Friday.
Pop events happening Friday with somewhat less mainstream appeal than Swift include Michael Hurley, the Bucks Country-raised octogenarian songwriter whose most recent album, The Time of the Foxgloves, was released on the Philly label No Quarter. Simpatico Philly songwriter Shannen Moser opens for him at Johnny Brenda’s.
Also Friday, Lucha Libre mask-wearing guitar band Los Straitjackets play World Cafe Live, with Creem Circus opening, and Replacements cofounder Tommy Stinson plays Anchor Rock Club in Atlantic City. Jon Langford & Sally Timms, the dependably brilliant Chicago indie twosome who are members of the UK punk legendary band, the Mekons, will play at an undisclosed location in Manayunk. Details at tickettailor.com.
And if you can’t make that Langford-Timms gig, there’s another free one for Record Store Day at Main Street Music in Manayunk on Saturday. Philly power pop band Hurry — just back from a European tour — is on the bill, as are Tim House and Ivan Julian.
In other Record Store Day news, participating stores like Siren Records in Doylestown, Common Beat in West Philly, and Repo Records on South Street will be selling limited-edition RSD vinyl.
Besides high-profile sets like the Lou Reed tribute The Power of the Heart, which features Keith Richards and Rosanne Cash, there are several Philly releases. There are exclusive sets from Dead Milkmen, Lil Uzi Vert, G. Love & Special Sauce, Schoolly D, Todd Rundgren, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, and Sun Ra.