About the Band
Photo credits: John Maeder
 
Four-string banjo, guitar, harmonica, jug, kazoo, voice
Native Arizonan Flemons is a true modern “Songster”, engaging audiences from the green Carolinas to the ruddy Southwest with personalized interpretations of folk, blues, early jazz and rock, country, and original material. Where else can you hear Ma Rainey, the Beatles and the Band in one pyrotechnic set? Born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona, Dom is a consummate showman, dazzling audiences with his slide banjo technique and animated presentation. |
 
voice, fiddle, five-string banjo
A product of the Carolina piedmont, Rhiannon is equally at home as a caller at a contra dance or soloist in a concert hall. From a musical family, Ms. Giddens has her degree in voice from Oberlin Conservatory, and has carried her gift of song from the Ohio public schools to festivals such as the Hebridean Celtic Festival in Stornoway, Scotland and events from Canada to the Carolinas. Inspired by the string traditions of her native Carolina, Rhiannon is following in the footsteps of Joe Thompson and Etta Baker. Rhiannon also plays strings and sings with her Celtic band Gaelywnd, and works wiith other great musicians such as the Elftones, Footloose, Cathy Ann MacPhee and Zan McLeod. www.rhisong.com |
 
five-string banjo, ukulele, percussion, voice
Sule brings over thirty years of folk and world music experience to Sankofa Strings. From his school days as a dancer and drummer in his native Washington, DC, to artist’s residencies in Hermosillo, Mexico and Antrim, Northern Ireland, Sule Wilson brings “spirit, expertise, commitment, and, above all, his feisty intelligence” to all he does. Versed in folkways from Bolivia to Belfast, Cape Town to the Crescent City, Wilson has performed with Nigerian percussionst Babatunde Olatunji, post-bluegrass banjoist Tony Trischka, Malian Jali Cheikh Hamala Diabate, and sat at the feet of such noted string players as Howard Armstrong, Joe Thompson, Algia Mae Hinton, John Jackson and Mike Seeger. www.drumpath.net |
Guests
 
fiddle
Justin Robinson is the fiddler of the Carolina Chocolate Drops, as well as upstart banjo and fife player and joins Sankofa Strings on many gigs. Growing up in a house full of musicians, his mother is a classically trained opera singer and cellist, sister a classical pianist, and grandfather a harmonica player, it would have been next to impossible to not to play an instrument in such a household. He played classical violin from the age of 9 to 13 and recently became interested in Bluegrass and Old Time fiddle music and decided to try his hand at Old Time music. He met the legendary Joe Thompson, as well as the other Sankofa Strings members, at the Black Banjo Gathering in Boone. He is interested specifically in the Piedmont music of North and South Carolina, Revolutionary War music, and Fife and Drum tradition of African-Americans in the Deep South. |
 
voice
Lalenja Harrington is a lover of words and music. She has been singing with her family for as long as she can remember, and loves folk, jazz, blues, old time and any other genre that speaks to the heart. Lalenja gained invaluable experience singing as a second alto with the Princeton Tigerlilies, an a capella group, and as a result has developed an affinity for that “thumping base line.” As a word lover, Lalenja has spent time on the “slam” poetry scene, competing at many regional venues across the east coast, and at the national level in 1992. Since then, her goal has been to enjoy writing for writing’s sake. Performing with Sankofa Strings feeds her soul. |
 
feet
Justin has been dancing since April of 2005, and has wowed the crowds in Boone, Greensboro, and Carrboro, North Carolina. He attends Jesse Wharton Elementary school, and practices Tae Kwan Do at Flex Tae Kwan Do, where he is a yellow belt. He also enjoys playing basketball, video games, and donning a cape and mask as his favorite super-hero. |
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