About the Artist
GRAMMY Award Winner, Two-Time EMMY Nominee, 2019 WAMMIE Award Winner- Dom Flemons is originally from Phoenix, Arizona and currently lives in Silver Spring, MD with his wife and daughter. He is known as “The American Songster” since his repertoire of music covers over 100 years of American folklore, ballads, and tunes. Flemons is a tradition bearer, songwriter, music scholar, record collector, multi-instrumentalist, producer and actor. He is considered an expert player on the Banjo, Fife, Guitar, Harmonica, Jug, Percussion, Quills, and Rhythm Bones. In 2018, Flemons released an album titled “Dom Flemons Presents Black Cowboys” on GRAMMY Award-winning record label Smithsonian Folkways and received a GRAMMY Nomination for “Best Folk Album” at the 61st GRAMMY Awards. This recording is part of the African American Legacy Recordings series, co-produced with the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C.
Artist's Statement
The applicant was inspired to present an album that celebrates the achievements and the legacy of the black cowboys and pioneer women of the Old West who helped build the United States of America. He decided to partner with Smithsonian Folkways and the National Museum of African American History and Culture to cement this part of a vibrant American story through the form of music, poetry, tin type photography, and a 40 page booklet. Now, a year after its release the reverberations of black cowboys in contemporary culture is being widely embraced on the local, national and international level.
