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| Molasses Creek is ready to hit the road! Photo by Justin Casey |
Wow! The last couple of weeks sure have been exciting! The news came down the pipeline that our new album, "An Island Out of Time", reached #5 position for the national folk charts for March 2012, and the Molasses Creek band the #9 Artist position. You can read all about it in the article below by Connie Leinbach. Also in March, Molasses Creek received the 2012 Hyde County Tourism Award honoring the band's 19 years of music making, festival producing, and spreading the word about Ocracoke Island to the rest of the world.
Right now, we are scurrying about getting ready to leave on our Northeast Tour this Friday. Here are our dates. Hope everyone will spread the word and come on out to the performances!
Friday, April 20 ~ Martin Arts Council, Williamston, NC
Saturday, April 21 ~ Shady Grove Coffeehouse, Glen Allen, VA
Sunday, April 22 ~ The Washington Theatre, Washington, VA
Wednesday, April 25 ~ Johnny D's, Somerville, MA
Thursday, April 26 ~ South Congregational Church, Granby, CT
Friday, April 27 ~ Chandler Center for the Arts, Randolph, VT
Saturday, April 28 ~ Caffe Lena, Saratoga Springs, NY
Saturday, April 21 ~ Shady Grove Coffeehouse, Glen Allen, VA
Sunday, April 22 ~ The Washington Theatre, Washington, VA
Wednesday, April 25 ~ Johnny D's, Somerville, MA
Thursday, April 26 ~ South Congregational Church, Granby, CT
Friday, April 27 ~ Chandler Center for the Arts, Randolph, VT
Saturday, April 28 ~ Caffe Lena, Saratoga Springs, NY
Tuesday, May 1 ~ Residency in Delmar Public Schools, Delmar, NY
Wednesday, May 9 ~ Institute of Musical Traditions, Takoma Park, MD
Wednesday, May 9 ~ Institute of Musical Traditions, Takoma Park, MD
Saturday-Sunday, May 12-13 ~ Molasses Creek at the Lake Eden Arts Festival, Swannanoa, NC
Sunday, May 13 ~ Mountain Spirit Coffeehouse, Asheville,
NC
Tuesday, May 15 ~ Blue Ridge Community College, Hendersonville, NC. Details TBA
Molasses Creek band of Ocracoke Island, NC Hits the National Charts!
Article by Connie Leinbach
Molasses Creek, the
contemporary folk band from Ocracoke, in March was ranked in the national top
10 in folk music across the United States. Their new CD “An
Island Out of Time,” was the fifth most played album on the folk radio scene
and they were the No. 9 artist, based on 13,326 airplays form 150 different
deejays across the United States.
This is the first
time Molasses Creek has submitted an album for national release, noted David Tweedie,
fiddler for the band.“We’re hoping this
effort will help us to the next level of touring,” he said.
Last year, the group
met with Kari Estrin, a radio promotion manager from Nashville, Tenn., to
explore ways they could boost their national presence. Estrin, who has
helped guide the careers of several famous folk artists,
But first, they had
to re-master and repackage it. So, “Catharsis,”
their CD issued last summer, was renamed “An Island Out of Time.” Over the winter, the
band re-recorded the songs, re-designed the cover, and by mid-February, sent it
out across the land so that it would begin airplay March 1.
Last week, the band
learned that the album was number five on the charts.
In addition, two of
their songs are in the top 20: “Mississippi Sawyer” and “Scat Reel Set,” both written by
Tweedie. “It’s a Sin to Tell A
Lie,” a classic swing song, sung by band member Lou Castro, also is on the
charts.“Selchie's Joy Waltz” has also been praised by several
deejays.
The band is in the
company of one of the favorite bands to play at the Ocrafolk Fest every year,
The Steel Wheels, who is No. 2 on the top artists list and who also will
headline at this year’s Ocrafolk Festival, a free arts and music festival June 1
to 3, along School Road and Howard Street.
This recent promotion
has translated to a couple of better gigs in their upcoming tour later this
month in New England. Their tour will
travel to Virginia, Boston, Connecticut, Vermont and eastern New York. Later this spring, they will play at
the Institute of Musical Tradition in Washington, D.C., and later this summer
at the Floyd Fest, in Floyd, Va.
Also in March, the
Hyde County Chamber at their annual dinner in Engelhard, presented Molasses
Creek with its 2012 tourism award. ”Everywhere we go,
people know them and the Ocrafolk Fest,” said Melissa Joyner, chamber executive
director. “We just thought it was
well deserved and we wanted to acknowledge all that they do for tourism here.”
Molasses
Creek is composed of Gary Mitchell, guitar and vocals, Marcy Brenner, mandolin
and vocals, David Tweedie, fiddle and vocals, Lou Castro, guitar, dobro, bass
and vocals, and Gerald Hampton, bass.
Their CD can be found in many shops on Ocracoke.
The following list
shows their recent ranking:
TOP ARTISTS OF MARCH
2012
Compiled by Richard
Gillmann from FOLKDJ-L
Based on 13,326
airplays from 150 different DJs
1. The Chieftains
2. The Steel Wheels
3. Dave Carter And
Tracy Grammer
4. Sarah McQuaid
5. Carolina Chocolate
Drops
6. Mariel Vandersteel
7. Drew Nelson
8. West Of Eden
9.
Molasses Creek
10. Red Molly
11. Altan
12. Emily Pinkerton
13. John McCutcheon
14. Bob Dylan
14. Jackstraw
14. Loretta Hagen
14. The Pines
18. I See Hawks In L.
A.
18. Peggy Seeger
18. Steve Gillette
And Cindy Mangsen
21. Cathy Fink And
Marcy Marxer
22. Johnny Cash
23. Lara Herscovitch
24. Jack Hardy
25. Lester Flatt And
Earl Scruggs
25. Mary Black
25. The Refugees
28. Carrie Newcomer
28. Darrell Scott
28. Tim O'Brien
31. Cary Cooper
31. Lowen And Navarro
33. Gillian Welch
33. Greg Brown
33. Lyle Lovett
36. Joe Crookston
37. Anais Mitchell
37. Peter Mulvey
39. Cathy Jordan
39. Dennis Warner
39. Leonard Cohen
39. Richard Shindell
39. Truckstop
Honeymoon
The following are the top folk songs in March:
1. "Breaking Like The Sun"
by The Steel Wheels
from "Lay Down, Lay Low"
2. "Rain In The Valley"
by The Steel Wheels
from "Lay Down, Lay Low"
3. "Hard Edge Of Livin"
by Dave Carter And Tracy
Grammer
from "Little Blue
Egg"
3. "Way Over Yonder In The Minor
Key"
by Dave Carter And Tracy Grammer
from "Little Blue
Egg"
5. "Mud And Stone"
by Loretta Hagen
from "Mud And Stone"
6. "Halfway To Heaven"
by The Steel Wheels
from "Lay Down, Lay Low"
7. "Lay Down Lay Low"
by The Steel Wheels
from "Lay Down, Lay Low"
7. "Lessons"
by Drew Nelson
from "Tilt-A-Whirl"
7. "Mississippi Sawyer"
by Molasses Creek
from "An Island Out Of
Time"
7. "On She Goes"
by West Of Eden
from "Safe Crossing"
11. "Country Girl"
by Carolina Chocolate Drops
from "Leaving Eden"
11. "Hog And Sheep Going To The
Pasture"
by Mariel Vandersteel
from "Hickory"
11. "Summer Heat"
by Emily Pinkerton
from "Ends Of The Earth"
14. "Amazon"
by Dave Carter And Tracy Grammer
from "Little Blue
Egg"
14. "Bohemian Highway"
by I See Hawks In L. A.
from "New Kind Of Lonely"
14. "Cross Of Jesus"
by Dave Carter And Tracy Grammer
from "Little Blue
Egg"
14. "Darkness"
by Rose Cousins
from "We Have Made A Spark"
14. "Flannery's Dream"
by Mariel Vandersteel
from "Hickory"
14. "Frost Is All Over"
by The Chieftains
from "Voice Of Ages"
14. "Lift You Up And Let You
Fly"
by Sarah McQuaid
from "The Plum Tree
And The Rose"
14. "Pretty Little Girl"
by The Chieftains
from "Voice Of Ages"
14. "Scat Reel Set"
by Molasses Creek
from "An Island Out Of
Time"
14. "Trickle Down"
by Atomic Duo
from "Broadsides"
14. "When The Ship Comes In"
by The Chieftains
from "Voice Of Ages"
25. "Here To There"
by Drew Nelson
from "Tilt-A-Whirl"
25. "May The Twain Ne'er
Meet"
by Jackstraw
from "Sunday Never Comes"
25. "Miner's Bride"
by Karen Dahlstrom
from "Gem State
(EP)"
25. "Promised Land"
by Drew Nelson
from "Tilt-A-Whirl"
25. "Ruby, Are You Mad At Your
Man?"
by Carolina Chocolate Drops
from "Leaving Eden"
25. "Sun Goes On Rising"
by Sarah McQuaid
from "The Plum Tree
And The Rose"
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