Justin Robinson was a founding member of the Carolina Chocolate Drops, one of the few African American string bands. They were centered in Piedmont Carolinas traditional music. I was walking a lunchtime on the NC Capitol Square in Raleigh one day in February 2006. A young man was playing on a park bench. I spoke, and learned he had recently finished school at UNC-Chapel Hill.

He had been one of the founding members of the Chocolate Drops just a couple of months earlier. They went on to win a Grammy for Best Traditional Music Album.

Justin now plays with Justin Robinson and the Mary Annettes

Click here to see Justin on a park bench.