Black Fiddlers

[1][2] The documentary features African American fiddlers such as David Roberts, Earl White, and Rhiannon Giddens, who share their individual journeys as well as their music, and commentary from local historians and academics.

Eston, like his brother Madison, left his Virginia home in Charlottesville and settled in Ohio in the early 1840s, where he passed as white and led a band.

Black Fiddlers is also anchored in the legacy of Joe Thompson and his first cousin Odell, two of the last known musicians to carry on this rich tradition and who served as mentors and inspiration to present day performers like Rhiannon Giddens and The Carolina Chocolate Drops.

In the process, the film examines how the music played by African American fiddlers evolved in different parts of the United States, from Harlem, New York, to Oregon, and highlights the influence of Creole and Cajun culture on Black musicians such as Cedric Watson in New Orleans.

The narratives in "Black Fiddlers" are enriched by testimonials from several experts and performers, including Rhiannon Giddens and Justin Robinson of the Carolina Chocolate Drops, academic folklorist Kip Lornell, Iris Chapman Thompson, Henrique Prince, Marshall Wyatt, David Roberts, Earl White, John Jeremiah Sullivan, Howard L. Sacks and Jody Rose Sacks, Beverly Grey, and Terry Jenoure.