Dom Flemons - Traveling Wildfire

"...the roots music scene has been enriched more than most by the signature voice and playing of Dom Flemons. Right from the minute we met I found a kindred soul whose heart beat heavy with America’s song. That beat goes on with this beautiful new album as does Dom's special journey on the scene, one he bolsters just by continuing to explore new terrains with each project" - Keith Secor (Old Crow Medicine Show)

"Dom Flemons’ ability to absorb and synthesize large swaths of musical history is the stuff of legend among other musicians. For Dom to turn around create something so compelling, personal and fundamentally sweet as Traveling Wildfire is a testament to his brilliance." - Rhett Miller (Old 97's)

“Singing love songs with the tenderness of Hank Williams Sr. and conjuring the spirits of Leonard Cohen, Charley Pride, and Johnny Cash, this record honors the influences of Dom Flemons while carrying us gently across pioneer trails seeded with wildflowers and rooted in the honest nature of Mississippi John Hurt. Song to song, through his musicianship and the warmth of his voice listeners can almost hear the crackle of a wildfire burning.” - Valerie June

On March 24, Grammy Award-winning musician Dom Flemons returns with a new album, Traveling Wildfire, on Smithsonian Folkways. Today, download the new track "Tough Luck." 

Traveling Wildfire is Flemons’ most personal album yet as he refocuses on his songwriting—reflecting on his recent epiphanies and spiritual evolution as well as on the current social climate. Across these fifteen tracks—a collection of both originals and new renditions of traditional folk songs—Flemons gently conveys his purposeful message as he addresses fundamental themes of Black love, survival, legacy, and growth, while a sonic atmosphere builds in intensity from a serene and grounded beginning.  

Flemons is a widely celebrated songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer, actor, slam poet, radio host, and music historian who has also been nominated for two Emmy Awards, won the 2020 U.S. Artists Fellowship Award for the Traditional Arts, and collaborated with Steve Cropper, Yo-Yo Ma, Tyler Childers, Old Crow Medicine Show, Billy Strings, Vince Gill, Allison Russell, Taj Mahal, and more. 

The album follows 2018’s Grammy-nominated Black Cowboys, which saw Flemons pay tribute to the music, culture, and complex history of the golden era of the Wild West. “When I was coming up with these particular numbers for Traveling Wildfire, I wanted to have a flavor of very traditional country and Western music that could also reflect the Black experience from my perspective,” Flemons says. “One of the things that I’ve noticed since Black Cowboys is that people are wanting to hear more Black country music that reflects both their culture, environment, and values while still sounding like it’s rooted in tradition.”