MC Poster_2015_2a (1)

by Connie Leinbach  and  Peter Vankevich

To watch the video and listen to Waterbound, click link below. 

Molasses Creek gets its name from one of the beautiful creeks on the Sound side that one can see crossing the island from the Hatteras Inlet to the village,

Molasses Creek. Photo by P. Vankevich
Molasses Creek. Photo by P. Vankevich

It formed in 1993 as a trio of guitarist/vocalist Gary Mitchell, bass player/vocalist Kitty Mitchell, and vocalist/fiddler David Tweedie, better known as “Fiddler Dave.”

For the past several years, they were joined by Marcy Brenner and Lou Castro of Coyote fame after Kitty decided to retire and concentrate on her art.  Gerald Hampton records and plays with the group, but mostly when they go on the road.

Molasses Creek changed personnel this year. Kim France, hailing from Asheville and who plays upright  bass, guitar and sings, joined the group following the departure of Marcy Brenner and Lou Castro at the end of 2014 .

“Kim’s a phenomenal acoustic bass player and a lot of fun to play with,” noted Fiddler Dave. “She brings a jazzy, world music flair on the bass.”

Molasses Creek performing at the 2015 Orcafolk Festival. Photo by P. Vankevich
Molasses Creek performing at the 2015 Orcafolk Festival. Photo by P. Vankevich

The group is noted for founding and hosting the very popular Ocrafolk Festival that occurs during the first weekend in June.  During the summer they present multiple shows each week in the Deepwater Theater along School Road, Wednesday nights with the Ocrafolk Opry and Thursday nights in a stand-alone concert.

The group has just released its latest album “Waterbound,” a mix of original and cover songs.

As good as their recordings are, Molasses Creek fans realize that it is necessary to catch a live show to fully appreciate their infectious sense of humor and love of performing.

Molasses Creek’s songs include folk, traditional bluegrass, and originals, making the band difficult to categorize.

Fuller arrangements that include mandolin and lead guitar also mark both 1996’s “Wildheart” and 1998’s “Citybound.”

In 2000, Molasses Creek was invited to be one of six contestants on Prairie Home Companion’s Talent from Towns under Two Thousand, where they won second place.

In 2013, they were ranked in the national top 10 in folk music across the United States with their new CD “An Island Out of Time.”  It was the fifth most played album on the folk radio scene and they were the No. 9 artist, based on 13,326 air plays from 150 different DJs across the United States.

They have released 12 CDs that can be found in many shops on Ocracoke or purchased on their website. Fiddler Dave has also released two solo albums.

To get more info on Molasses Creek, go to http://www.molassescreek.com/home

Listen to “Waterbound” :

 

Here is the production team for this video:

Director: Andrea Tani
Assistant Director : Alex Marton
Production Assistant: Anna Rose
Edited by Zerotarget

Previous articleSenate budget targets Ocracoke
Next article‘A Tale of Blackbeard’ is on the boards in Ocracoke School