Ellington

Mixing roots with modern music means more to the Carolina Chocolate Drops than blending old and new. The unusual musical group plays songs with ancient-sounding bluegrass tunes and genuine African American string style, but the lyrics are modern and relatable.

The black string band tradition traces its roots to musicians from Africa who came to the Americas in the holds of slave ships. They made anchor instruments out of gourds with a neck and a variety of string combinations. They also devised a number of fiddles. Eventually, black fiddle-players picked up the European violin, adding classical-style fiddle to banjo and percussion.

The Carolina Chocolate Drops' last album, "Genuine Negro Jig," delivers a tasteful mix of good songs, instrumental tracks and even one a capella tune that fiddler and (former opera) singer Rhiannon Giddens sings.

In some of the most upbeat numbers on the album—like "Hit 'Em Up Style" and "Your Baby Ain't Sweet Like Mine"—an unsuspected beat provides percussion. It's actually the voice of Adam Matta, a vocal performer from New York City who joined the band earlier this year.

The group connects to a time when creating music was an escape from sadness and weariness—be it a slow ballad played on the fiddle with light percussion or a foot-tapping, dirt-floor-dancing tune.

"We are able to make a good living, but musically we have lots to cover and lots to explore," Giddens states on the group's website.

The Carolina Chocolate Drops perform at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 10 at the Bettersworth Auditorium at Mississippi State University. To find out more, visit http://www.carolinachocolatedrops.com.