Molasses Creek

Well, my son-in-law is famous...or almost famous. Molasses Creek, Ocracoke Island's contemporary folk band (Dave is the fiddler for readers who may not know), was ranked in the national top 10 in folk music across the United States for the month of March.

Their new CD “An Island Out of Time,” was the fifth most played album on the folk radio scene and they were the No. 9 artist, based on 13,326 airplays form 150 different deejays across the United States.

Congratulations to Fiddler Dave, Gary, Marcy, Lou, and Gerald!

This is the first time Molasses Creek has submitted an album for national release.

Recently the band learned that their latest album, “An Island Out of Time,” the re-mastered, repackaged, and renamed “Catharsis” CD (issued last summer) was number five on the charts.
In addition, two of their songs are in the top 20: “Mississippi Sawyer” and “Scat Reel Set,” both written by Fiddler Dave.

An Island Out of Time

“It’s a Sin to Tell A Lie,” a classic swing song, sung by band member Lou Castro, also is on the charts. “Selchie's Joy Waltz” has also been praised by several deejays.

Molasses Creek left Friday for a tour in Virginia and New England.
They will travel to Virginia, Boston, Connecticut, Vermont and eastern New York. Later this spring, they will play at the Institute of Musical Tradition in Washington, D.C., and later this summer at the Floyd Fest, in Floyd, Va.

In March, the Hyde County Chamber presented Molasses Creek with its 2012 tourism award.at their annual dinner in Engelhard.

”Everywhere we go, people know them and the Ocrafolk Fest,” said Melissa Joyner, chamber executive director. “We just thought it was well deserved and we wanted to acknowledge all that they do for tourism here.”

You can visit Molasses Creek on their website at www.molassescreek.com. For bookings, please contact David Tweedie (252) 921-0260 or info@molassescreek.com.

The following list shows their recent ranking:
TOP ARTISTS OF MARCH 2012
Compiled by Richard Gillmann from FOLKDJ-L
Based on 13,326 airplays from 150 different DJs

1. The Chieftains
2. The Steel Wheels
3. Dave Carter And Tracy Grammer
4. Sarah McQuaid
5. Carolina Chocolate Drops
6. Mariel Vandersteel
7. Drew Nelson
8. West Of Eden
9. Molasses Creek
10. Red Molly
11. Altan
12. Emily Pinkerton
13. John McCutcheon
14. Bob Dylan
14. Jackstraw
14. Loretta Hagen
14. The Pines
18. I See Hawks In L. A.
18. Peggy Seeger
18. Steve Gillette And Cindy Mangsen
21. Cathy Fink And Marcy Marxer
22. Johnny Cash
23. Lara Herscovitch
24. Jack Hardy
25. Lester Flatt And Earl Scruggs
25. Mary Black
25. The Refugees
28. Carrie Newcomer
28. Darrell Scott
28. Tim O'Brien
31. Cary Cooper
31. Lowen And Navarro
33. Gillian Welch
33. Greg Brown
33. Lyle Lovett
36. Joe Crookston
37. Anais Mitchell
37. Peter Mulvey
39. Cathy Jordan
39. Dennis Warner
39. Leonard Cohen
39. Richard Shindell
39. Truckstop Honeymoon

Our latest Ocracoke Newsletter is the story of Project Nutmeg, and how Ocracoke almost became a site for testing nuclear weapons. You can read it here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news042112.htm.