Dom Flemons: Discovering 100 Years of American Roots Music + Concert

🚪 4 PM — Program Doors

🪕 5 PM — Discovering 100 Years of American Roots Music

🍽️ 6 PM — Community Potluck / Concert Doors

🎤 7 PM — Dom Flemons in Concert

🎟️ Program $20 · Concert $30 · Full Evening $40 suggested

👨‍👩‍👧 Under 18 FREE with an accompanying adult — reserve a youth ticket

🪑 Limited to 100 people for the 5 PM program and 100 for the 7 PM concert

Reserve now: pay online (Eventbrite fees apply), or choose Cash at Door and make your suggested donation in cash when you arrive.

Part of Prairie Sound, presented by Crossroads Cultural Connections with support from Live Music Society.

Spend an extraordinary evening with GRAMMY winner Dom Flemons

Join us at Bishop Hill Creative Commons on Sunday, December 13, for a special afternoon and evening with GRAMMY-winning musician, American Banjo Hall of Famer, and celebrated American roots music historian Dom Flemons.

Come for the 5 PM program, the 7 PM concert, or experience the entire evening—including our community potluck between the two. This event is part of Prairie Sound, a special artist residency and community music series presented by Crossroads Cultural Connections with support from Live Music Society.

Choose your experience

5 PM Program Only — $20 suggested donation

7 PM Concert Only — $30 suggested donation

Full Evening: Program + Concert — $40 suggested donation

Anyone under 18 attends FREE when accompanied by an adult.

Space is limited to 100 people for the program and 100 people for the concert. Please reserve a spot for everyone attending, including those under 18. Choose one reservation per person: Program Only, Concert Only, or Full Evening. If attending both, choose Full Evening—you do not need two separate reservations.

Payment choices: Pay online using an Adult ticket; Eventbrite fees are added at checkout. Or choose Cash at Door to reserve without online payment and make your suggested donation when you arrive. Cash reservations appear as Free because no payment is collected online. Anyone under 18 should use the appropriate Under 18 FREE ticket and attend with an adult who has their own reservation.

5 PM — Discovering 100 Years of American Roots Music

Part performance, part musical history, and part conversation, this special program takes audiences on a journey through more than a century of American music, folklore, instruments, and stories.

GRAMMY winner and American Banjo Hall of Famer Dom Flemons will share music and history from his remarkable repertoire covering more than 100 years of American folklore, ballads, and tunes.

Known as “The American Songster,” Flemons will explore the wide range of musical influences that have shaped his career while diving deeper into his process of discovering, learning, and carrying forward American musical traditions.

Along the way, he'll demonstrate and discuss instruments including banjo, guitar, rhythm bones, and quills and introduce audiences to some of the lesser-known folk heroes whose contributions have helped shape American culture.

This program isn't just for musicians.

No instrument or previous musical experience is required.

Musicians will gain insight into Dom's instruments, repertoire, and creative process, but the program is equally suited for history lovers, students, educators, families, songwriters, folk and roots music fans, and anyone curious about the people and stories behind American music.

Come ready to listen, learn, ask questions, and discover some of the remarkable musical threads woven through American history.

6 PM — Community Potluck/Social Hour

After the program, we'll open the doors for our traditional Bishop Hill Creative Commons community potluck.

Bring a main dish, appetizer, dessert, or drink to share if you'd like, grab a plate, meet some new people, and enjoy an hour together before the concert. We'll provide plates, bowls, silverware, napkins, and serving utensils.

Don't have time to bring anything? Come anyway.

Potluck participation is optional, and bringing food is never required.

7 PM — Dom Flemons in Concert

After spending the afternoon discovering the stories behind the music, experience it live.

GRAMMY winner, American Banjo Hall of Famer, and founding member of the Carolina Chocolate Drops Dom Flemons has spent his career exploring more than a century of American musical traditions.

His performances move between folk, blues, country, old-time, bluegrass, and traditional music, combining exceptional musicianship with stories, history, humor, and an extraordinary collection of instruments.

At Bishop Hill Creative Commons, you'll experience it all in an intimate listening-room setting with no more than 100 people.

Make an evening of it

The program and concert are designed to complement one another, but you are welcome to attend either independently.

Come at 5 PM and discover where the music came from.

Stay at 6 PM and share a meal with the community.

Then experience the music live at 7 PM.

Program — $20 suggested donation
Concert — $30 suggested donation
Full Evening — $40 suggested donation (Save $10 when you reserve the Full Evening)

Under 18 — FREE with an accompanying adult

Whether you join us for one portion or spend the entire evening with us, we hope you'll be part of this special experience.

About Prairie Sound

This event is part of Prairie Sound, a special artist residency and community music initiative presented by Crossroads Cultural Connections at Bishop Hill Creative Commons with support from Live Music Society.

Prairie Sound expands what can happen when world-class touring musicians visit a rural community.

Rather than simply bringing an artist to town for a concert, the series creates opportunities for artists to spend meaningful time in our region—sharing their knowledge, working with students and musicians, leading programs and workshops, and connecting directly with the community.

The goal is simple:

Don't just hear great music. Discover the people, stories, traditions, and ideas behind it.

About Bishop Hill Creative Commons

Bishop Hill Creative Commons is an intimate, all-ages arts and live music space in historic Bishop Hill, Illinois, operated by the nonprofit Crossroads Cultural Connections.

Crossroads Cultural Connections works to bring meaningful, high-quality live music experiences to Henry County and surrounding communities while creating opportunities for artists and audiences to connect in ways rarely possible at traditional concert venues.

Bishop Hill Creative Commons
309 N. Bishop Hill St.
Bishop Hill, Illinois

Support for the Commons

Prairie Sound is made possible with support from Live Music Society.

Crossroads Cultural Connections is supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council Agency, through federal funds provided by the National Endowment for the Arts, Illinois Humanities, the Doris and Ken Kolb Charitable Trust, Big Bluestem Wind, Avangrid, and generous donors like you! To learn more about how you can help visit: https://www.xroadscc.org/support-us.