Dewey & Leslie Brown and the Carolina Gentlemen will accept the Traditional American Bluegrass CD of the Year award this weekend from the Rural Roots Music Commission in Iowa. The honor is for their debut recording, Under The Mountain, independently released earlier this year.
For 11 years, Dewey was the fiddler with Ralph Stanley & The Clinch Mountain Boys, touring with Dr. Ralph until he died in the summer of 2016. When the Clinch Mountain Boys passed on to Ralph’s son, Brown and his wife, Leslie, purchased a theater in North Carolina where they put on shows, and she manages a talent agency, Southern Belle Booking.
They also launched their own group, the Carolina Gentlemen, determined to continue the mountain music tradition that the great Ralph Stanley exemplified for so long.
This weekend, during the 43rd National Old Time Country Music Festival in LeMars, Iowa, the Browns will accept their award, and perform for the festival attendees.
Bob Everhart, president of the National Traditional Country Music Association, says the Browns epitomize the type of music they hope to see preserved.
“I’ve been listening to the old-style, the Monroe and Stanley Brothers ‘style’ of mountain bluegrass music, for a very very long time. This new CD by Dewey & Leslie Brown is an exact ‘statement’ of how that music sounded, and how it should sound.”
For their part, Dewey and Leslie are humbled by the news of this recognition.
“It’s such an honor to receive this award, and we are ecstatic about the recognition the new album is getting. We want to thank everyone who has been a part of this journey, and we’re so excited to see what the future holds.”
Congratulations to Dewey & Leslie Brown and the Carolina Gentlemen.
