Dewey & Leslie Brown

Bluegrass

Dewey & Leslie Brown are the husband and wife leaders of the band The Carolina Gentlemen. Together they make their home in the Piedmont region and run the Liberty Showcase Theater. They are part of a long line of musicians who serve as keepers of the traditional bluegrass sound.

This was recorded by PineCone in August 2020 for Raleigh’s “virtual” festival held the following month.

Dewey Brown is perhaps best known for his work with the late Dr Ralph Stanley. He played fiddle in Ralph’s band for 11 years. Leslie says she first met Dewey after a Ralph Stanley show.

Both say they grew up with the music. “I give credit to my father who provided me with the opportunity to learn the fiddle at a young age,” said Dewey in a 2018 interview. “We enjoyed countless festivals, picking parties…”

Dewey’s solo albums “Traditional Fiddle” and “Hard Times for a Fiddler” influenced scores of young instrumentalists making their way in bluegrass.

“There is such deep roots in this music that you makes you feel connected to the core of who you are, or that’s how it makes me feel,” said Leslie to The Country Note. “I went to a lot of Bluegrass festivals clogging and square dancing, and that’s how I met Dewey.  He was playing with Dr Ralph and after the show he gave me his business card. We began dating and got married. So we have always shared a love of this music.”

In addition to singing and playing bass in the band, Leslie is an RN, but she left her work in nursing to play music fulltime and work as the MC at the family run Liberty Showcase Theater. “Lemme tell you that scared the hoot out of me,” said Leslie in the PineCone Workshop Stealing the Stage. “My joy is music, and it’s always been based around music. Stepping out in faith, trusting in God. I’m doing that every time I take the stage. It’s a combination of confidence and faith. If there’s something deep down that you really want to do, it can be scary, it was for me, but in the end it became clear that was where God wanted me.”

Dewey & Leslie have performed for PineCone audiences at IBMA’s World of Bluegrass in Raleigh. In 2020 they brought the band down to Raleigh to film a segment for the “virtual” edition of IBMA Bluegrass Live! powered by PNC.

This was recorded live in August, 2020 as a part of the virtual festival IBMA Bluegrass Live! powered by PNC.