Minnesota played a major role in documentary about string band Carolina Chocolate Drops

There’s a moment in the movie “Don’t Get Trouble In Your Mind: The Carolina Chocolate Drops’ Story” that takes place at Hall STEM Academy, a charter elementary in Minneapolis, where the three original band members show off banjos and their musical chops to engaged students.

The Minnesota connections don’t stop there. The documentary, now streaming for free on YouTube, wouldn’t have come to life without funding from state sources and the perseverance of a St. Paul filmmaker.

“It took me so long to get this over the finish line,” said director John Whitehead, a former senior producer for TPT, who relied heavily on the St. Paul-based Bush Foundation and the Minnesota State Arts Board for financing.

Whitehead’s journey started with a 2005 visit to the inaugural Black Banjo Gathering in North Carolina, which just happened to be the same festival where the Drops’ founders — Rhiannon Giddens, Dom Flemons and Justin Robinson — met each other. Whitehead was drawn to the future stars and shot footage.

“Dom and Rhiannon were about 30 years younger than everyone else there,” Whitehead said in an interview earlier this week. “And they were really charismatic.”

Whitehead returned to the state in 2006, shortly after the trio had formed a band, accompanying them as they jammed at the house of their mentor, Joe Thompson, and busked on the streets. That was the same year he shot them at the Hall school and the Cedar Cultural Center. But he didn’t have any concrete plans of what to do with the footage. So he sat on it.

Then the Drops blew up.

In 2010, their album, “Genuine Negro Jig,” won a Grammy. They performed at the Bonnaroo Music Festival and on “Prairie Home Companion.” The following year, they were touring with Bob Dylan.

Whitehead realized he had something special. He acquired footage of the Drops on their international tour from Tom Ciaburri, a former intern for the Drops’ management company, and began securing more money.

Much of the $100,000 budget came from the Minnesota State Arts Board ($18,000) and the Bush Foundation ($50,000). To secure the grants, he had to show that the film would have a local impact beyond supporting a single Twin Cities artist.

He recruited Minnesota talent (actor T. Mychael Rambo is the narrator) and used footage from the Drops’ visits to the state. One of the many riveting performances in the film is Flemons’ version of “Milwaukee Blues” at the Minnesota Zoo in 2013.

Whitehead’s deep ties to the band explain why the members are so open in the film about the infighting and artistic differences that would lead to Robinson leaving the group in 2011 and Flemons following suit in 2013.

Whitehead’s original cut, which he showed at a film festival about six years ago, actually included more of the backstage bickering.

“I got some pushback from them,” said Whitehead, 70, whose other documentary work includes “Minnesota: A History of the Land.” “There were like, ‘Do you have to use that?’ I ended up cutting a lot of things. I want them to like it.”

The band seems to be supportive of the finished, 90-minute version, which is also available on Apple+, Tubi and Amazon Prime.

Flemons has played a huge role in marketing the film on social media. Giddens, who won a Pulitzer Prize in 2023, gave the movie a plug last month on Facebook.

“Wow, talk about taking a trip down memory lane,” wrote Giddens, who recently collaborated with Robinson on the album, “What Did the Blackbird Say to the Crow.” “It’s wild to see so much history in one place, and I’m so glad to continue sharing the stories of the Black string band tradition and honoring our mentor, Joe Thompson.”

Whitehead’s relationship with the band members continues. He was on hand in April when the three reunited at the Biscuits & Banjos Festival in Durham, N.C. His footage of the three greeting each other backstage is on YouTube.

“There was no bad blood,” Whitehead said. “Everyone was on their best behavior.”