Seventh generation ballad singer Sheila Kay Adams hails from a Western North Carolina mountain community, and delights in passing on the rich musical heritage and stories of her ancestors. Adams is the author of two books: Come Go Home with Me, winner of the North Carolina Historical Society’s award for historical fiction, and the novel, My Old True Love. Her many honors include North Carolina’s highest award for the arts, the North Carolina Heritage Award, and the nation’s highest honor in the folk and traditional arts, the NEA National Heritage Fellowship Award. Adams has performed across the nation and abroad, including appearances at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival.

An accomplished claw hammer style banjo player and a delightful raconteur of mountain life. Her artistry conveys a powerful sense of family and place. – North Carolina Arts Council