Nest of Singing Birds Ballad Swap Brings Appalachian Tradition

BRISTOL, Va.-Tenn. (May 6, 2025) - You're invited to a special evening steeped in Appalachian heritage at the Birthplace of Country Music Museum on May 17 at 7 p.m. ET, as the museum proudly hosts "The Nest of Singing Birds Ballad Swap: Love & Murder A Capella," an informal and deeply moving gathering of traditional ballad singers.

This event, hosted by eighth-generation ballad singer Donna Ray Norton, brings together some of the region's most respected voices in this centuries-old tradition, including Sarah "Songbird" Burkey, Sheila Kay Adams, Leila Weinstein, and Darci DeWulf. 

Channeling the spirit of the region's oral history, the ballad swap offers an intimate glimpse into a practice passed down through generations. Ballad singing in the Appalachian mountains, and particularly in Madison County, N.C., holds a vital place in American folk history. It was there in 1916 that English folk song collector Cecil Sharp famously described the area…