Sheila Kay Adams

Sheila Kay Adams comes from a small mountain community in Madison County, North Carolina. For seven generation her family has maintained the tradition of passing down the English, Scottish and Irish ballads that came over with her ancestors in the mid 1700’s. Sheila learned these ballads from her older relatives, primarily from her great-aunt, Dellie Chandler Norton and cousin, Cas Wallin.

In performance, Sheila sings the traditional Appalachian ballads in the same style in which they were handed down to her – the same intensity, the same profound feeling for the ballad and in a powerful, strong voice.

Audiences love to hear Sheila tell stories about her childhood and the community in which she grew up. Under the direction of Lee Smith, Sheila compiled several of these stories that were published by the University of North Carolina Press. The book Come Go Home With Me was a 1997 winner of the North Carolina Historical Society’s award for historical fiction. The audio book, read by the Sheila, was released in September, 2005.

Sheila’s latest book, My Old True Love, (hardback by Algonquin Books, May, 2004; paperback by Ballantine Books, September, 2005) is a fictional novel based on a true family story. It was a finalist for the Southeastern Booksellers Association’s 2004 Book of the Year Award and a finalist for the Appalachian Writers Association’s 2004 Book of the Year Award. Kirkus Review states: “Deeply satisfying storytelling propelled by the desires of full-bodied, prickly characters, set against a landscape rendered in all its beauty and harshness.” Released at the same time was a CD titled All the Other Fine Things of fiddle tunes, ballads, and shape-note hymns that serves as a companion for the book.

In October 2007, Sheila released a CD anthology of stories and songs performed over a nine year period at the famed International Storytelling Festival in historic Jonesborough, Tennessee.

Sheila is a also known for her award winning accomplishments on the 5-string banjo. Sheila plays a clean drop-thumb style called clawhammer and has taught at numerous music camps throughout the country. She and her husband, Jim Taylor have several recordings which feature traditional fiddle tunes from the Civil War era.

She has been a featured performer in several documentary films, news and magazine articles, and was a technical advisor and singing coach for the award winning film, Songcatcher. Her three CD recordings, My Dearest Dear, Whatever Happened to John Parrish’s Boy? and All the Other Fine Things have been favorably reviewed by SING-OUT! and THE OLD-TIME HERALD magazines.

Traveling extensively, Sheila has performed at major festivals, colleges and universities. She also toured with the acclaimed “Sisters of the South” production and has toured England. After teaching seventeen years in the North Carolina Public School System, she decided to pursue a career writing and sharing the music, stories and heritage of her Appalachian culture.

She has three children and is passing the traditions to them. She is married to Jim Taylor, also a traditional musician and performer. She and her family still reside in the county in which she was born. In April, 1998, Sheila was chosen to receive the prestigious North Carolina Folklore Society’s Brown-Hudson Award in recognition of her valuable contributions to the study of North Carolina folklore. As her great-aunt once said, “She might not always know where she’s going, but she sure knows where she comes from.”