Music In the Mountains Folk Festival is sponsored by the Toe River Arts Council, includes bluegrass and traditional music, ballad singers, and dancing. Instruments range from fiddle to dulcimer to guitar. Each year the festival recognizes an honoree for their contribution to the preservation of traditional music.
Since 1985, the Music in the Mountains Folk Festival has showcased local and regional traditional music. With your support in the way of donations and the purchase of limited-edition t-shirts, we can continue to honor performers and promoters like Sheila K. Adams and past honorees Don Pedi, Wayne Ledford, Rhonda Gouge, Bob Lominac, Bobby McMillon, Bruce Greene, Bob “Happy Feet” Aldridge, and Bill and Judy Carson.
Music In the Mountains Folk Festival is a tribute to our region’s diverse musical heritage. Our evening celebration of traditional performers is uncommon in diversity and artistic excellence. Let’s bring in the Fall together! Come join us in September!
2025 Music In the Mountains Festival
Mark your calendars for September 13th, at Homeplace Beer Company & Hog Hollow Pizza for an afternoon of workshops, traditional craft vendors and an evening filled with Appalachian music.
The 2023 festival honorees are Joyce Johnson and Denise Cook in appreciation for their dedication to the Music In the Mountains Festival since its earliest days. We’re grateful to them for bringing local, traditional mountain music to the forefront of the event and helping to create a wonderful way to celebrate and promote this important part of our regional cultural heritage.
We’ll kick off this year’s event with afternoon workshops from 2:00-3:30.
Workshop Offerings:
“Singing Your Truth: How to Find Your Voice” with Sarah “Songbird” Burkey
Experience her unique approach to vocal technique, which meets you wherever you are in your singing and storytelling journey. Everyone from curious beginners to seasoned artists can benefit from this incomparable vocal artist. Sarah will demonstrate first-hand how our stories can teach us how to sing.
The workshop will begin at 2:00 p.m. and run until 3:30 p.m. The fee is $35 per participant. Workshops are a great way for festival attendees to engage with performers in an intimate setting while learning. They are great for those who are looking to participate in addition to watching the performances. Please register online at https://toeriverarts.org/artists/education-outreach/workshops/
About Sarah “Songbird” Burkey
Sarah Elizabeth Burkey grew up in rural Kentucky, raised in and influenced by Appalachian, Indigenous, and Black cultures. Her childhood instilled in her a love of the land, traditional music & dance, storytelling, and creating things by hand, all of which became the foundation of her life’s work. Though college wasn’t part of her original plan, she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Campbellsville University, where she sang her first ballad in public. That moment created a connection to her heritage that would last a lifetime.
In the year 2000, she met Jean Ritchie, who became a mentor and encouraged her to embrace her Appalachian roots through song. A VHS of Sheila Kay Adams further deepened her passion, and after moving from Kentucky to Western North Carolina in 2013, she formed close bonds with Sheila Kay Adams and Bobby McMillon. For Ms. Burkey, ballads are timeless—they connect generations, foster community, and serve as a source of healing and inspiration.
Sarah Elizabeth Burkey, affectionately known as “Songbird,” is a torchbearer. Her prolific songwriting and incomparable vocals have been featured in numerous films and over 19 albums, including Door of the Moon, When the Redbuds Bloom, Don’t Die Yet, and Honeysuckle Vine. She has toured in 19 countries and earned an international reputation as an authentic voice for Roots Music.
As evidenced in her walk and talk, Ms. Burkey is deeply committed to the natural world and the continuation of traditional knowledge, which is vital to cultural and environmental preservation. BarefootSongbird.com
From 4-8 you are invited to shop with local artists in our traditional craft market.
On the stage from 5-8 you will be treated to some fantastic tunes.
Suggested donation for attending is $20, although everyone is welcome.
