Elizabeth LaPrelle In Concert

Join us at the Birthplace of Country Music Museum on Saturday, March 30, 7:00pm for a concert by Elizabeth LaPrelle. Elizabeth is exceptional in her devotion to and mastery of the ancient and deep art of Appalachian singing, and her voice, stark and unaccompanied, can lift and carry the listener away to another time. A concert including a variety of haunting and evocative Appalachian ballads and old-time songs, this is a performance not to be missed.

Elizabeth LaPrelle has been performing and studying Appalachian ballads and old-time songs since she was 11 years old. Raised in Rural Retreat, Virginia, Elizabeth attended old-time fiddlers’ conventions and sang harmonies with her family, who encouraged her to sing her own favorite American folk music. As a teen Elizabeth learned the “mountain” style of singing from mentors Ginny Hawker and Sheila Kay Adams, which led her to explore archives and field recordings for ancient and little-known songs. She received her undergraduate degree from the College of William and Mary with a major in Southern Appalachian Traditional Performance, and in 2011 formed performance duo “Anna & Elizabeth” with Anna Roberts-Gevalt. She now tours the US regularly both performing and teaching.

This performance is presented by the Crooked Road on Tour and is partially supported by the Virginia Commission for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts. It is companion programming to our current special exhibit Reading Appalachia: Voices from Children’s Literature, on display until June 30, 2019. Special thanks to the Massengill-DeFriece Foundation for their support of this exhibit and its related programming.