About Elizabeth

I grew up surrounded with all kinds of music. We had lots of singing around the house, children's songs, folk songs, ballads, popular songs, silly songs that we made up, anything that we wanted to do. My mother came from a musical family and was a little more serious about her singing. She loved singing with us, but she also performed with concert choruses and traditional groups.

When I was 11, I entered the youth folk song competition at Mt. Airy Fiddler's Convention in North Carolina. I won a prize there and started singing at Fiddler's Conventions regularly. After hearing me sing one time at Mt. Airy, Ginny Hawker suggested that I might want to attend Vocal Week at Augusta Heritage Center in West Virginia on a youth scholarship. I did some benefit concerts in my area of Virginia, and I was asked to perform at other folk music gatherings.

By the time they were recorded, most folks singing the old songs in the traditional way were very old, and the voices that could reputedly sing to be heard from ridge to ridge had lost some of their power. I try to sing ballads the way these folks and their ancestors might have sung when they were my age. I also try to sing with the emotion that I feel when I listen to the stories and poetry in the songs. Right now I am balancing my performance schedule and my classes at the College of William and Mary. I sing at fiddler's conventions, folk festivals, and concerts (see the Appearances Page for more information.) I have two albums for sale: the first, Rain & Snow, released in 2004; and Lizard in the Spring, released in 2007. Both are ballads and old-time songs from the Appalachians, backed up by Sandy LaPrelle, my mom; Jon Newlin and Amy Davis of The Hushpuppies, my aunt and uncle; and the Amazing Jim Lloyd of Rural Retreat, VA.