Sarah Elizabeth Burkey has performed in 19 countries and throughout the US...
2026
- Carnegie Hall's United in Sound: America at 250 Festival co-sponsored by The Folk Music Society of New York--NYC
- National Folk Organization Annual Conference w/ Sheila Kay Adams--Durham, NC
- Folklore Society of Greater Washington Getaway--West River, MD
- Traditional Music and Dance TradMaD Camp at Pinewoods presented by The Folk Music Society of New York--Plymouth, Mass
- John C. Campbell Folk School--Brasstown, NC
- Hellbender Gathering of Poets--Black Mountain, NC
- Annual Mountain Heritage Days at Western Carolina University--Cullowhee, NC
- Highlands-Cashiers Land Trust Songwriter's Series Concerts (x2) Highlands, NC
2025
- Birthplace of Country Music Museum w/ The Nest of Singing Birds--Bristol, Virginia
- Blue Ridge Music Center w/ Donna Ray Norton--Galax, Virginia
- Film Premiere of Songs of the Storm w/Douglas Carr Jr and Parkway Studios at The Wortham Center--Asheville, NC
- Traditional Music and Dance TradMaD Camp at Pinewoods presented by The Folk Music Society of New York--Plymouth, Mass
- Hellbender Gathering of Poets w/ Casey Driessen at The North Carolina Arboretum--Asheville, NC
- The Resonance Sessions Vinyl Release Concert w/ Casey Driessen at the Old Marshall Jail--Marshall, NC
- Resilience Fest w/ Sheila Kay Adams & Donna Ray Norton--Black Mountain, NC
- Music in the Mountains Festival--Burnsville, NC
- Annual Mountain Heritage Days at Western Carolina University--Cullowhee, NC
- Cat's Cradle w/ The Nest of Singing Birds--Carrboro, NC
- Hed Hi Studio w/ The Nest of Singing Birds--Charleston, South Carolina
- White Horse Black Mountain w/ The Nest of Singing Birds--Black Mountain, NC
- John C. Campbell Folk School w/ Susan Pepper--Brasstown, NC
2024
- Floyd Country Store w/ The Nest of Singing Birds--Floyd, Virginia
- The Grey Eagle w/ The Nest of Singing Birds--Asheville, NC
- Annual Mountain Heritage Day at Western Carolina University--Cullowhee, NC
- Jones House Cultural Center w/ Susan Pepper--Boone, NC
2023
- Bellarmine University Indigenous People's Day Celebration w/ Tommy Wildcat--Louisville, KY
- Cherokee Indian Fair w/ Running Wolfe--Cherokee, NC
- Annual Mountain Heritage Day at Western Carolina University--Cullowhee, NC
- Concert for The Junior Appalachian Musicians of Jackson County NC
- Various Venues in Georgia & North Carolina w/ The Redbird Roots Band & traditional old-time string band Cornbread Creek
- Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts w/ Cornbread Creek--Franklin, NC
- 17th Annual Franklin Area Folk Festival w/ Cornbread Creek--Cowee, NC
- Bascom Lamar Lunsford Mountain Music Festival Ballad Swap--Mars Hill, NC
2022
- Ballad Circle in Honor of Bobby McMillon (1951-2021) Broyhill Chapel at Mars Hill University, Mars Hill, NC
- Since its inception - present Monthly Madison County/Old Marshall Jail Ballad Swap w/The Nest of Singing Birds--Marshall, NC
- Cherokee Indian Fair w/ Running Wolfe--Cherokee, NC
- Annual Mountain Heritage Day at Western Carolina University--Cullowhee, NC
2021
- Calliope Stage--Sylva, North Carolina (Sediment & Grimshaw's Post Office 2021, voiceovers 2022, WEB 2024)
2019
- Chickasaw Nation Festival--Tishomingo, Oklahoma
- Cherokee Indian Fair w/ Running Wolfe--Cherokee, North Carolina
- Indigenous Peoples Day Concert w/ Grammy Award Recipient Bill Miller--Louisville, Kentucky
- 45th Annual Mountain Heritage Day Ballad Circle w/ Bobby McMillon & William Ritter Western Carolina University--Cullowhee, NC
2018
- 37th Annual Summer Evening in Webster concert series, ol' time Ballad Singing--Webster, North Carolina
- Mountain Heritage Center Women's History Concert w/ Susan Pepper, Western Carolina University--Cullowhee, North Carolina
- Russell Cave National Monument Storytelling Festival w/ Freeman Owle & John John Grant--Bridgeport, Alabama
- 44th Annual Mountain Heritage Day Ballad Circle w/ William Ritter & Susan Pepper, Western Carolina University--Cullowhee, NC
2017
- Muddy Creek Songwriter's Festival w/ Malcome Holcome--Winston-Salem, North Carolina
- 43rd Annual Mountain Heritage Day at Western Carolina University--Cullowhee, North Carolina
- Jackson County Public Library Concert Series--Sylva, North Carolina
- And So We Walked: An Artist's Journey Along the Trail of Tears (co-composer Sarah E. Burkey) opens--Winston-Salem, NC
2016
- Storytelling Festival hosted by the National Park Service at Russell Cave National Monument w/Kathi Littlejohn--Bridgeport, AL
- Muddy Creek Music Hall--Winston-Salem, North Carolina
- Tsalagi Touring Program presenting traditional Cherokee dance & crafts. Perpetuating Cherokee Culture through the arts.
- Cultural Preservation at Oconaluftee Indian Village, Qualla Boundary Cherokee Indian Reservation.
- Assistant Music Director for The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Cherokee
Historical Association, dedicated to perpetuating and preserving the
history and culture of the Cherokee People.
- "Unto These Hills" the second longest running outdoor drama in the US--Cherokee, North Carolina.
- Featured Performer at The 2013 Kentucky Storytelling Conference w/ Lloyd Arneach, a National Storytelling Network Regional Spotlight Event, Greenbo Lake State Resort Park, Greenup, Kentucky--November 2013.
- Assistant Music Director for The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Cherokee Historical Association, dedicated to perpetuating and preserving the history and culture of the Cherokee People.
- Actress & Singer for "Unto These Hills" the second longest running outdoor drama in the US--Cherokee, North Carolina.
- World Premiere of "Cat on the Roof" presented by Mountainside Theatre. A musical comedy by Billy Edd Wheeler (Nashville Songwriter's International Hall of Fame). Cherokee, North Carolina--August 2013.
- Ms. Burkey was appointed by the governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky to serve as a commissioner on the Kentucky Native American Heritage Commission--effective February 8, 2012
- Sarah Elizabeth Burkey has been honored with an Artist Enrichment Grant from the Kentucky Foundation for Women to compose songs inspired by the wisdom and life experiences of the International Council of Indigenous Grandmothers. The completed music and lyrics will illuminate the contributions of Native Women Elders, who are strong feminist role models, environmental activists, and cultural preservationists.
- Received Master Gardener certification from the University of Kentucky
- Good Folk Fest Crafty Resourcefulness Art & Music Celebration Louisville, Kentucky--November 2012
- 17th Annual Festival of Faiths: Sacred Fire Louisville, Kentucky--November 2012
- Smithsonian Exhibit "New Harmonies" Celebrating American Roots Music Lebanon, Kentucky--October 2012
- "Sacred Fire Blazes for Peace" by Sarah Elizabeth Burkey Published in Sacred Fire: Light of Compassion Center for Interfaith Relations 2012
- The Discovery Lodge at Burdette Park and House Concert Series Evansville, Indiana--May 2012
- Lowertown Arts & Music Festival Paducah, Kentucky--May 2012
- Groundbreaking House Concert with Ben Sollee in Louisville, Kentucky--Feb 2012
- Hopkinsville & Christian County High School Assemblies sponsored by Pennyroyal Arts Council Hopkinsville, KY--Feb 2012
- International Tour, Portugal and Spain--August 2011
- featured in the 2011 Official Kentucky Visitor's Guide published by The Kentucky Department of Travel and Tourism
- 16th Annual Festival of Faiths: Sacred Air Breath of Life Louisville, Kentucky--November 2011
- 14th Annual Pennington Folk Festival in Princeton, Kentucky--June 2011
- 23rd Annual Nebraska Children's Groundwater Festival in Grand Island, NE sponsored by Central Platte Natural Resources District--May 2011
- Native American Heritage Concert with Tony Redhouse at Campbellsville University sponsored by Central Kentucky Arts Series--April 2011
- 20 yrs of Cultivating Connections with Matthew Fox, Thomas Jefferson Unitarian Church & First Unitarian Church Louisville, KY--Feb 2011
2010
- 15th Annual Festival of Faiths: Sacred Soil Foundation of Life, Louisville, Kentucky--November 2010
- Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games at the Kentucky Horse Park, Lexington, Kentucky--September 2010
- Sarah Elizabeth Burkey & Nathan Blake Lynn on KY Homefront featuring stories & songs of McCracken County Kentucky
- Lowertown Arts & Music Festival Paducah, Kentucky--May 2010
- 22nd Annual Nebraska Children's Groundwater Festival in Grand Island, NE sponsored by Central Platte Natural Resources District--May 2010
- Kentucky Homefront one-hour Radio Show taped before a live audience at the Clifton Center, Louisville--December 2009
- Ivy Tech Diversity Fair, Sellersburg, Indiana--December 2009
- Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green, Kentucky--November 2009
- 14th Annual Festival of Faiths: Sacred Water--The Cathedral of the Assumption & Brown-Forman Ampitheater, Louisville, KY--Nov 2009
- Idea Festival, Kentucky Center for the Arts, Louisville, Kentucky--September 2009
- 21c Museum, International Contemporary Art Foundation, Louisville, Kentucky--June 2009
- London International Poetry & Song Festival, London, England--November 2007
- Kentucky Center for the Arts, Don't Die Yet album release concert, Louisville, Kentucky--October 2007
- Fundraiser for the Rudyard Kipling w/ Jim James of My Morning Jacket & Ron Whitehead, Louisville, Kentucky--June 2007
- The International Council of 13 Indigenous Grandmothers, The Sacred Black Hills of South Dakota--June 2007
- Northern California Tour, radio shows on KMUD, KZYX, KRSH--March 2007
- City of Ten Thousand Buddhas, Buddhist Monastery & School, Talmage, California--March 2007
- Portugal Tour, performed w/ traditional Fado musicians, Portuguese dancers & gypsy violinist, Portugal--February 2007
- Keynote Speaker & Featured Performer at 8th Annual Women of Appalachia Conference, Ohio University--October 2006
- Book release Western Ky: Lost & Forgotten, Found & Remembered by Sarah Elizabeth Burkey & Ron Whitehead--May 2006
- Campbellsville University Convocation, Campbellsville, Kentucky--October 2005
- Lenoir-Rhyne College, Hickory, North Carolina--September 2004
- Singletary Center for the Arts, Lexington, Kentucky--August 2004