• You love good singing, songwriting, harmony, Appalachian Music, Clogging & Flatfooting, or some combination of them all!
• You love community and music, and the way they bring people together in a joyful way.
• You need more fun in your life, whether through listening to music, podcasts, or live shows, learning a few new dance steps, tunes, or ballads---- or all of the above!

Or scroll on for a more candid look at my background and values...

You’re in the right place if…

Do you feel like the world would be a better place if we could all just slow down, pick and sing more, dance more, help our neighbors, and eat really good cornbread along the way?

I know I do, and I’m excited to help bring more yee-haw to your life through all those things!

Calling all lovers of Appalachian music, dance, and culture!

About

Hey! I'm Carla

Click here for my Press Kit

I believe that during our time here on earth, we should have a little fun! I believe that expressing ourselves through music and dance makes the hard times bearable and the good times even better! (And we are DEFINITELY gonna have a good time together!)

Fun

I love passing on the abiding traditions of the place I was born while acknowledging ALL of the peoples who helped form the traditions. I celebrate the changing face of Appalachia, and it’s important to me to help create a community that acknowledges our evolving diversity and historical complexity.

Tradition

A spirit of generosity is baked into Appalachian Culture, and I believe in sharing with my students and fans the beautiful heritage and community spirit that were gifted to me by my elders.

Generosity

What I Believe

I like to hang out with my three weird and wonderful children (and my two bonus kids), and my Greek-hillbilly true love who is an amazing musician, performer, and visionary human.
(Click here to check him out!)

We love to grow really good food and cook it, raise and forage herbs and make our own medicines, travel the backroads of Kentucky and foray to far-off locales, frolic in the forest, laugh A LOT, collaborate with other artists, and watch the occasional murder mystery.

When I’m not singing and dancing?

Now, it totally lights me up to get to pass on the ballads, banjo picking, flatfooting, and general hillbilly badassery of Kentucky to listeners and students all over the world. And what’s even better, as I expand my teaching and performances into the digital realm, I’m meeting SO many kindred spirits and making new friends right and left!

I love teaching about banjo tunes and ballads in my workshops, performing with one of my FUN BANDS, and showing you everything I’ve learned in a lifetime of dancing so that you can take the shortcut to flatfooting fluency in the Appalachian Flatfooting & Clogging Academy and the other dance programs I offer!

I love to share what I know, in as many ways as I can think of.

I grew up in the tiny coal town of Whitesburg, Kentucky, and my family has lived in East Kentucky for 8 generations. Like most mountain kids, I struggled to reconcile all the stereotypical things I learned about “hillbillies” from TV, movies, and my cousins who had moved up north with what I knew of the wise, strong, and incredibly skilled elders in my life.

When I moved to Central Kentucky as a teenager, I got a lot of grief about my accent, my country ways, and the old-timey songs I liked to sing.

After realizing the futility of trying to hide who I was, I decided to embrace it, and since then, all the beautiful music, dance, and culture (not to mention cornbread recipes) I learned from my family and community have become what I’m known for! And I’m helping to craft a narrative about my home that DOESN’T come from mass media and outside stereotypes, which means a lot to me.

It wasn’t always comfortable to grow up Appalachian

Howdy! I’m Carla!

Dance Offerings

• Enjoy original songs, banjo tunes, and mountain ballad downloads from the hills of East Kentucky

• Learn the basics of mountain percussive dance in my free instructional video “3 Essential Steps for Appalachian Flatfooting & Clogging”

• Snag our video guide to making your own herbal tinctures along with homey recipes from our family!

• Stay in touch about all things Appalachia with my fun weekly email, like a front-porch visit in your inbox!

Get a hearty helping of Appalachian Goodness with your free Mountain Mama Digital Care Package!

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