FunkyBeat Fundraiser for Sheila Kay Adams

To some, she is Sheila Kay Adams, renowned storyteller and award winning ballad singer. To others, she is a sister, an aunt, a Gigi, an Aunt Granny, a cousin, a friend, a mentor. To a select few she is mother, a pet name that has stuck since Mel’s spicier teenage years. As some of you already know, mother recently did a stint in the hospital due to a newly diagnosed arrhythmia in her heart. We always knew she had a 'funky beat,' but now it is official. She even "died" (Mel prefers the term “had a brush with death”) for a minute or two during a very scary code blue, but that is another story best told by herself. Mother has had to cancel several jobs due to convalescence and is in danger of canceling more. The wheels on the cardiac bus roll slow to a painful degree, as we have come to realize. Her Nest of Singing Birds, all of us little protégées, have banded together in an attempt to raise some funds. She is on a fixed income, and we hope to raise enough for her to have a financial cushion that will offer some comfort during her winter convalescence.

As her Nest of Singing Birds would tell you, Sheila Kay has spent her life sharing the stories and music of her community with people near and far. From Australia, to California, to just over the hill, many of us have benefited from the treasure trove of songs that she has lovingly saved from extinction. We are all wealthier as a result of her generosity. Raising funds is our way of giving back, of thanking her for committing the last 60 years of her life to bringing awareness to a precious and fragile link that keeps us connected to the past, rooted in our present, and is the foundation we are building our futures upon.