Elizabeth Turner

At 21 years old, Elizabeth Turner is a new face on the folk scene. She is currently playing various venues in the DC metropolitan area and is also working on recording her debut album. She is creating this album without the big bucks of a corporate record company. Her music style could be considered anywhere from folk, blues, jazz, and rock n’ roll to a little bit country. All songs on the upcoming album are written and performed by Elizabeth and include instrumental accompaniment from the guitar, banjo, mandolin, and piano to various sounds from a synthesizer, flute, and clarinet. Until the album is finished and at the request of fans, she has released an album of demo recordings titled Demo Sampler.

Born in April of 1984 at a Salem, VA hospital, Elizabeth’s first experiences with music began with family. As a child, she was influenced by summertime sing-alongs with her mother and siblings, attending local bluegrass and folk festivals, and hearing stories of her grandmother’s country band, The Rocky Mount Possum Hunters, from back in the ‘30s. Growing up in Southwest Virginia in an area commonly referred to as the “Moonshine Capital of the World” (aka Franklin County, VA), she has taken bits and pieces from her musical heritage of bluegrass, folk, and country and incorporated it into her own music.

She began her performing career in her church choir at a young age and moved on to theatre by age nine. She has been on a stage ever since studying theatre at the Piedmont Regional Governor’s School and more recently with the Blue Ridge Dinner Theatre at Ferrum College as part of the Jack Tale Players. As a performing folk artist, she’s just beginning. Her first performance was at an Open Mic Night at Wit’s End in Salem, VA at the age of 15. From there she began playing at bars in Roanoke, VA, Takoma Park, MD, Gaithersburg, MD, and Alexandria, VA.

At first glance, she seems like a shy, reserved young woman, but after she begins to sing with her mellifluous voice, she emits a deep soulful sound with, as she refers to them, her fairy tales. Her songs are tales of politics, love, and evading the corporate bigwigs. Audiences have compared her to Natalie Merchant, Jewel, Sarah McLachlan, Grace Slick, and Ani DiFranco. As some have said, “when she begins to sing, there’s this odd hush that takes over the place as they get lost in her voice and words.”