ABOUT THE ARTIST
MICHAEL "BADHAIR" WILLIAMS
Storytelling is as old as the Appalachian hills. Children take to it like Jack takes to the bean stalk, but it's an adult tradition, a product of long
sessions around the kitchen table or in front porch rockers.
Michael "Badhair" is from the North Carolina Mountains, the heart of Appalachia. He has been telling Appalachian folk tales on stage since 1975. Television, radio and rock videos have pushed storytelling into the corners with the cobwebs. "Badhair" sweeps it back out, pulling from his Appalachian heritage the tales that delighted our grandparents, and now delight our children and ourselves.
Michael "Badhair" Williams has been telling stories in schools and at festivals across the country for over three decades. He has delighted audiences from rural Appalachia to the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C. and across the nation in school libraries and auditoriums. Michael "Badhair" says about storytelling, "My goals are, first, to educate students, to give them an idea of what Appalachian culture is. I try to dispel the stereotype of the 'Beverly Hillbillies' and 'Green Acres.' I hope that through exposure to my stories they may also discover their own cultural heritage in the folk tale section of their library or in classroom
follow-up. My second goal is to entertain the students. This
facilitates learning. I believe these have been the goals of
storytellers throughout history.
