The Ballad Tree

Where murder ballads become fairytales. Songs of heartbreak, death and the supernatural come to life in The Ballad Tree, an atmospheric evening of live music, song, dance and puppetry inspired by the Appalachian murder ballad tradition.

Passed down through generations, these tragically romantic songs have traveled and changed with every telling. The Ballad Tree embraces that tradition, weaving familiar and lesser-known ballads together with original music and movement. The dark stories take on a fairytale quality, transforming tales of terrible deeds and tragic heartbreak into moments of beauty.

For director and choreographer Djahari Clark, the connection is personal. Inspired by ballads sung to her as a child, she developed The Ballad Tree with longtime musical collaborator David Kamm. Together they approach these stories as living things, passed from one generation to another.

Kamm, whose folk-rooted guitar and banjo work provides the musical backbone of the production, leads the live music alongside Hudson Valley musicians Allison Godleski and Lee Bones Godleski, while Clark is joined by dancers Glenna Yu and Laura Victoria Ward. Costumes are by Kristin Costa.

The Ballad Tree is a production of Gloaming Project, the creative collaboration led by Clark and Kamm.