Sally Childs-Helton HoF

Sally's first filking experience was at MarCon in 1985 when she dragged a set of congas into the filk room and nobody threw her out. She has continued dragging in more and more percussion (drum set, djembe, bodhran, Boomwhackers, kitchen sink). She and husband Barry perform in and out of fandom as a duo. They played with what may be filk's first rock band, The Black Book Band, and have been playing with the eclectic Celtic/filk band Wild Mercy for over 20 years. With these folks she has guested and concertized around the US and in Canada, England, and Germany. Sally has added her drumming to a number of band projects, laid down accompanying tracks on many other filk albums, and has offered workshops on rhythm and improvisation at many cons. She has been honored with three Best Performer Pegasus Awards, and with Barry was inducted into the Filk Hall of Fame in 2003.

Outside of the filk room, Sally is a percussionist, ethnomusicologist, archivist, and music educator. She holds the BME, MA, MLS, and PhD, mixing her professional career with archiving and teaching world musics and ethnomusicology. She is also a certified Music for People guided music improvisation facilitator and Remo HealthRhythms facilitator. Sally ran drumming festivals for over 30 years and for 40+ years has accompanied choruses, modern dance, theater, and movement therapy classes.

Sally retired in 2023 from Butler University and was awarded the rank of Professor Emerita. She and Barry moved to the foothills of NC, where they are active in their local UU church's music program (yes, filk tunes have been performed in church). Sally discovered and fell in with a large and rabid community of West African drummers, and attends frequent workshops and camps. She and Barry also discovered an equally rabid community of music improvisers and are happily improvising. Sally volunteers at the local Women's Resource Center and with the regional group for LGBTQ+ teens and young adults, offering rhythm circles and book and paper arts workshops. Retirement has given her even more time to read, catch up on her sleep, hang out with the dogs and family, and of course, play music whenever and with whomever possible.

Sally can also be heard on the album The Pegasus Nominees: Songs of Space, Science & Science Fiction - "Gravity Exiles"