Comment: File:Murphy Campbell portrait.jpg, currently shown in this draft, must have been made with the cooperation of the subject. It's described as Slimcode51's "own work". Slimcode51 is also the creator of this draft. I infer a conflict of interest here. Hoary (talk)WWU 👍︎ 00:57, 18 June 2026 (UTC)
Murphy Campbell | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | |
| Origin | Stokesdale, Guilford County, North Carolina |
| Genres | Old-time music, Appalachian folk music |
| Occupations | Singer, musician, educator |
| Instruments | Banjo, dulcimer, vocals |
| Years active | 2023–present |
Murphy Campbell is an American old-time musician, singer, and educator from Stokesdale in Guilford County, North Carolina. A clawhammer-style banjo player and vocalist, she is known for her mission to preserve traditional Appalachian ballads, particularly those of Yancey and Mitchell counties. She gained wider public attention in early 2026 after a feature in Rolling Stone documented her experience as a victim of AI-generated music fraud on major streaming platforms.
Early life and background
Campbell was born in 2006 in Guilford County, North Carolina.[1] She has deep roots in western North Carolina, a region where her family settled approximately five centuries ago.[2] Coming from a long lineage of mountain folk musicians, she has described her artistic mission as drawing up "the remnants of a forgotten modal sound" from the region.[3]
Campbell studied music production at the Weaver Academy for Performing and Visual Arts in Greensboro, North Carolina.[4] She is also a music instructor with Piedmont Folk Legacies' P.I.C.K. (Piedmont Instrument Classes for Kids) program, which offers free banjo, fiddle, and guitar lessons to schoolchildren in Eden, North Carolina.[5]
Music and recordings
Self-titled EP (2025)
Campbell released her self-titled debut digital EP on August 29, 2025.[2] The four-track recording featured Campbell on banjo and vocals, with collaborators including guitarist Riley Baugus, vocalist Laurelyn Dossett, and fiddler Grace Leonard; it was recorded, mixed, and mastered by Joseph DeJarnette.[2] The EP was reviewed in RootsWorld by critic Chris Nickson, who described Campbell as "a powerhouse on the banjo, not flashy or virtuoso, but with a natural feel for this music. It courses through her veins."[6]
Revenant (forthcoming)
Campbell's debut full-length album, Revenant, is a collection of ballads from her family line and the community they inhabited in Yancey and Mitchell counties, planned for release in late 2026.[3] The album's title refers both to a type of traditional Appalachian ballad, in which the dead return to deliver a message, and to Campbell's broader project of reviving music she describes as "dead, come back."[1] Campbell has described discovering the ballads on her nineteenth birthday and planning to record them inside a church in Mitchell County near the graves of her great-grandparents.[1]
Media coverage and the AI fraud incident
In March 2026, Rolling Stone published a feature documenting how AI-generated songs mimicking Campbell's voice and instrumental style had been uploaded to major streaming services — including Spotify — without her knowledge or consent. The fake tracks were synthetic versions of her songs "The Four Marys" and "Cuba," which had been generated by training an AI on her YouTube videos and uploaded under her name by an entity calling itself "Timeless Sounds IR."[7] Campbell described the experience to Rolling Stone as hearing "this computer mimicking my voice" while "trying to play the banjo and dulcimer really poorly."[7] The same entity subsequently filed copyright claims against her own original YouTube videos, temporarily resulting in her channel being demonetized; YouTube later reversed the decision after the story attracted widespread media attention.[8] The incident was also documented by the OECD's AI Incidents Monitor.[9]
In February and March 2026, Campbell was featured on Blue Ridge Public Radio (BPR), performing live at the BPR studios in Asheville on February 26, 2026, and interviewed by reporter Gerard Albert III. Albert wrote that the ballads' "lyrics are timeless and at times haunting," and noted Campbell's view that "the past is just as real as the present."[1] The BPR feature was distributed across multiple NPR member stations.[10]
Campbell also appeared on FOX8 WGHP's Jam Sessions programme, performing and discussing the origins of Piedmont folk music, banjo tunings, and her connection to Appalachian cultural identity.[4]
References
- Albert III, Gerard (March 5, 2026). "They live in these songs: meet the musician working to preserve the sound of the mountains". Blue Ridge Public Radio. Retrieved June 6, 2026.
- "Murphy Campbell". Bandcamp. August 29, 2025. Retrieved June 6, 2026.
- "Murphy Campbell". Strada Music Agency. Retrieved June 6, 2026.
- Blake, Quinn (July 2, 2025). "Murphy Campbell performs, talks origins of Piedmont folk music on Jam Sessions". FOX8 WGHP. Retrieved June 6, 2026.
- "P.I.C.K. program to provide free music lessons to Eden 3rd–5th-graders". Greensboro.com. September 4, 2020. Retrieved June 6, 2026.
- Nickson, Chris. "Murphy Campbell – a RootsWorld review". RootsWorld. Retrieved June 6, 2026.
- Blistein, Jon (March 25, 2026). "This Is Not Me: Inside the AI Scams Driving Musicians Crazy". Rolling Stone. Retrieved June 6, 2026.
- Palmer, Shelly (April 5, 2026). "AI Cloned Her Voice, Then Claimed Her Songs". ShellyPalmer.com. Retrieved June 6, 2026.
- "AI-Generated Music Impersonations and Copyright Fraud Target Folk Artist Murphy Campbell". OECD.AI. April 4, 2026. Retrieved June 6, 2026.
- Albert III, Gerard (March 5, 2026). "They live in these songs: meet the musician working to preserve the sound of the mountains". WFAE. Retrieved June 6, 2026.