Mala Patterson was christened “Aunt Boo” by her nephew Gunner. When he was just a toddler, he heard his aunt explain the pronunciation of her unusual first name – “Mala-Boo without the Boo.” Later that night, Gunner told his aunt that she needed a “Boo” and informed her that he was going to call her “Aunt Boo.” She loved the name because it was easy to say and hard to forget.

Aunt Boo performs a wide variety of fun music with an emphasis on Old-Time, Folk, Bluegrass, Country, and Originals with a little bit of everything else. She plays guitar, fiddle, mandolin, lap dulcimer, piano, banjo, spoons, harmonica, scrub board, and kazoo. Aunt Boo is a member of the Echota Cherokee Tribe of Alabama and an Alabama Buck Dance champion.

Aunt Boo tailors her performance to each event – whether a birthday party or an educational music and dance workshop. Aunt Boo is a perennial children’s performer at the Museum of Appalachia, a Smithsonian affiliate program. In different ensembles and as a solo, she has performed at various venues, including Dollywood, Silver Dollar City, AL Chicken and Egg Festival, NC’s Santa’s Land, and events in over twenty states. She, along with a brother, won the group category of Panoply, the South’s Most All-Embracing Artstravaganza, and placed in the Top 25 on the first season of CMT’s CAN YOU DUET. She has been honored with both the “Miss Congeniality” and “Team Player of the Year” award from the Women in Music Business Association in Nashville. She placed in the Top 10 in Quizno’s jingle contest and the Top 5 in Waggin’ Train’s jingle contest. In 2022, she performed at the Gatlinburg Songwriters Festival and Tunes and Tails concert series. She recently performed at Alabama’s Possum Prediction on Ground Hog Day that was featured on Good Morning America and the Canadian National news.