Today we’d like to introduce you to Betty Rose.
Hi Betty, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I was born in Mount Olive, NC. It’s a very small town, about 2,500 people. I grew up with Sunday lunches after church at my Godmother’s house. With five minute walks to my grandma’s for cooking lessons. And with knowing how to get the latest scoop at the beauty parlor. It was a fun way to grow up. If you’ve ever seen the movie “Steel Magnolias”. You’d be pretty close to my upbringing. From the moment I could speak, I was singing. I performed in nursing homes, at book club luncheons, at our town’s local festival. Eventually, I worked my way up to forming a band playing at any club that would let me in. I did this for years, but I knew I had to spread my wings. I moved to NYC the day I turned 18. My tiny world became huge overnight. I worked and lived in New York for five years, and I fought to keep it from swallowing me alive. New York will make you survive before you thrive. I started taking music seriously. I went to college for Music and Acting. The pace was fast, but I slowly learned what it meant to be an artist. For me, that was telling true and powerful stories. That knowledge took me right back home at 21. I spent a summer in a cottage outside of town, writing songs that sounded like the women and environment I grew up around. I’m heavily inspired by bluesy, folksy, sounds. My sounds has the county influence of rural eastern North Carolina, but also the power and fun of 70’s rock and roll. The music I write is the music I love. The sounds that poured out of the walls in my hometown church, the songwriting poetry of Laurel Canyon, the wailing passion of rock and roll, and the folk songs that were sung to me by my grandaddy. After this creative explosion, I kind of just threw a dart at a map and it landed on Nashville. I knew nothing about how to succeed out here. I just knew it must be called Music City for a reason. I moved out here in April of 2024, with two months worth of rent money and a prayer. I can’t stress how little I knew about what to do, but I got really lucky, and I kind of catapulted into this world. I’ve found I get the best work done when I jump with no backup plan. That mentality hasn’t failed me yet. I filled in with bands downtown on Broadway constantly, showing up to gigs and asking to sing a song and hoping they would call me back. To cover the bills, I worked as a tour guide for one of Nashville’s Ghost Tours. (I can tell you some crazy stories about The Ryman). I kept writing, I met the coolest people, I found my favorite dive bar, and I worked hard to build a band. Finally, I landed a regular gig at Layla’s. Layla’s was a lifesaver. She is one of the last bar owners on Broadway to encourage the musicians to play music that they love AND original music. She is fighting to keep the spirit of Nashville alive and I’m so blessed to play there. Since I’ve been in Nashville I’ve met the most incredible and generous people. They’ve made it possible for me to play original shows all over the city. At the Underdog, the Basement, The End, the Legendary Kimbros, and Fox and Locke. I’ve released my first single, “Blues” on all platforms, and we just shot the music video last week. It’s been a crazy two years, but I feel like I’m just starting to get this show on the road!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It’s been a twisted road. From an artist standpoint, sometimes I feel like I’ve lived a lot of life in 24 years.
Growing up in the small town South, there is this feeling of your life is planned out for you. You grow up, you get married, you have babies, you stay near your family, the cycle continues. I’ve been determined to break those patterns since I was 10 years old. I wanted to be different, I wanted to see and experience as much as I could. And I did, but that has a cost, and sometimes you forget who you are when you’re running as fast as you can.
I missed home a lot, it turns out my love for what I grew up around, and my need to experience a different path combined to make me the artist that I am growing into. I learned there is something absolutely beautiful in wanting a life that feels familiar, and there is beauty in wanting a life that looks different, and it’s fun to write about both.
The only time I’ve struggled in Nashville was when I felt scared and I let it dictate my choices. I’ve learned you’ve got to do it scared. Record the song, meet the people, build a band. You’ve got to do it all scared, the most incredible doors open up when you push through fear.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
My work really centers around the female experience, with storytelling songs that are meant to bring you into a whole world. My debut EP is a story cycle, it’s an Americana universe that I hope people can find pieces of themselves within. You follow a woman through her journey of discovery around why she is the way she is, why she chooses the men she does, and how women survive the stories they inherit. It’s not all serious over here though, some songs are just fun for fun’s sake. I love a storyline, but sometimes life is just a good time, and we gotta celebrate those moments too!
I would say my sound is Americana, Southern Rock. I’m really inspired by Janis Joplin, Stevie Nicks, Susan Tedeschi, Grace Potter, Bonnie Raitt, Ethel Cain, The Doors, Led Zeppelin. Patti Smith, and Marcus King.
We love surprises, fun facts and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
One of my top goals in life is to be on the Muppet Show. That is not a joke even in the slightest. I was heartbroken when I realized as a kid that I would never be on The Carol Burnett show, or the Cher Show, but I still hold out hope for the Muppet Show.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://bettyroseofficial.komi.io/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bettyroseofficial/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@bettyrosemusicofficial
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/album/2vpOuYsRljcY3mju1gmPX7
