Beth Scalet
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Beth Scalet

Kansas City, Missouri, United States | INDIE

Kansas City, Missouri, United States | INDIE
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This band has not uploaded any videos

Music

Press


"KLammy Nominees for Best Folk Artist"

"Beth Scalet is a local institution. . . she walks it like she talks it."
— Pitch Weekly, April 5, 2001

- Pitch Weekly


"Acceptance as Performing Member"

Holly Figueroa, founder, the indiegrrl.com network
"Your music touches people in places they didn't know even existed—you are a true pioneer, a trailblazer for women in music."

- Indiegrrl


"Review of "Taking the Cure""

Dr. Robert Kite, The Note
“Scalet draws from the deep wells of American folk music, but the blues color her every musical move. Should you need a consumer-style grounding, let’s just say that Beth’s music is not unlike Bonnie Raitt’s or Lucinda Williams.’ . . . What Beth Scalet does isn’t exactly revolutionary. Nevertheless, she has the kind of musical character and style that distinguishes her from the coffeehouse pack.” - The Note


""It's A Living" (review)"

“Scalet’s voice is husky, something between [Janis] Ian and Bonnie Raitt, incredibly expressive, and touched with knowing, and forgiving, pain. At times just the sound of a particular phrase ending made my hair stand up.”
- OUT Weekly (Washington, DC)


"Review, Richard Thompson performance"

"In her opening act [before Richard Thompson], Beth Scalet . . a veteran of the Midwestern folk and coffeehouse scene . . . showcased her fine sense of humor and big bluesy voice."
- Kansas City Star (Robert Butler)


Discography

It's a Living . . . Blues in Paradise (J-bird Records) (out of print)
Taking the Cure Beth Loves Bob: The Songs of Bob Dylan Blues in Paradise – Anniversary Edition Roadwork: The Blues & Everything Else (2-disc live)
Body of Work: The Best of Beth Scalet
CDs are available at CDBaby and Amazon. Downloads from Amazon, iTunes, and others. Hear full songs at www.bethscalet.com

Photos

Bio

On March, 2008 Beth was inducted into the Kansas Music Hall of Fame. To celebrate, she gathered songs from her previous CD releases and had them remastered to compile "Body of Work: The Best of Beth Scalet."

She has been recognized for her excellence as as a songwriter numerous times, from the Billboard Song Contest (three times), the American Song Festival (3 times), and the American Songwriter's Association. She has performed actively for over 30 years, bringing a mixture of original songs and select songs by others to audiences throughout the country. She figures she has played several thousand shows in her long career.

Her writing ranges from deep emotion to high wit, and her subject matter covers everything from traditional blues themes to vignettes about love and life in the new world to issues of concern to women in particular and humans in general — domestic violence, eating disorders, addictive behaviors, homelessness — and she handles them all with taste and insight. In short, Beth’s versatility makes her difficult to pigeonhole. Beth accompanies herself on guitar and harmonica. Her unique fingerpicking style, bluesy voice, and range of material have endeared her to audiences in the Midwest and across the country.

She has been featured as the opening act with such greats as Billy Joel, Manfred Mann, Arlo Guthrie, Richard Thompson, Steve Goodman, Bill Monroe, Koko Taylor, and many others.

In 1981 she released "It's A Living . . . " (on vinyl) and in 1987 "Blues in Paradise" (on cassette). Both have been re-released on CD. In 2000 the all-original “Taking the Cure” was released.

Beth is a respected blues singer and harmonica player, and a talented writer of blues songs, as witnessed by her “Blues in Paradise” release. It showcases influences from country blues to R&B to Chicago-style to gospel.

Beth has long had a local reputation as a consummate interpreter of Bob Dylan’s songs, and in 2002 she released “Beth Loves Bob,” a tribute album that has been well-received by Dylan fans from all over.