It’s the voice that gets you first.

“BettySoo may well have the most gorgeous voice in Texas ...if not in all contemporary folk – its purity and strength can be downright devastating.” – Acoustic Guitar

BettySoo’s vocal prowess is a thing of wonder. A world-class instrument of deft phrasing and purity, a voice that knows when to hold back and when to dive in. At her own live shows, taking a verse on stage with friends or singing harmonies in sessions with Austin’s finest, BettySoo sings with consummate loveliness and self-assurance. A voice that knows the roots of American music inside and out; coming from a most unexpected place – a diminutive Korean-American with a deceptively girl-next-door demeanor.

Then the performance reels you in.

“Truly remarkable. BettySoo’s sharp, often self-deprecating humor skillfully wove the songs together. Her clear, evocative voice and poignant lyrics recall Patty Griffin and Joni Mitchell, and did I mention she’s a hell of a guitar player?”
– No Depression, live concert review

Touring the unforgiving circuit of listening rooms, clubs and festivals, BettySoo has mastered the art of performance.
A funny anecdote sets up a song of heartbreak and need;
a witty rejoinder belies the dark truths that underpin much of her work.

And that’s when you notice the songs.

“Beautiful, heart-wrenching songwriting that is also edgy and unwavering.” – KUT, Austin

“Exceptionally well written and arranged songs with a confidence that speaks volumes.” – Austin American-Statesman

They call it the live music capital of the world. Austin, Texas, is a city where the musical bar is set high. Since exploding on the Austin scene almost two decades ago, BettySoo has carved out an enviable niche among the very best the city has to offer.

What BettySoo has been up to lately:

Guest-hosting and -programming hour-long programs for Sirius XMTheVillage, starting in 2021.

Actively touring in support of James McMurtry and Chris Smither. Toured internationally with Rebecca Loebe and Grace Pettis as buzz-heavy Nobody’s Girl. The trio released two albums with Lucky Hound Music, featuring players like Charlie Sexton (Bob Dylan), J.J. Johnson (Tedeschi Trucks), Glenn Fukunaga (The Chicks), David Grissom (Buddy Guy, Allman Brothers, Ringo Starr), and producer Michael Ramos (John Mellencamp, BoDeans).

Records/arranges harmonies for dozens of artists, including Eliza Gilkyson, James McMurtry, Sara Hickman,Akina Adderley, Jaimee Harris, Charlie Faye & The Fayettes, and others. A first-call studio ace, you’ll find her on stage singing harmonies with top-tier performers.

Completed a sparkling country- rock collaboration with songwriter- filmmaker Gandalf Hennig (documentaries on Gram Parsons, Merle Haggard) produced by Grammy-winner Sheldon Gomberg (Ben Harper, Rickie Lee Jones). Backing
band included Benmont Tench (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers), David Steele (Dwight Yoakam, John Prine), Pete Thomas (Elvis Costello), Taras Prodaniuk (Merle Haggard, Richard Thompson), and others.

...and manages to sit in at gigs with friends like Michael Fracasso, Bonnie Whitmore, and Jon Dee Graham.

During lockdown, she hosted Nobody’s Happy Hour online weekly, a song-swap/improv combination with special guests ranging from Bill Kirchen (Commander Cody & the Lost Planet Airmen) to Butch Hancock (The Flatlanders).

Her singing has been heard on Riverdale and Girl Boss, and her songs formed the musical backbone to Christine Hoang’s 2017 play A Girl Named Sue, singled out by Austin360.com as “gorgeous, moving ballads comment(ing) on the themes of the scenes they punctuate.” Writer/director Hoang has been recognized by WarnerMedia and The Writers Lab (Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman, Oprah Winfrey), and she is a Kennedy Center Playwriting Intensive Fellow and a Tribeca Film Festival Untold Stories Finalist.

In 2013, alongside acclaimed blues artist Guy Davis, BettySoo was part of a month-long theatrical production in New Haven,
CT, combining dramatic monologues with the songs of Bob Dylan.

“In her own words,‘I guess Asian-American songwriters aren’t that common. At least, not in Texas.’ Well, songwriting and singing of this caliber aren’t that common anywhere.”

– No Depression