Today we’d like to introduce you to Betse Ellis.
Hi Betse , can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I’m happy to share my story, and the story of Betse & Clarke, though brevity isn’t my strong suit! I am a performing artist with 50 years of practice on my instrument. I started studying violin in Fayetteville, Arkansas, and attended the Conservatory of Music at UMKC with a full scholarship. Upon graduation in 1990, I leapt into the world of original performance, joining a rock band, founding acoustic groups, and sitting in with a myriad of performers. Along the way, I heard some bluegrass music and then was gently guided to the world of old time music — the more archaic sounds coming from traditional players of southern mountain states. This discovery put me on a path for my life and livelihood.
Growing up in Northwest Arkansas, I was surrounded by old time music, though I heard it only occasionally. I like to say a seed was planted back then, hearing fiddlers playing tunes that I later recognized to be my unconscious foundation. Ozark music became my passion. The band I co-founded became known for our energetic performances of Ozark fiddle tunes and classic country music. We went from playing small regional festivals to touring in Europe and the UK, appearing multiple times on BBC Television and Radio, and gaining devoted fans, particularly in Scotland. This band was called The Wilders; we existed for about 16 years and when we decided to call it a day, I continued touring as a solo artist for a few years. And then I met Clarke… his part in this story is coming… and his own story is more than I can cover here!
I want to mention that a few years into The Wilders chapter, I started teaching old time fiddle and music technique, mostly to adults, privately and at music camps. I call myself a self-taught teacher, but I was influenced by my numerous excellent teachers who shaped my ongoing study, from childhood through conservatory, and also when I started transitioning into a fiddler. And some of my teachers weren’t music teachers at all. We learn anywhere we are open to doing so. I’m still learning. And teaching is a passion I could have never predicted. It has given me opportunities to connect with others, both students and fellow instructors.
Though my solo touring years were adventurous and educational, I started missing the involvement of creating music with others. I had a few good friends who I collaborated with, and I still do, but then I met this guy. Clarke Wyatt had returned to Kansas City after a long absence. Turned out, I was friends with many of his old friends, and we had both been in bands playing the local bar scene in the early 1990s. One night when we were both at a music event, he showed me old family photos of his ancestors from the 1930s playing guitars and mandolins in rural Texas. He had this old time music in his family. We were drawn together anyway, but this was a sweet touch to our connection. Clarke had picked up a banjo years before and he started back in on his practice. We started a duo, Betse & Clarke.
Now, twelve years later, we are married, and we have performed our music on many stages, in the US, Canada, Ireland, Northern Ireland, and Scotland. We both teach at music camps, Clarke on both banjo and guitar, and music is the center of our life together. Our music started with the old time traditional repertoire, and we also explore beyond that scope with original music. We recently began recording a new album, a collection of my original fiddle tune compositions, a project that has long been a dream.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Perhaps the road isn’t often smooth, but challenges sometimes present opportunities. In my teaching practice, I often say that challenges are themselves opportunities. The world of making music as a profession can be fraught with roadblocks. For other personal and family reasons, the last number of years have been full of adversity. Even during these recent years, when I had to limit my public performance time, plenty of opportunities have arisen, and right now, we have exciting projects in process like the new album, and more to come. I think about a quote from Tom Waits about not planting your bad days, which can turn into bad months and years. Some of these bad days have tried to root, but I’m more interested in looking ahead for good seeds.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Most of my work is centered in old time music. I imagine most of your readers have little experience with this kind of music. It’s a tiny corner in a big house. There are few well-known performing artists today who have experience with old time music. It does seep into pop culture from time to time, though I think it is easily misunderstood. Now, here in Kansas City, and in Lawrence too, we have a pretty healthy bluegrass scene. So there are many opportunities to hear this music on a regular basis. And old time music is closely related, but different. If you have seen the Ken Burns “Country Music” documentary, there’s a bit of time spent on these distinctions in the earlier episodes. The “big bang” of country music happened in the 1920s and that is what we now call old time music in my community.
I call myself an Ozark music celebrant. I’ve spent countless hours studying and learning fiddle music of the Ozarks, from 100 year old recordings, and from fiddlers still living. Most special to me is my long friendship with Violet Hensley, known as “The Whittling Fiddler of the Ozarks” – we met over 25 years ago, and I visited her frequently over many years to learn her tunes and hear her stories. Kansas City’s PBS aired a story about our friendship, which was picked up by PBS News Hour and was aired nationally. You can find it if you look online. I’m grateful this piece exists to document our precious relationship. I’ll forever celebrate Violet’s legacy by continuing to play the tunes I learned from her. Other Ozark fiddlers and singers are also important to me and I make sure to tell their stories when I share their music.
I believe people who have seen me perform think of me as a dynamic performer, one who delights in the music, plays with intent and sometimes beauty, and perhaps with a bit of wisdom. My intention is to bring joy to others and to invite them on a little journey with us, to take them away from everyday life and troubles, to hear something new even if it’s old. Or if it’s a new composition, I hope people can experience that newness with pleasure. I don’t think about being proud of what I’ve achieved so far. Sure, I have a CV that I update from time to time, and there are achievements of some significance, but I don’t like to shout about them. I am grateful for the things I’ve gotten to do, and I’m ready to do more with Clarke in our next chapter, which is looking to be a real page-turner.
What’s next?
I’m really excited that we have begun the recording process for my collection of original fiddle tunes. This has been a long time coming.
I started writing tunes by accident. One came to me on a January day, while taking a break from a music party at a friend’s house. It became January Waltz, and it’s a tune that has been played in many countries, not only by me. It has entered the repertoire for old time barn dances, and festival jams. That is an accomplishment I didn’t plan on. I started writing more tunes, which were performed by my band The Wilders, and some were recorded in our discography. I recorded a few more on my two solo albums. All of these albums are easy to find on streaming services.
So, it has been a dream of mine to put my fiddle tunes into one collection. The challenges brought about in the last number of years have delayed this project and we finally got started on the recording this month. There are fresh new compositions and older tunes that may have a new perspective. I should mention that Clarke is a brilliant recording/mixing engineer and producer too. He has been recording professionally for more than 30 years. So we have an advantage in that we can do this recording work at home. We plan to bring in other musicians for some of the tunes, and I am working on transcriptions of the tunes for a book to be published along with the album. Learning fiddle tunes in the traditional way means learning by ear — the old tunes were passed down from one fiddler to another. But also, they were written down for centuries. I hope some more of my tunes will be enjoyable for other fiddlers to learn and to share in music sessions.
This album project is inspiring, and there are other exciting projects on the horizon, including more travel involving music — we’ll be going back to Northern Ireland and Scotland this fall for a destination concert series presented by Ensemble Ibérica. Scotland is very dear to me and I have lifelong friends there.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.betseandclarke.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/betseandclarke/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@betswilder
- Other: https://betseandclarke.bandcamp.com/
