BettySoo – If You Never Go Away

Today, BettySoo releases her new album, If You Never Go Away.

It includes the new single “Light It Up” follows her adored single “What Do You Want From Me Now?” which is a crowd favorite from her past live shows supporting James McMurtry (who duets with BettySoo on “Gulf Road”), Chris Smither and other Americana notables, both of which are delicious appetizers for her first new studio album in over a decade.

A buzzworthy standout in the Americana and Folk worlds (MSNBC anchor Rachel Maddow is among her many fans), Affectionately coined as “The Queen of the Bummer Jams,” her ability to marry melancholia with hyper-immediate melodies is a well-documented gift.

Her upbringing found her living in a traditional Asian-American multigenerational home (“We often had as many as twelve people living under one roof at a time!”), so attention-grabbing wasn’t an inborn trait. “As the third of four daughters – the lesser of the middle children, I didn’t grow up expecting anyone to remember who I was or even to take notice of me. I was neither born nor raised with a rockstar mindset,” she says, self-effacingly.

While she may have had to fight to get attention in her family, the outside world lavished praise upon her. Aside from the boatloads of plaudits from the media, BettySoo has garnered awards as “New Folk” at Kerrville, “Songwriter of the Year” at Big Top Chautauqua, “The Dave Carter Songwriting Award” at Sisters Folk Festival, and Mountain Stage’s “New Song.” She’s played festivals, including multiple South by Southwests, Kerrville, Calgary as well as radio shows like E-Town, Mountain Stage, WoodSongs, BBC 2 with Bob Harris.

BettySoo cut a unique path through the broad streaming landscape — and as with everything she does, she approached it in a way that invites authentic connection, encourages compassion, and merits listening. With more new music on the horizon, her path is headed in a bright direction.

Aug 22  Easthampton, MA            Arcadia Folk Festival 2025

Sep 4     Oxford, MS         Proud Larry’s

Sep 5     Birmingham, AL Saturn

Sep 6     Evanston, IL        Dawes Park (Evanston Folk Fest)

Sep 11   Knoxville, TN      Bijou Theatre

Sep 12   Cincinnati, OH    Woodward Theater

Sep 13   Columbus, OH    The Athenaeum Theatre

Sep 14   Ferndale, MI       Magic Bag

Sep 16   Toronto, ON       Horseshoe Tavern

Sep 18   Alexandria, VA   Birchmere

Sep 19   Philadelphia, PA               World Cafe Live

Sep 20   New York, NY     Le Poisson Rouge

Sep 23   Charleston Heights, SC                  Charleston Pour House

Sep 24   Macon, GA          Capitol Theatre

Sep 27   New Orleans, LA              Chickie Wah Wah

Oct 2     Austin, TX            04 Center

#bettysoo