Meet BETTY!
Legendary Indie Rock trio BETTY, Alyson Palmer (vocals, bass, guitar) and Elizabeth Ziff (vocals, guitar, electronic programming) and her sister, Amy Ziff (vocals and cello), use beguiling melodies, compelling lyrics and signature harmonies to create energetic live shows that mix music, performance art, politics and comedy.
BETTY sings of joy, love, longing, sex, food, heartbreak, and the universal hilarity of human existence. More than a band, BETTY uses music to channel their passion for representation, fairness and equality. From the beginning, they’ve blended their voices for causes they fight for, their talents in collaboration with other artists of every medium, and their time in support of women and girls, worldwide.
In addition to creating, performing and recording together as a group of independent artists since 1986, BETTY travels the world as Arts Envoys for the US Department of State. To further their humanitarian outreach and cultural diplomacy, Gloria Steinem advised them to form a non-profit, which they did in 2014. The BETTY Effect’s mission is using music and performance techniques to help others communicate and connect for personal power, social progress and peace, especially women and girls and LGBTQIA communities.
BETTY has been featured on national and international radio, television – including their iconic theme song for the L Word – and in films, commercials, jingles, recordings, streaming projects and concert venues across five continents. They have contributed as guest artists to dozens of recordings and compilation albums, and their soundscapes can be heard in art installations, like Darren Waterston “Filthy Lucre” at Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (Mass MOCA), The Smithsonian Institute and London’s Victoria and Albert Museum. Their Off-Broadway musical, BETTY RULES, was another show in a glittering string of hits directed by Michael Greif (Days of Wine and Roses, Hell’s Kitchen, Dear Evan Hanson, Next to Normal, Rent.)
BETTY at the Smithsonian Museum, courtesy of the Washington Post
BETTY in New Hope, PA by Kristi Ambrosetti
As activists, BETTY uses their music to work for equal rights, peace and optimal health for all and the environment. In their long, award-winning career, they are proudest about lending their voices to hundreds of events over the decades that have improved lives, changed policy, and raised millions of dollars for worthy causes.
The band’s podcast, BETTY: GIRLBAND is the raucous as-true-as-can-be-remembered history of an oddball all-girl, American trio from the Reagan 80’s to now, told in music, stories and guest interviews. The first season is out now on all platforms.
The indie pop/rock trio BETTY played their first gig in Washington DC in 1986 as a birthday request for the owner of the legendary 9:30 club, Dodie Bowers. The three were the vocalists of the 5-piece art rock band, On Beyond Zebra, who regularly played to capacity crowds at 9:30. The response to the vocal trio was immediate and the party so fun, BETTY just kept going. Within a year, they were touring North America and Europe. After they were cast in HBO’s groundbreaking TV series with Children’s Television Workshop, “Encyclopedia,” the trio moved to New York City.
BETTY continues to fight side by side as musical warriors for self-advocacy, fairness and equality, no matter where that takes them, which may be one reason the trio has far outlasted the majority of bands… and most relationships!
Art. Adventure. Activism… BETTY RULES
NEWS
BETTY LAUNCHES FIRST KICKSTARTER
“If you’re looking for music that will make you lose control of your groove thang, BETTY will rock your world.” - IndieWorld. For their 11th recording, the indie trio is crowd-funding for the first time. The world keeps changing but BETTY sings on: spinning songs of love joy food fear action escape lust anger harmony + dessert! Long-time community builders, they are excited to co-create this adventure with fans, family and friends. They have 30 days to raise their fundraising goal, or they get nothing at all! Clock starts counting down Wednesday, November 15.