Bette Smith sang in her church choir and for a while church music was all she knew. She wasn't allowed to listen to secular music. Smith was raised Seventh-day Adventist, and her father encouraged solely religious music at home and in church where he directed the choir. But the family lived in a diverse neighborhood in Brooklyn, where the sounds of the South were too hard to avoid.
Smith was drawn to soul music, however she spent years telling herself singing professionally just was not an option. After three of her family members passed, she did some deep soul searching and finally decided to pursue her dream. Now she is bringing her delta-style soul-rock mix to North Carolina as part of her international tour for her newest album “Jetlagger.”
Bette Smith and her band perform at The Bullpen in Durham on Saturday, June 7, at THE BLOCK off biltmore in Asheville on Monday, June 11, and at The Rooster’s Wife in Aberdeen, on Wednesday, June 13. Ben Palmer joins Smith on guitar and vocals for a live studio performance.
