(rhymes with Gillette*)
On March, 2008 Beth Scalet was inducted into the Kansas Music Hall of Fame. Other recent inductees have included Melissa Etheridge, Martina McBride, Pat Metheny, and Big Joe Turner. To celebrate, she gathered songs from her previous CD releases and had them remastered to compile "Body of Work: The Best of Beth Scalet."

She has been honored as a songwriter numerous times, from the Billboard Song Contest (three times), the American Song Festival (3 times), and the American Songwriter's Association. In 2008 she was a winner in the Independent Music Awards for her version of "St. James Infirmary Blues." She has performed actively for over 30 years, bringing a mixture of original songs and select songs by others to audiences throughout the country. She figures she has played several thousand shows in her long career.

Her writing ranges from deep emotion to high wit, and her subject matter covers everything from traditional blues themes to vignettes about love and life in the new world to issues of concern to women in particular and humans in general -- domestic violence, eating disorders, addictive behaviors, homelessness -- and she handles them all with taste and insight. In short, Beth's versatility makes her difficult to pigeonhole. Beth accompanies herself on guitar and harmonica. Her unique fingerpicking style, bluesy voice, and range of material have endeared her to audiences in the Midwest and across the country.

She has been featured as the opening act with such greats as Billy Joel, Manfred Mann, Arlo Guthrie, Richard Thompson, Steve Goodman, Bill Monroe, Koko Taylor, and many others.

In 1981 she released "It's A Living . . . " (on vinyl) and in 1987 "Blues in Paradise" (on cassette). Both have been re-released on CD. In 2000 the all-original "Taking the Cure" was released.

Beth is a respected blues singer and harmonica player, and a talented writer of blues songs, as witnessed by her "Blues in Paradise" release. It showcases influences from R&B to Chicago-style to gospel.

Beth has long had a local reputation as a consummate interpreter of Bob Dylan's songs, and in 2002 she released "Beth Loves Bob," a tribute album that has been well-received by Dylan fans from all over.

Instrumentation
Beth Scalet, acoustic guitar, vocals, and harmonica, songwriter

Discography
It's a Living . . . (J-bird Records)
Blues in Paradise (J-bird Records) (out of print)
Taking the Cure (marais des cygnes recordings)
Beth Loves Bob: The Songs of Bob Dylan (marais des cygnes recordings)
Blues in Paradise - Anniversary Edition (marais des cygnes recordings)
Roadwork: The Blues & Everything Else (marais des cygnes recordings)
Body of Work: The Best of Beth Scalet

Links
http://www.bethscalet.com
Beth Scalet
Beth Scalet -- myspace
What They Say About Beth

In 2006, Beth was nominated for induction into the Kansas Music Hall of Fame.

KLammy Nominees for Best Folk Artist,
Pitch Weekly (Kansas City's entertainment weekly)
"Beth Scalet is a local institution. . . she walks it like she talks it."
? Pitch Weekly, April 5, 2001

Acceptance as a Performing Member of Indiegrrl
Holly Figueroa, founder, the indiegrrl.com network:
"Your music touches people in places they didn't know even existed?you are a true pioneer, a trailblazer for women in music."

"Taking the Cure" (review)
The Note
Dr. Robert Kite, The Note
?Scalet draws from the deep wells of American folk music, but the blues color her every musical move. Should you need a consumer-style grounding, let?s just say that Beth?s music is not unlike Bonnie Raitt?s or Lucinda Williams.? . . . What Beth Scalet does isn?t exactly revolutionary. Nevertheless, she has the kind of musical character and style that distinguishes her from the coffeehouse pack.?

"It's A Living" (review)
OUT Weekly (Washington, DC)
?Scalet?s voice is husky, something between [Janis] Ian and Bonnie Raitt, incredibly expressive, and touched with knowing, and forgiving, pain. At times just the sound of a particular phrase ending made my hair stand up.?

Richard Thompson performance (review)
Kansas City Star (Robert Butler)
"In her opening act [before Richard Thompson], Beth Scalet . . a veteran of the Midwestern folk and coffeehouse scene . . . showcased her fine sense of humor and big bluesy voice."