What is your name?
Beth Henderson
What is your genre of music?
A mix of folk, Americana and pop with a toe in country
Give us a little bio about you.
Beth Henderson is a folk Americana singer/songwriter from Brooklyn, New York. With a sound that flips easily between grounded assuredness and crystalline vulnerability, Beth writes songs of loss, love, and relationships that just don’t quite work. Born in Delaware, Beth first found her way to music through theatre and began to perform once moving to New York City, at venues including Rockwood Music Hall, The Wolfhound, and Gold Sounds. Her debut EP, “Questions,” is due out in early 2021.
What made you go into music?
I started out in theatre, but it never really fit. I never felt a personal connection to what I was working on—something was missing. I had tried to learn the piano when I was little with no success, but one day I picked up a guitar and something clicked. Since then, music has been my outlet for deep feelings and missed connections.
Are you signed?
Nope, I’m not signed…yet 😉
You released your new single ‘Wild One’, tell us more about the single.
I wrote “Wild One” sitting on a porch in upstate New York on my 30th birthday, waiting on my COVID lover to return with wood for our fire. We had met during the early stages of quarantine when the stillness of the city gave us all the time in the world to discover each other. But by mid-June, the whispers of our former lives were starting and our differences were beginning to show. Instead of calling it, then and there on that porch upstate, I wrote this song.
What is the meaning behind the single?
The song asks what is love with no expectation. It’s about meeting your lover where they stand, embracing your differences, surrendering control, and facing the wild.
Describe the track in two words.
Sexy surrender
What was the writing process like?
It was one of those delightful songs that came together easy. It felt almost magical—the words sort of flowed out of me, helping me realize feelings I didn’t even know where there.
What was the recording process like?
Working with my producer Julian Giaimo was a gift. I brought in this pop song I was initially unsure of, and, after one listen, he asked “What if it was a piano ballad?” Things came together so well—we laid down the piano and lead vocal in just two takes and “Wild One” was born. The rest of the day was spent playing and laying down the other sounds.
Who did you work with on the single?
Julian and his cat, Tux.
Will we see a music video for the single?
I have plans for a music video, but it won’t be out for a few months.
Will we see an EP or Album and if so what can we expect from it?
Yes! My EP is dropping in early 2021. It’s going to consist of three (or four!) intimate tracks on love, loss, and relationships that just don’t quite work.
Do you have any online shows coming up?
You can see me play Music of the Future on October 12 at 6PM BST.
What else can we expect in 2020?
2020 has proven you can’t really expect anything this year. But, seriously, I’m hoping to play a few more digital gigs and record another tune before my EP drops at the beginning of 2021.
Do you have any collaborations coming up with any upcoming artists?
Not currently!
Would you be up for collaborations if other musicians wanted one with you? and who would they have to contact?
Always and forever, just dm me on Instagram.
Do you play any instruments?
I’ve played the guitar for the past few years.
Who are your influences?
Right now, they’d have to be Laura Marling and Gillian Welch, with a dash of Dolly Parton.
How do you get inspiration to write songs?
There’s nothing like singing in the shower! What I come up with there either really really works and becomes a song, does not work and is washed down the train, or is so strange it transforms into something that does eventually work. Like, my next single “Lovers in London” started out as “Werewolves in London”! Journaling and freewriting are also huge tools for me—that’s how “Wild One” started. No matter how it starts, I begin with a whole lot of nonsense and, as I work, I chip away at what is on the page. I kind of view it like sculpting—the song already exists under all of the extra words, I just have to get there.
Where do you see yourself now in 5 Years?
I honestly just want a big garden and backyard for my dog to run in. Maybe a national tour or two.
When you’re not doing music, what do you do?
I have a lot of hobbies, like baking and rock climbing. This quarantine, I’ve even gotten into running! Honestly, it’s hard for me to sit still.
What was the song you listened to most that influenced you to go more into the music scene?
I really love Dolly Parton’s “Do I Ever Cross Your Mind?” It was one of the first songs I learned on the guitar and, ever since, I’ve wanted to write a line that simple, yet so heart-breaking
What’s the best advice you have ever been given?
A friend and gifted artist once wrote me a short poem, “Love in the mirror is twice as bright.” That line became a song, and also words that I live (and love) by. .
What advice would you give to aspiring musicians not about the industry and just as an artist?
1. Don’t be afraid of criticism—as long as it’s well-intentioned it can help more than a compliment ever could!
2. People are not thinking about you, as much as you think. They’ve got their own issues and they just don’t have the time.
What quote or saying do you always stick by?
Can I give you a poem? Whenever I’m stressed about instability, I think of it and breathe easier.
Sonnets To Orpheus, Part Two, XII
Want the change. Be inspired by the flame
where everything shines as it disappears.
The artist, when sketching, loves nothing so much
as the curve of the body as it turns away.
What locks itself in sameness has congealed.
Is it safer to be gray and numb?
What turns hard becomes rigid
and is easily shattered.
Pour yourself like a fountain.
Flow into the knowledge that what you are seeking
finishes often at the start, and, with ending, begins.
Every happiness is the child of a separation
it did not think it could survive. And Daphne, becoming a laurel,
dares you to become the wind.
― Rainer Maria Rilke
Where in your hometown is a must go to visit?
Definitely check out Longwood Gardens! It’s not technically in my hometown of Wilmington, Delaware, but I think it’s close enough.
You’re coming off tour.
1/ Where do you go first? My room. A home base is incredibly important for my mental health.
2/ Who do you see first? My pets—Bee, the cat, and Frankie Lou, the dog!
3/What do you eat first? Something that I’ve cooked. It’s something awful to miss a kitchen.
When you are at a gig, what are 5 things you cannot forget?
1. Water, I am obsessively hydrated 2. Rosebud Lip Balm 3. My guitar 4. My lyrics 5. A snack, I’m always hungry after I play
Do you have social media accounts so your fans can follow you?
Check me out on Instagram.
