Bethel Steele

Steele knows how to tell a great story, adorn it in bright musical colors and deliver confidently... [with a] deep, beautiful cognac flavored voice surrounded by a wealth of original material. Bethel is confident and sings with authority... Bethel has eyes, ears and heart open, pencil sharpened and sees what many other artists seem to miss. - John Apice, NoDepression.com

"Bethel Steele presents Of Love & Whiskey with a deep and inspired approach" - Remo Ricaldone, reviewer for www.bcmai.it, www.lonestartime.com and www.planetcountry.it Italy

The favorites list here in Nowheresville has been created by using the following criteria:

1. Frequency of airplay on the show.

2. Audience response

3.Released in and around 2012

4.Unadulterated personal preference by the show's host



#1 Loretta Hagen Mud and Stone: Honesty and Integrity. Real Life lyrics and wonderfully bright guitar work too!

#2 Burns & Kristy Caravan: Beautiful, Uplifting, great songwriting. For "If I Fly" alone, this one is a winner!

#3 Heather Lloyd Samples: IMHO overlooked. Passionate and intense Heather's voice knocks me out!

#4 Sarah McQuaid The Plum Tree and The Rose: Gentle voice, lovely guitar work, Regal with a capital R!

#5 Antje Duvekot New Siberia: Dreamy, fragile, lyrical, strong

#6 Bethel Steele Of Love and Whiskey: Look out World! Pure Goodness! Any performer that can bring my wife to tears is a winner!

#7 Pesky J Nixon Red Ducks: Fun, Fun, Fun....

#8 Bobtown Trouble I Wrought: Creative and talented group. And they take a mean photo! Way cool version of "Reaper"!

#9 Anna Dagmar Satellite: Dramatic and bursting with talent!

#10 Lou Pallo Thank You Les: Mandatory listening from the man who stood by Les Paul's side for many years. Features many special guests.



Honorable Mentions:

Twangtown Paramours The Promise of Friday Night

Lon Milo DuQuette: Baba Lon II

Davey O Testing For Rust

Suzie Brown Heartstrings

Dale Boyle Throwback

Lawrence Lebo The Best of Don't Call Me Larry Blues Mix

Caitlin Canty Golden Hour

The Kennedys Closer Than You Know

Royal Southern Brotherhood: RSB

Brad Cole: Down The Line

Smoke Fairies Blood Speaks

The Boxcar Lillies Heartwood

Marc Berger Drive

Bovine Social Club Bovine Social Club

Dave Fields Detonation



We here in Nowheresville would like to thank ALL the amazing guests who have appeared on the show this year. We are SO grateful!!!



Most Awesome Live performances on Radio Nowhere:



Spuyten Duyvil 12/02/12

Bobtown 11/18/12 - WMSC 90.3

Bethel Steele is a sultry-voiced young folk performer a far cut above the average. The album as a whole is by turns tinged with pleasant soul, jazz, and country elements. But I was most gratified by the sheer virtuosity of some of these songs, which, featuring sterling arrangements and backed by a very fine lineup of musicians, more than occasionally reach the bardic heights of Van Morrison at his best. I am thinking in particular of songs such as the emotionally evincing and superlative title track, the moody and resonant “Far Woods,” and the elegaic “Eighty-Five.” - The Noise Boston

Though she recently moved out of Jamaica Plain for new digs in Dorchester, singer-songwriter Bethel Steele returns to her old stomping grounds tonight to perform both new and old material at the Midway Café. Though she was introduced to playing music through the brass family – starting with trombone then moving to tuba and finally euphonium, she picked up a guitar when she was 14. The switch to a stringed instrument also got her to start writing songs, and she has two recordings to her credit: the 8-song EP “Beautiful Woman” and the full length album “Come Home.”



Is Bethel Steele your real name?

It is my real name, but I tell everyone it was a joke. My grandfather wanted to call me Bethlehem Steele, after the steel company; he thought it would be funny. And my mom really liked it, so that’s what we kept.



Why did you make the change from horns to guitar?

When I was 14 I got to babysit a friend’s guitar. She was in college and went home for winter break. I played it for a while and she didn’t even make me give it back when she returned. I held on to it for a while, and the next Christmas my grandparents gave me some money for a guitar. As soon as I got one I started writing. It’s been a very therapeutic thing for me in my life.



You grew up in rural New York. What brought you to Boston?

I went to college for biology. I ended up getting a job at Boston University, as a technician, working on soil chemistry. The grants ran out and I got a job at Bates College in Maine, then those grants ran out, and I thought, “Hey I really liked Boston.” So I busked in the subways for two months, which was really great. But it made me want to have a product I was proud of. I wanted to go in the studio, but when you’re busking you don’t have a ton of money to do that with, so I got a job in retail at with REI, and I’m still there.



And you do have some recordings now.

When the EP first came out it was on a hand-written CD. The bartender at the bar that I was playing at once or twice a month said, “You’re never going to make any money if you don’t have anything to sell.” He told that the next time I came in if I didn’t have something to sell I wasn’t going to play. He was totally joking, but it was really helpful to me. I sat down in my living room and in one day recorded these eight songs. I took it to the bar next time I played and sold all of them. The studio album was a totally different experience. At first it was just going to be me and my voice and my guitar. But then my djembe player brought in a drum set, so it was me and my guitar and an awesome drum track. Then I had a cello in the mix, which kind of kicked it all up, and then I thought it would totally rock with some fiddle, so I brought in a fiddle player, and then a bass player.



How do you categorize your music?

I think my “Come Home” album sounds like very country-inspired folk-pop (laughs). But when I’m live and it’s just me, it’s pretty much straight up folk.



When’s the last time you played at the Midway?

I played there about two years ago. I don’t play that many local shows. I’m out of town all the time. But the person who books the Midway is a friend of mine. She just said, “Hey do you want to come do this?” And I said, “Sure, why not.” I was looking for shows in the Boston area and this one popped up. - JP Patch

Bethel Steele writes simple and direct poetry, and sets it to beautiful music. She writes in the first person, and I get the sense that she has lived these songs, even if they did not all happen to her as described in the lyric. She sings in a smoky alto, and she never raises her voice. But the emotions come through loud and clear. At the festival, she appeared solo, with just her guitar for accompaniment, and her songs worked that way. But, on the album, she is backed by a small band, and she makes particularly good use of cello and fiddle. She proves to be a very talented arranger, and her songs shine as a result. The singer-songwriter movement started in the early 1970s. By now, it can be called a tradition, and with Bethel Steele, it is in good hands.
- OliverDiPlace

Bethel has been a wonderful addition to the Monday night show. She's got a genuine feel of unpretentiousness that comes out in her songs, leaving the listener with a warm feel of honesty, soul and comfort. Her delivery is solid and her songs are from the heart. Even her sweet and humble stage banter leaves you feeling that Bethel Steele is the real deal. With her passionate voice and solid delivery, Bethel is a hit! - Tom Bianchi - Host of the Lizard Lounge OMC