Hannah Bethel on the Red Carpet of The Appy Awards Photo credit: Appalachian Arts and Entertainment Awards

Nashville recording artist, Hannah Bethel, won the award for Best Female Vocalist at the Appalachian Arts and Entertainment Awards (The Appys) in ceremonies that took place at the Mountain Arts Center in Prestonsburg, Kentucky on Saturday, April 9.

Bethel rose from a field of nominees hailing from across the thirteen state Appalachian region to claim the top award in an all-genres category. Finalists were judged by an esteemed panel of national and international academic and entertainment industry professionals.

“Thank you so much to the Appys for welcoming me into this community! This was such a special evening and I am so honored to be recognized alongside such passionate and inspired creative folks,” states Bethel. “My dear friend and collaborator, Susan Ruth, was a performer and presenter that evening. We met each other almost ten years ago, and it was very cool to enjoy the evening while remembering the wild and beautiful journey we took to get here.”

The win capped off a series of highlights surrounding the recent release of her critically-acclaimed EP, ‘Until the Sun Comes Back Around,’ which was lauded by top Americana and country music media outlets in the US and Europe, with stellar reviews from Holler Country, Maverick, and in the April print edition of Country Music People, which gave the EP a 4 ½ Star ranking, and stated, “An impressive six tracks that confidentially rise above the sometimes folk/rock feel to be genuine challengers in the country sphere. Hannah Bethel looks very much like a girl going somewhere and she proves she has the voice to do it as well.” Tracks from the project were featured by Billboard, The Boot, Wide Open Country, Guitar Girl Magazine, The Amp and others, and landed on editorial playlists at Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon,TIDAL and premiered by host Kelly McCartney on her Apple Music podcast, Record Bin Radio. Bethel also performed a very successful EP release celebration concert with her band at 3rd and Lindsley in Nashville on April 6 and taped an interview for an upcoming television broadcast for the FOX 17 show, “Rock and Review” with host, Eric Dahl.

The Appys awards show was emceed by Tayla Lynn and Tre Twitty, the grandchildren of Loretta Lynn and Conway Twitty, and included performances from Holly Forbes (The Voice), and singer, successful songwriter, and acclaimed podcaster, Susan Ruth. Among the presenters were legendary music producer Buddy Cannon (Willie Nelson/Kenny Chesney, IBMA Guitarist of the Year Josh Williams, Nashville recording artist, Jonell Mosser, Ruth, producer Toni Quest, and Emmy award-winner, Eddie Perez.

ABOUT THE APPYS:  The Appalachian Arts & Entertainment Awards elevates the exceptional work of artists, musicians, and industry people throughout the Appalachian region which includes Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. To learn more about The Appys, go to their website at: https://appalachianartsandentertainmentawards.com/

Hannah Bethel with Jill Hamlin, BSCTC Asst. Director of Fine Arts and creator of The Appys
Photo credit: Clif Doyal

ABOUT HANNAH BETHEL:  By the time Hannah Bethel left small town Houghton, Michigan for the bright lights of Nashville, Tennessee at the tender age of eighteen, her self-released first record had already been out almost a year. As a teenager, she got her feet wet playing fairs, bars, coffeehouses, and country western shows all around the upper Midwest. Three more independent records were created in Nashville between 2010 and 2015 with ‘The Freedom EP’ garnering the “Independent Country Album of the Year Award” from examiner(dotcom) in 2012. In the last decade, Bethel’s well-developed style and unique blend of Americana, country, folk and rock has continued to garner her acclaim from renowned media outlets including Billboard, The Washington Post, Holler Country, Maverick, Country Music People, Americana Highways, Wide Open Country, Taste of Country (pending) The Boot and others.

Bethel’s 2018 breakout hit, “Train” received airplay from both country and alternative stations including WSM Radio, broadcast home of the Grand Ole Opry, and Lightning 100, Nashville’s indie rock and alternative mainstay. The “Train” video was also broadcast across all CMT platforms as part of the CMT “Artist Discovery” program, which then landed her an invite into the CMT Mentorship Program by CMT SVP of Music and Talent, Leslie Fram.

Her autobiographical follow up single, “Rhinestone Rodeo,” was supported by Bethel’s 2019 national tour of the same name, where she knocked over barrels from Connecticut to Alaska to Colorado and Kentucky, New York, Michigan and Tennessee. From solo acoustic performances at venues including New York City’s famed Rockwood Music Hall, to full band shows at festivals and influential spaces including Tidball’s in Bowling Green, The Basement in Nashville, and a sold-out show at Nashville’s City Winery Lounge. The gypsy songstress mesmerized audiences with her electric live shows and profound connection to her craft.

Her emotionally riveting single, “The House Is on Fire,” was released in October 2019. It was premiered simultaneously by Americana Highways and The Boot. The song garnered a first-place win in the Americana category of the 2019 International Songwriting Competition (ISC). The official music video was released in March 2020 and was world premiered on Ditty TV and added to CMT Music.

During the pandemic of ’20 and 21′, Bethel recorded her new EP, and maintained a busy schedule of socially-distanced live shows in Wisconsin, Tennessee, Kentucky, Michigan and Alaska, and performed dozens of livestreams with American Songwriter, The Boot, Americana Highways, Women of Americana, and on her own social media platforms.

Her new EP, ‘Until the Sun Comes Back Around’ was released on March 25, 2022. Bethel is a “Featured Artist” endorsee of Furch Guitars, Gretsch Guitars, Taylor Guitars and is also supported by Fender Guitars.

For more information about Hannah Bethel at her Official Website.

One of our favorite songs from Hannah Bethel.

 

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Nashville recording artist, Hannah Bethel, won the award for Best Female Vocalist at the Appalachian Arts and Entertainment Awards (The Appys) in ceremonies that took place at the Mountain Arts Center in Prestonsburg, Kentucky on Saturday, April 9. Bethel rose from a field of nominees hailing from across the thirteen...