Bethany and the Guitar

Bethany has always loved to sing, but it was only after she began recording with her brother, Kurtis Parks, that she realized her passion for songwriting. Shortly after recording the song “As Long As I’ve Got You” in her bedroom, she and her brother created a music myspace under the name “Bethany and the Guitar,” and it stuck. The project slowly developed from a hobby when the two had free time to something much more.

The desire to turn music into more than a hobby first resonated with Bethany when she attended an Ingrid Michaelson show.

“She really engages her fans and has so much fun on stage,” says Bethany, “I was watching her and thinking about how she built this whole huge following from the ground up and I suddenly realized–-I could do that too. I texted my brother immediately and said ‘I really think I want to do music for real.’”

And they have. Because Kurtis lived in Nashville and Bethany in Blacksburg, VA, they began to co-write by sending short video clips of a melody or guitar riff, and built off each other’s ideas. They recorded wherever they could. The songs from the first EP, debuted in January 2010, were recorded in guest bedrooms, freshman dorms, and summer camps.

Bethany and the Guitar is:

Bethany Parks (lead vocals, ukulele, acoustic guitar)

Kurtis Parks (vocals, guitars, keys)

Sarah Parks (keys, background vocals, bass)

Nick Welsh (drums, acoustic guitar).