Solo Biography

"A Washington native now spreading the Celtic gospel in Louisiana, Betsy McGovern's voice can chill as easily as it caresses. Therefore she handles up-tempo songs with relish. The slower songs she invests with a quiet authority, and they in turn become things of shimmering beauty. A wondrous voice of pure and untarnished beauty, she is capable of moving mountains with a voice like this."

So says Rock and Reel magazine of Betsy McGovern. Along with her band, The Poor Clares, she has been featured in prestigious venues around the country, including the Milwaukee Irish Fest (the largest Irish music festival in the world), Festival Internationale, The Baton Rouge Pops Symphony, and The National Geographic Society in Washington, DC.

Betsy was raised in a musical family going back generations. She was singing in church choirs before she was even able to read, and her first "public performance" was We Shall Overcome at a civil rights rally in her hometown of Washington, D.C. Betsy's grandmother was a "lady piano tuner" traveling the Midwest at the turn of the century, and made sure her children and grandchildren always had quality instruments. Betsy's sixteenth birthday present was a Martin guitar, and she made good use of it. She sang in several groups around the D.C. area, including performances at Wolf Trap and the legendary Cellar Door.

In college, she moved to New Orleans where she completed a degree in Music Therapy. In 1979, she was hired to be one of the featured entertainers at O'Flaherty's Irish Pub in the French Quarter. It was here that she met other musicians, and put together The Poor Clares, who made their debut at the 1992 New Orleans Jazz Fest. They were hailed by B97 radio as "the surprise hit of the Fest", and have been playing around the country to rave reviews ever since.

The Poor Clares have three recordings, one of which, Change of Habit , rose to number 26 on the national Folk/Roots music charts. Betsy has two solo recordings, Trad, Bad, and Dangerous, and a brand new one, Revival of the Heart , produced by the legendary Gerry O'Bierne of Dublin, Ireland.

In addition to her band and solo concert career, Betsy also works regularly with Young Audiences of New Orleans (making use of her Master of Education degree as well as her talent), and has performed for over one-half million children over the years. She is one of Young Audiences most requested artists, and has served as Artist in Residence for several grant programs.

Betsy's voice has earned praise from around the globe. Her favorite critic, however happened in one night while she was singing at O'Flaherty's. The one and only Paul McCartney was strolling by one night in the summer of 2002. He came in and stayed for an entire set, taking one of Betsy's CDs along when he left. "We were just passing by and heard your voice, and wanted to come in and see who it was. You're a breath of fresh air." Who could argue with a Beatle?