Some folks like to mockingly say "those who can't do, teach."
You might want to avoid saying such a thing around Betsy Rogue. Because not only can each member of the three-person Spokane folk group very assuredly do and teach, as the group's new debut album Love or Fear showcases, but the trio is not opposed to getting a bit fiery when disrespected.
Love or Fear taps into that '90s Lilith Fair sound with harmonious arrangements and lyrics that tap into a feminine sense while being unafraid to get angry when needed. It's the cathartic sonic outpouring from the combination of singer/guitarist Liz Rognes (English teacher at Eastern Washington University), cellist/mandocellist/guitarist/strings arranger Jerilynn Harris (orchestra director of the Libby Center's Odyssey program) and violinist Heather Montgomery (orchestra teacher at Sacajawea Middle School).
Over the course of seven tracks, Betsy Rogue fluctuates between vocal harmony-forward rebukes of the patriarchy ("Chivalry Is Not Dead"), rebellious pep in a tale of an ex-con trying to pick up the pieces ("Hennepin"), love songs that feel like a tender folk embrace ("Jump") and spitting spite on dark, seething slow-burn songs that evoke the dread of murder ballads ("I Saw Everything").
The trio ran in similar Spokane music and teaching circles for years. Rognes and Montgomery often shared the same bill at venues like the Bartlett when Rognes was playing solo material and Montgomery was playing in the local band Folkception. Harris and Montgomery were both teaching middle school orchestra in the same district, and Harris succeeded Montgomery as conductor for the Spokane Youth Symphony's Sinfonietta. And in a wildly on-brand happening, Rognes and Harris met via Jerilynn's author wife, Stephanie Oakes, at an Ani DiFranco concert.
But it wasn't until March 2021 when the three actually decided to formally meet up and play some music together. Rognes was trying to organize a music program at Shaw Middle School and needed advice from folks with experience teaching that demographic.
"I knew Heather and Jerilynn a little bit, but I didn't know either of them very well. But I knew they both worked with middle school-aged kids, and that they both seemed like cool people," Rognes says. "So I reached out to them and asked if they'd want to talk about strategies for teaching middle school music sometime... and also maybe play a song together. And then they came over to my apartment, we ate snacks, talked a little bit about teaching strategies and then played songs — and we just really hit it off."
"We're all kind of on the same page," Montgomery adds. "We all have youngish kids. We're all teachers with similar priorities and a similar disinterest in staying up past 9 pm."
Bonding over a shared love of folk and strong women singer-songwriters, the trio started out just messing around with some fitting folky covers — like Indigo Girls' "Closer to Fine" and Sheryl Crow's "If It Makes You Happy" — before moving on to doing arrangements of Rognes' songs and eventually deciding to try to make original music together.
Betsy Rogue became a nurturing space where Rognes and Harris could bring songs they'd written and feel confident the other members would help elevate the material. The easy chemistry between the three could be felt whether working in private or playing in public.
"There are times on stage with Jerilynn and Heather where I can just enjoy and have fun — like not think about anything except for what's happening in the moment," Rognes says. "Which is so exciting, because I'm a really anxious person and it's hard for me to not worry about everything that's going on: not only on stage, but off stage too. Sometimes I can just kind of disappear into the music, because these two are the most incredible musicians."
After a couple years of honing the genre-bending flexibility of Betsy Rogue's sound, the trio started recording the songs that would eventually comprise Love and Fear in April 2024. Rather than do the album in one fell swoop, Betsy Rogue would book Sunday studio sessions with producer Jay Condiotti at J Bones Musicland once they were ready to record a new tune or two. The sporadic schedule meant the album wasn't finished until this August, but that's also partially because the group found ways to expand beyond what they could each play in real time.
"When we got into the studio and we could add more layers with multitracking, it was like, 'This is the sound that I've always imagined.'" Harris says. "When we play a show, we can only do three things and sing, but in the studio we can add more parts. Like Heather would record multiple violin/viola parts, and I would record cello and bass to add more depth and complexity to the sound than what we could have as [only three] actual humans just in one space. So I remember feeling really excited after our first couple recording sessions: This is how it has always sounded in my head, and now this is how it sounds for real."
The name Besty Rogue came about by accident after Rognes was once billed on a show poster as "Liz Rogue."
But don't think the group centers on its misunderstood namesake.
"I don't love telling that story, because this band is us. It's a trio. It's the three of us," Rognes emphasizes. "But I think that word 'Rogue' kind of fits for us, because in a lot of ways we do challenge certain kinds of norms."
"We've gone rogue from our classical music training for sure," Harris interjects with a laugh. "If we were the Trinity, Betsy Rogue is the center of the Venn diagram of all three of us."
That roguish nature comes across most clearly in the themes Love or Fear lyrically tackles.
"I think the title — Love or Fear — is so fitting because there is this kind of range of messaging in the songs," Rognes says. "Some of them are very sort of forthright about bringing down the patriarchy and feeling angry, but then there are more gentle, reflective, lyrical pieces and musical pieces. I think love or fear are two sides of the same coin, and even the songs that feel really different, they're related to each other."
While the album features plenty of tender moments like gorgeous string arrangements that ungird hopes for a simple life on "Easy for a While" and the emotional catharsis of letting go on "Come Down Sundown," Betsy Rogue isn't afraid of getting its collective fangs out in order to be plenty biting, like on the aforementioned "I Saw Everything."
"I was so angry when I wrote that song ("I Saw Everything"). I was seething." says Rognes. "But I always worry because my voice sits kind of high, and a lot of times when I sing it just sounds plaintive no matter what I'm saying. I could be like swearing up a storm, and it just sounds like I'm singing a lullaby or something. But on that song... when we listened like I was like, 'Whoa! I think you can hear how angry I actually am.' I was just witnessing really terrible and harmful behavior happening in communities that I care about, and it pissed me off: transphobia, racism, duplicitousness. I think more than anything, what makes me feel angry is someone saying one thing but then doing another thing. Like someone saying 'I'm an ally,' but then acting in a way that is actually really harmful to a community makes me so angry."
Betsy Rogue hopes its upcoming album release show at nYne on Friday, Nov. 8, provides said community a gathering that's bursting with positivity. The trio is calling in reinforcements to help translate the album's multitrack layers to a live setting, bringing in players from local groups Buffalo Jones and Heat Speak to fill out the sound. After playing Love and Fear in its entirety, Betsy Rogue will close out the evening with a set of '90s folk rock covers, which they hope will become a sort of impromptu dance party. The concert will be all ages, in part so that the teacher trio's students can come to the show.
Whether in the classroom or on the stage, there are pearls of folksy wisdom to be found via Betsy Rogue.
Take a listen.
You just might learn something. ♦
Betsy Rogue: Love or Fear Album Release Show with Rosie CQ • Fri, Nov. 8 at 6:30 pm • $10 • All ages • nYne Bar & Bistro • 232 W. Sprague Ave. • nynebar.com