A partnership forged in the rich musical melting pot of the Rural Grit Happy Hour in Kansas
City’s Crossroads Arts District, Beth Watts Nelson and Brandon Day combine their classical,
folk, jazz and choral music backgrounds to create a modern perspective on a vintage sound.
Making music that feels equally at home on a street corner, a swanky cocktail bar, or a pin-drop listening room, Beth and Brandon seek the time and means to provide genuine and heartfelt musical experiences to their audiences. Both members of other stalwart bands in the Kansas City bluegrass scene, this melodious duo pairs award-winning songwriting with close vocal harmonies and intimately expressive musicianship performed on banjo and guitar. They released their debut EP "Washtucna Waltz" in July 2025 and released a full-length, live album in collaboration with Waldo Folk in May 2026.
Recently ending a twenty-year career as a choral director in public schools, Beth Watts Nelson can now be found pursuing her muse in various projects throughout the Kansas City area. Her newest group, Little Miss Dynamite, combining the acoustic forces of some of KC’s finest musicians (Betse Ellis, Brandon Day, and Caleb Gardner) released its debut album, “Grow Up” in May 2024. Beth also sings and plays the clawhammer banjo in the fiery old time string band, Catgut, and is a founding member of the Konza Swamp Band, a long-standing pillar of the local Bluegrass scene. Now venturing out as a solo/duo performer, she performs original songs that sound as if they had been unearthed with the patina of decades in the songbook of Americana.
With a voice that cuts straight to your soul, and playing a vintage Martin guitar or clawhammer banjo, she will evoke smiles and tears – often at the same time.
Beth holds a Bachelor of Music Education from Kansas State University and a Master
of Music in Choral Conducting from the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory of
Music. Her songwriting awards include the Walnut Valley Festival NewSong Showcase (three
times), the John Hartford Memorial Festival Songwriting Contest and the Ozark Mountain Soul Songwriting Competition. Her trio “The Harmony Sisters” won first place at the Kansas State FidPick Harmony Singing Competition. Beth is a 2023 recipient of the ArtsKC Inspiration Grant and a 2024 inductee of the Kansas Creative Arts Industries Touring Roster.
Brandon Day attended Olympic College outside of Seattle, working extensively with budding
jazz vocalists and small groups. His passion for helping others sound the best they can has lead him through many genres, including jazz, bluegrass, country and western, folk, Americana, classical, and all sorts of fusions. While primarily an upright bassist on call with many jazz vocalists and bluegrass groups in the greater Kansas City Metro, Brandon is also known to sing and play other instruments when needed, including guitar, violin/fiddle and electric bass.
He maintains an active performance schedule throughout the year with the bluegrass group
Whiskey Mash Band, teaching students and small groups at Farm School KC, in addition to
filling every weekend with guest spots on many of the finest bandstands in town. He feels most at home Monday nights at Rural Grit Happy Hour at The Brick in the Crossroads District in KC.