Show Tunes: The curious case of The Blue Eyed Bettys

A band's formation is a lot like the start of any good love story — the circumstances always vary, and often it happens when it's least expected. For local Americana folk four-piece, The Blue Eyed Bettys, this holds especially true. After moving last fall from New York City to Sarasota for a Florida Studio Theatre cabaret production, the original three band members met and quickly became friends as they rehearsed together and learned the music.

Soon, their friendship evolved into jam sessions in their free time, and the three explored their love of traditional Americana and folk storytelling with a distinct touch of theatrical flair and stage presence. Borrowing their namesake from their shared sets of baby blues, Daniel Emond, Sarah Hund and Ben Mackel began writing original songs and testing out the local open-mic scene — much to audiences' delight.

After receiving positive feedback, the band continued to books gigs in the area, and their their theater-influenced performances and immaculate harmonies have earned them the admiration of local musicians and showgoers alike. They recently added fellow FST actor Jamie Mohamdein on upright bass, which has further rounded out their sound as they plan an upcoming month-long tour, which will take them back to New York. But the four piece remains confident they'll return to the area eventually.

"We love it here," says Ben Mackel, guitarist and vocalist. "There's a lot of support for the arts here, and whether it's for another production or just because we love it here so much, I'm sure we'll be back."

Catch them this Friday at 9 p.m. at Growler's Pub with Hail Dale and The Wallies and Saturday at Fogartyville with Passerine.

— special thanks to Owen's Fish Camp for allowing us to film on site.