Bella Betts and Steve Szymanski perform ’11 Almost 12′

Bella Betts and Steve Szymanski perform “11 Almost 12” at Second Story Garage.

Bella Betts has performed with such musical luminaries as Chris Thile, Amos Lee and Langhorne Slim. She plays mandolin, guitar, piano and several other instruments, and she is an accomplished songwriter who recently released her first album. Her stage presence is confident and exciting, and she knows how to jam with the best of them. The amazing thing about Betts is that she’s 12 years old.

Betts, who lives in Boulder, performed a Second Story Garage session last month with Steve Szymanski on guitar. Szymanski is vice president of Planet Bluegrass in Lyons, and he’s also a talented musician. The two first met when Betts was a music student at the Planet’s RockyGrass Academy, an annual week of bluegrass classes.

Watch “The Sleeping Lines of Bridgeport,” “Devil’s Advocate” and Bella and Steve’s interview with Quentin, and witness a budding artist at the start of what promises to be a remarkable career.

What she brought us: A garden gnome. It’s a tad beat up, but she assures us the gnome was intact when her dad brought it back from Australia.

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