Steven van Betten is a songwriter living in Los Angeles who’s taken aim on storytelling. From reflections of the American West to the depths and intimacies of human relationships, his lyrics reveal the magic hidden in mundane day-to-day life. Born and raised in Blue Diamond, Nevada—a tiny, rural, desert community—his music is inspired by time spent playing guitar in rocky canyons, taking breaks to climb the sandstone and search for swimming holes in the sweltering sun. Echoing across dim, lamplit living rooms, his solo shows are vulnerable, tender, and brutally honest.
While it’s easy to connect some of what he does to a tradition of folk greats like Randy Newman or Towns van Zandt, there’s undoubtedly a modern boundary that Steven is pushing. Deeply experimental and informed by contemporaries like Luke Temple and Sufjan Stevens, there’s hardly a category he fits into neatly. You can’t predict whether a given song will make you chuckle or tear up, but he has a way of being reliably emotional and potent.
When he’s not alone with his guitar, Steven can be heard in groups such as Fell Runner, Kidi Band, SK Kakraba, and Desert Magic, among others. He’s collaborated across disciplines, composing for dance, film, animation, and theatre, and he’s the Co-Founder and Producer of the Annual Blue Diamond Music Festival, Jam at the Barn.