Joe Jencks and Bettman & Halpin

Joe Jencks sings with a lyric baritone voice that has the edgy richness of a good sea-salt caramel. A 25-year+ veteran of the international Folk circuit, an award-winning songwriter and a celebrated vocalist based in the Chicago area, Joe delivers engaged musical narratives filled with heart, soul, groove, and grit. Blending well-crafted instrumentals and vivid songwriting, he is known for his performances of musical beauty, social consciousness, and spiritual exploration. Jencks has penned several #1 Folksongs including the ever-relevant Lady of The Harbor. From Carnegie Hall to Lincoln Center to Festivals across the US and Canada, Jencks has become a fan favorite throughout North America and beyond. 

Joe’s 2017 CD Poets, Philosophers, Workers, and Wanderers earned #1 Artist, #1 Album, and #1 Song on the North American Folk DJ Chart as well as spending several weeks at #1 on the SIRIUS XM Americana Chart. In August 2022 Joe releases The Coming of the Years – a new album more deeply exploring matters of his Irish heritage while continuing a years-long musical conversation about social inequities. Blending modern and traditional Celtic instrumentation, this recording is already receiving critical acclaim reviews from journalists and DJs alike. In addition to his work as a touring performer, songwriter, and producer, Joe also leads songwriting workshops with diverse communities from Military Veterans to School Children. Joe is a dual U.S.-Irish citizen and has served as a Cultural Ambassador with the US State Department. He also received a grant in 2020 from the Archives of American Folk Music at The Library of Congress.

 Bettman & Halpin play original Folk/Americana. Their concerts combine high-energy upbeat bluegrass/roots inspired compositions, beautiful ballads with soaring vocals and heartfelt lyrics, and groovy feel-good songs that audiences will be singing in their heads for weeks thereafter. Interspersed between these songs and instrumentals, they tell stories. They have become as known for their storytelling and playful banter as well as for their hooky whole-hearted songwriting and instrumental wizardry. They have been touring as a duo since 2008, and incorporating a trio and quartet since 2013.

Bettman & Halpin have a well-earned reputation for hypnotizing performances filled with irresistible lyrics, transcendent harmonies and roof-raising instrumentals. 

They have twice been a featured act at the Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield, KS along with musical heroes Byron Berline, Michael Martin Murphy w/ Pat Flynn, and Tommy Emmanuel. They can also be found performing at various arts centers throughout the US and abroad. Their music creates a fully acoustic, delightfully eclectic sound far greater than the sum of its parts: taking the listener from up-tempo down home fiddlin', to soulful sorrowful ballads, to super hooky folk/pop with catchy melodies and lyrics that will stick with you long after the concert is over. Touring together since 2008, Bettman & Halpin have been recognized in various Regional and National competitions.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Swallow Hill Music - Tuft Theatre, 71 East Yale Ave, Denver, United States