He was previously a member of several other groups, including Backbone69, Whitestarr, Brethren of the Coast, Dawes, Jamtown,[4] and Duane Betts & the Pistoleers.

[4] In 1998, Betts joined Backbone69, a roots-rock band that also included drummer Alex Orbison, bassist Berry Oakley Jr., and lead singer Chris Williams.

[7] Betts and Orbison formed Whitestarr (2002–2005), with singer Cisco Adler, a group that was signed by Atlantic Records (and later dropped), toured with Kid Rock, and appeared at the 2004 Coachella Festival.

The group included Great Southern bassist Pedro Arevalo on guitar and Betts' former Whitestarr band member Damon Webb on bass, and was the opening artist on Dickey's final tour before retiring.

[12] Reuniting with Adler, Betts joined Jamtown, a group that included Donavon Frankenreiter, G. Love, and Cody Dickinson of the North Mississippi All-Stars.

The band released its debut, self-titled EP in the summer of 2017, then undertook a short Western U.S. tour, playing several festivals, including the Malibu Guitar Festival in May, and Monterey Pop 50th and Arroyo Secco Weekend in June, plus two dates supporting Jack Johnson in July, in Denver, Colorado and at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, California.

[14]  The two teamed with Gov't Mule's drummer, Matt Abts, and bassist, Jorgen Carlsson, for a one-off July performance in Santa Monica, California as Bando.

[17] Betts released his debut EP, Sketches of American Music, on April 26, 2018, along with a video, directed by Austin Lynch,[18] of the record's first single, "Taking Time.

He and his band- Johnny Stachela (guitar), Berry Duane Oakley (bass), John Ginty (keyboards), and Tyler ‘Falcon’ Greenwell (drums)- recorded tracks at Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi’s Swamp Raga studio in Jacksonville, Florida for what would be Betts’ debut solo LP, Wild and Precious Life.