Heavens to Betsy was an American punk band formed in Olympia, Washington in 1991 with vocalist and guitarist Corin Tucker and drummer Tracy Sawyer.
[1][2] The duo were part of the DIY riot grrrl, punk rock underground, and were Tucker's first band before she co-formed Sleater-Kinney.
[3][1] Both The New York Times and Rolling Stone included Heavens to Betsy in essential riot grrrl lists.
[3] Dubbed "Love Rock Revolution Girl Style Now," the fifteen bands included Bratmobile, Suture, Heavens to Betsy, Jean Smith of Mecca Normal, and 7 Year Bitch.
[7] Rolling Stone notes, "Tucker made no effort to prettify her massive wail…"[9] The band's songs were female-centric and covered intersectional politics, with lyrics about body shaming, patriarchy, white privilege, periods, rape culture, racism, queerness, the plight of working people, avenging sexual abuse, and frenemies.
[11][12][13] Sawyer would go on the play in numerous bands, including The Flying Tigers, KaraNEEDoke, The Lies, and Motel No-Tell.
[11] Heavens to Betsy's music was included in the 1993 film I Was A Teenage Serial Killer and the 2013 video game Gone Home.
[14][15] In October 2011, English artist Katie Hare created an art installation in London with videos, audio, and zines related to Heavens to Betsy album Calculated.
[16] Hare chose Calculated “because, to me, it seems to really capture the moment an individual, in this case, a young woman’s, belief system is shaken and they begin to start questioning the world around them.
"[16] In 2017, actresses Mackenzie Davis and Carrie Coon recorded an acoustic cover of the Heavens to Betsy track “Axemen" for their film Izzy Gets the F*ck Across Town.