Page 42 - Senior Link Magazine Winter 2022 - Online Magazine

Betty Smith
“The Sounds of West Texas”
TALENT AND MUSIC
from Our Own Backyard
f you talk to my mom, Betty
Smith, for any amount of time,
Iit doesn’t take long to figure out
that singing and making music with
others is a true passion of hers. If
you live around West Texas, then
you might have heard her sing. At a
young age, my mom had the chance
to make it big in Nashville, but
decided instead to keep Texas her
home, have a family, and continue
to make music in her community.
(That worked out well for me and
my siblings!) Today, Mom continues
to bring that passion and love for
music to the South Plains.
“The Sounds of West Texas”
show was born out of love and
determination to continue to feature
live, local talent here in West Texas.
Out of that pursuit, the first “Sounds
of West Texas” made its debut in
August 2010. When asked about
how the show came to be, Mom
said, “I was teaching third grade
at Nat Williams Elementary, and I
42 Lubbock Senior Link
by Tara Friers
hand out programs, pass out tickets
to win fun door prizes, and even
cooked food for the performers. It’s
a neat community gathering, with
a lot of love, fun, and talent packed
into one night.
One of the regular performers and
musicians on the show, Donnie
Martin, said, “The Sounds of
West Texas Show is always a fun
experience. The audience gets a
nice variety of music performed
had a student in my class who had by artists who are professionals in
a two-year-old little sister, Torrence their own right. Everyone in the
Spence, who had been recently band enjoys getting together and
diagnosed with a brain tumor. Their working on music. It's like having a
mother mentioned to me what a jam session. Over the years, we have
struggle it was to pay the medical all become good friends, and I think
bills. I thought the perfect thing it makes a huge difference in how
was to do a benefit show to raise successful the show is. Hopefully,
money to help out financially. That the show will continue for many
first show raised $8,000. We enjoyed years to come.”
doing the show so much that I
decided to keep it going.” My siblings and I have grown
up with these singers and
We have three to four shows per musicians, and it is fun to watch
year now. (Four have raised money the camaraderie they have. Mark
for terminally ill children.) They all Wallney, the SOWT music director
feature a house band that backs up added, “The Sounds of West Texas
the singers, and, if you’ve attended is one of Lubbock's best-kept
one already, then you’ve seen some secrets. It features some of the best
of Lubbock’s finest performers. known and unknown talent in
It is such a family-friendly show, West Texas." Mark is a local musical
featuring talent of all ages. My legend himself, and he knows good
own children, Spencer, Riley, and music!
Harper have grown up watching
their Grammy and friends perform The show features all kinds of
on the SOWT stage. Over the years, music: classic love songs, gospel
our family and friends have helped music, and new classic country, too.
Each show has a theme; whether