About Us

We are Bethlehem and Sad Patrick, and we blend blues, jazz, folk and soul into songs of love and other struggles.

Combining Bethlehem’s soaring vocals and driving percussion with Sad Patrick’s sparse guitar, we deliver powerful songs about being in and out of love, keeping your head up in the city, struggling to make your way, and seeking peace on the margins.

Sad Patrick’s hybrid of folk, blues and jazz playing supports Bethlehem’s “vocussion” – her powerful singing, remarkable improvisations and nuanced melodies riding atop her tarima stomps and body percussion.

“The pair use minimalism to their advantage, crafting delicate and thoughtful songs about everything from love to life in the city to the fight against racism and intolerance with a gentle poetic edge.” – Sarah Hojsak, WXPN / The Key

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10 Artists You Should Know From Philly

The open-mic circuit surrounding the Philadelphia folk community is an ever-changing thing; for every aspiring artist that turns up regularly at their neighborhood’s weekly showcase, there are three more that make the rounds around the region, give it a go, and move on. The minimalist jazz-tinged duo Bethlehem and Sad Patrick is an example of permanence that sprung from this fluid environment; guitarist Patrick Arkins connected with the captivating vocalist Bethlehem Roberson at his local open mic, and they began working together to fuse her poetry with his Wes Montgomery-flavored phrasings. Their new album, Love and Other Struggles, encompasses a range of themes from romance to racism to rhapsodies about life in Philadelphia, all told through moving melodies.

Bethlehem and Sad Patrick are Ready for Your Love

Jazz-tinged duo Bethlehem and Sad Patrick write about love and other struggles, making music that softly rests upon the fragility of life: falling in and out of love, finding peace in the day to day, and staying positive despite the often touch-and-go nature of Philadelphia. In anticipation of their latest album, This Is What We Do, out August 17, the pair have released “Ready For Your Love.” Their latest single shines a warm, smoky light on all the best parts of their sound, marrying Patrick’s Wes Montgomery-esque jazz guitar lines with Bethlehem Roberson’s angelic vocals and unique body percussion, kindling a fireside style of jazz-folk minimalism that would compliment both a peaceful walk in the woods or a smoky night in a speakeasy.

Between honest storytelling, artistic ​​ekphrasis, and beautifully subtle guitar work, Bethlehem and Sad Patrick are perfect compliments to one another. Their 2015 album Did You Ever Do earned them a spot on Slingshot’s “10 Artists You Should Know From Philadelphia” as well as a WXPN Key Studio Session in late 2016.