Betty jo Werthmann is a co-founder of Edmonton’s Northern Lights Folk Club and, together with Bill Werthmann, has devoted nearly 30 years to creating a vibrant and welcoming home for folk music in Alberta. Through the club’s concert series, they have supported independent artists at every stage of their careers while fostering a close-knit community of audiences, volunteers, and performers. Betty jo’s dedication to community has also reached far beyond the folk club. She supported Bill’s 2013 Hillary’s Ride, raising awareness and funds for mental health and suicide prevention, and co-presented ten years of Home Fest, helping raise awareness and financial support for organizations assisting people experiencing homelessness in Edmonton. Her quiet leadership, generosity, and commitment to building community through music have left a lasting impact on Alberta’s folk music scene. In recognition of these contributions, Bill and Betty jo Werthmann received the 2026 Canadian Folk Music Awards Unsung Hero Award.
Order of Folk Inductee
Betty jo Werthmann
Join us in celebrating the 2027 Canadian Folk Music Awards in Sydney, Cape Breton – Unama’ki, Nova Scotia!
Canadian Folk Music Awards
71 Markland Cres.,
Ottawa Ontario K2G5Z6
CFMA is a registered non-profit organization, and gratefully accepts donations to support our operations.
CRA Number : 827183542RC0001
The Board, Staff, and Volunteers at the Canadian Folk Music Awards acknowledge that we live, work, meet and travel on the traditional territories of Indigenous Peoples that have cared for this land, now called Canada, since time immemorial. These lands are either subject to First Nations self-government under modern treaty, unceded and un-surrendered territories, or traditional territories from which First Nations, Métis and Inuit Peoples have been displaced.