Heavens to Betsy was an American punk band formed in Olympia, Washington in 1991 with vocalist and guitarist Corin Tucker and drummer Tracy Sawyer. The duo were part of the DIY riot grrrl, punk rock underground, and were Tucker's first band before she co-formed Sleater-Kinney. Both The New York Times and Rolling Stone included Heavens to Betsy in essential riot grrrl lists. In 2018, a music writer noted, "This band's primal punk sound and powerful expressions of young female rage and desire retains the power to startle decades after their creation." History Tucker and Sawyer met in middle school in Eugene, Oregon and became friends. Sawyer said, "We kind of goofed around. ...We were like, ‘Let’s start a band!’ But it was always kind of a joke." Tucker came up with the band name Heavens to Betsy during the spring of 1990. That summer, before Sawyer's senior year in high school and Tucker's freshman year at college, the friends went on a "music pilgrimage" to Athens, Georgia by train. There, Sawyer bought a used drum kit for $100. Tucker's father gave her a guitar he built and bought her an amplifier. The two started learning to play their instruments, practicing at Tucker's parents' house. In the fall of 1990, Tucker went to Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington. She found an active music scene with bands like Bikini Kill and Bratmobile. Tucker says, “I was able to finally connect with a group of people that were all in bands and they were all playing house shows. It was all happening so I just said, ‘Well, I have a band, too!’” In 1991, Tucker's band was invited to play at the International Pop Underground Convention by Michelle Noel of the college's KAOS radio station. Tucker said, “She called my bluff. I said yes, even though I don’t think we’d even written a song. I think Tracy had just graduated high school, and I was like, ‘Great, we’re playing a show.’” Heavens to Betsy's first public appearance was a three-song set at the International Pop Underground Convention organized by independent record label K Records in August 1991. The first night of the six-day festival had an all-female bill. 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. This show is considered pivotal in advancing the riot