Mama's Broke at the Raccoon Motel -- May 6.
Monday, May 6, 7 p.m.
Raccoon Motel, 315 East Second Street, Davenport IA
Currently touring in support of their second album Narrow Line, a recording that received a Canadian Folk Music Award nomination for Vocal Group of the Year and a Juno Award nomination for Traditional Roots Album of the Year, folk musicians Amy Lou Keeler and Lisa Maria bring their outfit Mama's Broke to Davenport's Raccoon Motel on May 6, the artists also the winners of the Canadian Folk Music Award for Ensemble of the Year with their debut recording Count the Wicked.
With the Canadian duo hailing from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Keller's and Maria's Mama's Broke style draws largely from bluegrass and Eastern European folk-music influences. As stated at their MamasBroke.ca Web site, "Mama’s Broke have spent the past nine years in a near-constant state of transience, pounding the transatlantic tour trail. They've brought their dark, fiery folk-without-borders sound to major festivals and DIY punk houses alike, absorbing traditions from their maritime home in Eastern Canada all the way to Ireland and Indonesia. Nowhere is the duo's art-in-motion approach more apparent than on their long-awaited JUNO nominated sophomore record Narrow Line (released May 2022 on Free Dirt Records) It's the sound of nowhere in particular, yet woven with a rich synthesis of influences that knows no borders.
"The 11 songs on Narrow Line burrow deeply, with close harmony duets, commanding vocals, and poignant contemplations on cycles of life, including birth and death. Tinges of Americana stand side-by-side with the ghosts of Eastern European fiddle tunes and ancient a cappella ballad singing, melding into an unusually accessible dark-folk sound. A careful listen of Narrow Line invokes an ephemeral sense of place – whether real or imagined – inviting us to take comfort in the infinite possibilities of life, whether or not we ever choose to settle down.
"For a group defined by constant touring, it’s not surprising that the two artists that make up Mama’s Broke, Lisa Maria and Amy Lou Keeler, met on the road. As Lisa remembers it, 'Amy was driving her old Mercedes from Montreal to Nova Scotia and I was looking for a ride. We spent the 17 hours in the car talking almost exclusively about music. By the time we reached Halifax we started playing together, and within a week or two became a band.'
"Both coming out of travelling communities that are focused on music and protest, the two owe the way in which they move through the world to the integrated and self-sustaining nature of DIY culture and activism. It was a busy life that took them on a roundabout annual touring schedule running between Canada, the United States, Ireland, the UK, and Europe. In each country, they built grassroots DIY communities to support their music or moved along the pathways of communal organizing that sustained other touring artists.
"The driving force behind this band is – and has always been – the commitment to challenge borders between people, places, and traditions; while encouraging freedom of expression and community through music."
Mama's Broke performs their headlining engagement in Davenport on May 6 with an opening set by Joel Sires, admission to the 7 p.m. concert is $15.88, and tickets are available by visiting TheRaccoonMotel.com.
