Mama’s Broke, based out of New Orleans and Halifax, craft a sound that artfully weaves old-time, Quebecois, blues, punk, Celtic, Balkan and doom metal into a hypnotic and energizing tapestry of original music.
The connection between Amy Lou Keeler and Lisa Maria draws the listener in as they effortlessly move through dark, lonesome, and intricate acapella songs to fiery, ripping fiddle/banjo tunes accompanied by foot percussion and driving guitar rhythms. Their debut album Count the Wicked won them a Canadian Folk Music Award in 2017 for ‘Ensemble of the Year’ as well as a nomination for ECMA ‘Rising Star Award.’ Their sophomore album Narrow Line, released in 2022 on Free Dirt Records, was featured in The Bluegrass Situation, Hollar Country, No Depression, Folk Radio UK’s “top ten of the year” as well as being placed on NPR’s taste maker and Tiny Desk host Bob Boilen’s “What I’m Listening To Right Now” Spotify playlist. Narrow Line was nominated in 2023’s Canadian Folk Music Award ‘vocal group of the year’ as well as a Juno award (Best Traditional Roots Album of The Year).
In a perpetual state of transience, the duo has spent a majority of the previous decade pounding the transatlantic-tour-trail. They have supported acts such as Nick Shoulders, Sierra Ferrell, Tim Eriksen, and La Vent du Nord as well as co-headlined tours with Matt Heckler, Willi Carlisle and Rufus Nightjar. From notable international folk festivals to DIY punk houses to activist gatherings to opera houses and everywhere in-between, Mama’s Broke has garnered a passionate and loyal fanbase in North America, Europe, and the UK.
In a genre full of tall tales and marketable lies, New Orleans’ Chris Acker crafts candid songs – weaving his wit and woes into a body of work that exposes the stale plight of the American Songster to the honest, and sometimes hilarious, light of day.
In the tradition of Guthrie and Prine, Chris lends a quavering voice to the half-rotten romance of the unremarkable and unrefined. Regardless if you’re sitting by a backyard fire on a muggy Louisiana night or standing stage-side in some far flung town, when you hear Chris Acker playing, you’re hearing the end result of countless hours of observing the masters of the craft…and the end result of repeating their mistakes.
Acker released his fourth full-length album, Famous Lunch, on Gar Hole Records in October of 2024. Famous Lunch contains some of his best work yet: laid back, country-rockers like “Wouldn’t Do For You (Buddy)” and “Shit Surprise” (which Paste Magazine called a “song of the year contender” in 2024), a few raucous, bar-ready joints like “Don’t You Know (Who I Think I Am)” and “Bunn Machine”, and tender, folky triumphs like “Stubborn Eyes” and “Eyelash”, all showcasing Chris’ gift of building “vivid scenes at an impressively low word count” (No Depression).
