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What people are saying…

“Mamma’s Marmalade pays tribute to the Americana canon while pulling it right along into today at a joyous gallop… a supercharged combustion of string instruments, and indie rock friskiness. Influenced by 70’s folk-pop, bluegrass, and country, the band stirs up its own pot that hollers with Dolly Parton, Hot Rize, and The Incredible String Band.” - Glide Magazine

“…thoughtful new grass here courtesy of Mamma’s Marmalade. Allow them to draw you in and soothe your soul.” - Americana Highways

“Mamma’s Marmalade incorporates elements from beyond Appalachia, adding new ingredients to the batter.””- Bluegrass Today

BIO

Mamma’s Marmalade draws from acoustic traditions spanning Appalachia and the Ozarks to craft a sound that manages to be at once familiar and definitively fresh. Honeyed harmonies buoy the classic high-lonesome croon of lead vocalist Lily Sexton, sailing above a whirling reel of steel string sonics and pop melody. Mamma’s Marmalade started in a UMass dorm room when Sexton (fiddle) and Mitch Bordage (mandolin) bonded over bluegrass. Tenacious flatpicker Sean Davis caught their attention at an open mic in 2016, and the band released their debut album Goodbye, Black Velvet, the following summer. In 2019 the band released their sophomore LP Rockabee Fields. Following Rockabee Fields they welcomed bassist Dan Bisson to their musical family. They’ve spent years honing improv skills, instrumental tone, harmony arranging, rhythm and energy to create a compelling live show. Regardless of their relative virtuosity at the beginning of their adventure, today Mamma’s Marmalade is composed of a group of artists that know how to work together as one. Their third studio album, Rabbit Analog, was released August 2021. They released ambitious cover project Fakin It: Covers Deserving Coverage in 2022, a feat of collaboration with Jacob Jolliff, Twisted Pine, and other talented pals. They will begin recording their fifth studio album this summer.

rabbit analog Album bio

On their new LP Rabbit Analog, New England newgrass quartet Mamma’s Marmalade pay tribute to the Americana canon while pulling it right along into today at a joyous gallop. Eminently engaging yet full of nuance, the record draws from acoustic traditions spanning Appalachia and the Ozarks to craft a sound that manages to be at once familiar and definitively fresh. Honeyed harmonies buoy the classic high-lonesome croon of lead vocalist Lily Sexton, sailing above a whirling reel of steel string sonics and pop melody.    

The material on Rabbit Analog is largely informed by the band’s early experiences touring. That time on the road paid big dividends. “We’ve spent years honing our improv skills, our instrumental tone, our ability to harmonize, our rhythm, and our energy to create a compelling live show,” says Davis. Regardless of their relative virtuosity at the beginning of their adventure, today Mamma’s Marmalade is composed of a group of artists that know how to work together as one. 

 Written at turns in a New Orleans rental house, a minivan crossing the Ozarks, and a drafty Massachusetts garage in the middle of a springtime lockdown, Rabbit Analog is imbued with the exhilaration of journeying and discovery, and the emotional encounters that accompany that. 

 Lend your ears to Rabbit Analog for a spell, and you’ll discover a record with deeply relatable lyrics wrapped in melodies that inspire. “I see this as the band’s most intimate record yet, and it’s most ambitious, and it’s most genuine” says Sexton. “I hope listeners feel a sense of relief. Know that they are not alone in their happy times, in their lonesome times, in their triumphant times and in their heartbreak times.” Bordage continues, “This record was made out of a love to create and share experiences. We want to bring joy in the best way we know.” Blooming gloriously within the ever-branching musical family tree that is Americana, Rabbit Analog, made (safely) during 2020’s COVID-19 pandemic, is where love, home, nostalgia, and jubilance coalesce.

Significant performances

Shared bills: Yonder Mountain String Band, Greensky Bluegrass, Fruition, The Lil’ Smokies, David Grier, Twisted Pine, Dustbowl Revival, The Stillhouse Junkies, Jayme Stone

Festivals: Green River Festival, FreshGrass, Back Porch Bluegrass Festival, Ossipee Valley Music Festival, StrangeCreek Campout

Notable Venues: The Shea Theater, The Parlor Room, Club Passim, Rockwood Music Hall, The Jalopy Theater, Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion

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