Madisen Ward and The Mama Bear Announces Fall Tour

Ward told NPR that he only started working with his mother, Ruth, six years ago after he “started picking up music” at age 19. That’s the same age she began performing in coffeehouses.

“We stopped playing with other musicians and started playing together, and we really just loved the way it sounded,” Madisen said. “So we just kept going.”

They obviously weren’t aren’t the only ones who loved the sound.   

American Songwriter’s review of the band’s debut, Skeleton Crew, notes that the duo’s “unique mother/child musical collaboration is never stilted or exploited for cheap effect, and the natural synergy between the two creates affecting, unadorned music with the emotion and staying power only a family can conjure.”

Paste named Skeleton Crew one of “The Best Albums of 2015 (So Far).” The publication writes, “Madisen Ward’s distinctive timbre is as warm and full-bodied as it is emotive and unforgettable. But it is ultimately Mama Bear’s energetic and technically sound guitar playing and rich, harmonious singing that make this act truly incredible. This is an album that will stay in your vinyl collection for a long, long time.”

Skeleton Crew, which was released in May, was produced by Jim Abbiss (Adele, Artic Monkeys).

The duo kicks off the fall tour – “My Sister’s Boy” – in their hometown of Kansas City Aug. 20, following an appearance at Philadelphia Folk Festival. In between the Kansas City gig and the September itinerary, the Madisen Ward and the Mama Bear will play a run of European dates with Sufjan Stevens.

Check out the fall routing below:

Aug. 20 – Kansas City, Mo., Arvest Bank Theatre At The Midland
Sept. 12 – Urbana, Ill., Krannert Center (Ellnora / The Guitar Festival At Krannert Center)
Sept. 18 – Nashville, Tenn., Various Venues (Americana Music Festival & Conference
Sept. 20 – Birmingham, Ala., WorkPlay Theatre      
Sept. 22 – Asheville, N.C., The Grey Eagle  
Sept. 23 – Atlanta, Ga., Vinyl At Center Stage
Sept. 24 – Chattanooga, Tenn., Revelry Room         
Sept. 26 – Franklin, Tenn., Park At Harlinsdale Farm (Pilgrimage Music & Cultural Festival)
Oct. 6 – West Hollywood, Calif., Troubadour
Oct. 13 – Portland, Ore., Aladdin Theater    
Oct. 14 – Seattle, Wash., Columbia City Theatre
Oct. 15 – Vancouver, British Columbia, Vancouver East Cultural Centre “The Cultch”     
Oct. 22 – Columbia, Mo., Rose Music Hall   
Oct. 23 – Des Moines, Iowa, Vaudeville Mews        
Oct. 25 – Minneapolis, Minn., Cedar Cultural Center
Oct. 26 – Milwaukee, Wis., Colectivo Coffee – Prospect Café         
Oct. 28 – Chicago, Ill., Martyrs’        
Oct. 29 – Ferndale, Mich., The Magic Bag   
Oct. 30 – Toronto, Ontario, Church of the Holy Trinity       
Nov. 5 – New Orleans, La., Parish At House Of Blues        
Nov. 6 – Dallas, Texas, The Kessler Theater
Nov. 7 – Houston, Texas, Bronze Peacock At House Of Blues       
Nov. 8 – New Braunfels, Texas, Gruene Hall           
Nov. 12 – Denver, Colo., Swallow Hill Music Association  
Nov. 13 – Boulder, Colo., Boulder Theater

Tickets go on sale Friday, Aug. 7. Visit MadisenWardAndTheMamaBear.com for more information.