Mama's Broke

Mama's Broke have spent the past eight 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 sophomore record Narrow Line (released May 13, 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 eleven 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.

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.

Julie Avalon

Julie Avalon is a multi instrumentalist and singer hailing from the West coast of Ireland. Her songwriting is a form of musical assemblage, a holding space for her exciting life experiences woven into song. She is honest, surreal and poetic and her distinctly ethereal voice lends itself to a hypnotic folk sound. Julie Avalon's singing style is both experimental and traditional, influenced by the Dublin folk music scene from which many of the leading contemporary Irish folk musicians have emerged such as Lankum, Ye Vagabonds and John Francis Flynn. She has a plethora of folk songs that she delivers masterfully in English, Irish and Scots Gaelic that can silence a room. Her work is inspired by theatre and ritual and she also works in circus and spectacle as a performer. She is currently on tour with Caravan Stage Company singing in their post apocalyptic circus opera aboard a theatre tall ship sailing the Salish Sea in BC Canada until mid -September this year.