Madisen Ward and the Mama Bear: this year’s breakout success story

In “Live By the Water,” the first song off Madisen Ward and the Mama Bear’s debut full-length, Skeleton Crew, Ward’s strong, sonorous tenor flows over gentle, folky guitar chords. The lyrics sketch out scenes of simple comforts — All I need’s a sip of cherry cola and pie, Ward declares — while Ruth Ward, the eponymous Mama Bear, Ward’s mother, adds her warm, alto harmony. It’s charming at first listen, but as the album rolls on, the charm evolves into something deeper.

Since the Independence, Missouri, duo signed to Glassnote Records last October, life has changed dramatically for them. As Skeleton Crew sees a U.S. release Tuesday, May 19, Madisen Ward and the Mama Bear are in the middle of their first European tour. I chatted with Madisen Ward by phone a few hours before he hopped on an international flight.

The Pitch: The last time we really talked was at that little coffee shop in Independence, Missouri, before the whirlwind started. How do you feel about all these changes?

Madisen Ward: It’s incredible, but there’s also a sense of complacency — a sense of, we kind of feel that this is where we need to be. My mom’s been playing for so long, and it’s not something we ever imagined would happen, but it’s something we always hoped would happen. It feels very comfortable, but it’s not a thing or an opportunity that everyone is granted, so we feel very fortunate. It’s a true blessing.

By the time this interview runs, you’ll be a few dates into your first European tour. Is this the first time you’re going to Europe? What are you excited to see or do?

It is my first time! The most exciting thing is being acquainted with these different cultures and knowing that we’re playing for folks that don’t even speak the same language, and we hope it’s received well. I’ve never been out of the country before, and I can’t wait to soak it all in. Berlin is a place my mom and I are really excited about going to, and we’re doing [Later … With] Jools Holland over there [in London], and that’s going to be pretty incredible.

Does it ever feel more like you’re traveling with a parent, rather than with a bandmate?

That’s not a factor for me. My dream was always to get in the industry, one way or another, whether it be music or through acting — I love acting and stuff like that. My mom and I, we’re still very individual in our approach to things, and we split up after the shows and we go off on our own paths. But the music is what we always come back to, and I would be crazy to think that having a parent there is a reason not to pursue an opportunity like this. It doesn’t make me uncomfortable or anything. I enjoy having her there, and I hope she enjoys having me there. It’s a beautiful experience, and we try not to get on each other’s nerves and hang out.

Tell me about how your relationship with your mom has changed as your music career has taken off.

I think we’ve just grown to respect each other more, in a way that we hadn’t before. There’s always the mother-son thing, but we’re business partners now, and to keep this thing afloat, we’re depending on each other. It’s hard to describe, really, but I’ve had many day jobs, and you respect your co-workers — but not to this level.

Tell me about the new album. I notice that a few of the songs that made it are from the 2011 EP that you guys did. How much is old and how much is new?

There were songs that we had put on our EP that the label had fallen in love with and that they wanted to hear on this album, and we knew that there were a lot of people around the world that hadn’t heard the songs that we had been playing back here.

But the new album has a few new tunes that I’d written after we got signed, even things I was writing on the way down to the studio in Nashville that ended up on the album. And some of the revisited songs feel brand-new, whether it’s the tempo changing or some session musicians adding different chords here and there. I think anyone who’s familiar with our EP is going to experience those songs in a completely different way.

I have to say, there’s something that kind of bothers me: I keep seeing your band referred to as a mother-son duo, which is factual, but some people attach a cutesiness to the phrasing, and a mother-son novelty thing is far from the heart and soul of your band.

Yes! I’m so glad you said that. The heart and soul is — I know it sounds lame, but it really is the music. That’s the heart and soul.

A big part of it is wanting and having that need to share our music with other folks, and when I think of her back in the day — she used to play for so many people. She’d go into people’s homes and have coffeehouse sessions, and people adored her voice and her guitar playing for years. She’d been all around, and me coming in later, going into the coffeehouse circuit, being able to join in on that experience — it was amazing. My mom is a musician, and I’m a musician, and we decided to come together and make this music. That’s the real heart and soul of what we do.