This week our Swag Spotlight is the dynamic trio MAMADEAR featuring Kelly Bradway, Dan Wilson, and Parker Bradway. Three good friends who all happened to move to Nashville as aspiring musicians doing their own thing, got together on Kelly’s front porch to write songs. When the songwriting wasn’t clicking, the threesome decided to sing a country classic and one of their favorites, “Fishin’ In the Dark.” It was then they all realized the undeniable chemistry of their voices. Kelly said, “A magical crush feeling in a music sense” came over them as their voices came together, so they decided to keep doing it.

The talented group stems from all over the map. Dan Wilson, a songwriter from South Carolina moved to Nashville to pursue his dream of making music. Parker Bradway is from Atlanta, Georiga, and Kelly Bradway is from the Washington D.C. area. Wilson said, “We weren’t put together, a lot of times bands are put together by people and it was not on our radar to start this band at all, it just kind of happened.” Although the three of them had one essential connection, they all met through well-known songwriter Tom Douglas, who has written hits such as Miranda Lambert’s “The House That Built Me.” Seven years later, MAMADEAR has perfected harmonies and created music fans want more and more of.

MAMADEAR’s major influences in music stem from the albums of various harmony bands. They love listening and learning from artists such as The Eagles, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Alabama, and the Dixie Chicks. Not to mention, current country groups Little Big Town and Lady Antebellum inspire their music and harmonies as well.  “We spend a lot of time with the three of us practicing our harmonies and trying to get them super tight, even down to where we breathe making sure we are in sync with each other,” she explains.  “We love the harmonies, and that seems to be what really connects with people, so we try to build on that as much as we can.”

Interestingly enough, MAMADEAR just returned from playing a summer residency in the French Riveria opening up for artists such as John Legend and Sting. A country band from Nashville had the privilege to play at a summer-long festival that took place in a beautiful open-air venue on the Mediterranean. They definitely learned a lot opening up for seasoned artists, and Parker referenced John Legend’s performance saying, “It was pretty surreal sitting side stage watching someone with that much talent – it was so cool because it was just him and a piano and it inspired us to just really focus on our craft and being really good at it, and someone will notice.” Kelly added, “The thing that I loved about him as he came off stage he was still just humming to himself, that is a true musician right there.”

MAMADEAR’s newest single “Lost Cause” was released earlier this month. Kelly described the track as “a really fun, in love” type of song.” Parker who is married to Kelly explained how “Lost Cause” came about, as it was inspired by a drive from Nashville to Atlanta. “Kelly and I are married, and when we were dating, we would take tons of road trips back home to Atlanta.” “We were young and in love and being silly, and that road trip would always take us six or seven hours, and my parents would know what time we’d left, and when we would get to Atlanta and they’re like why are you three and a half hours late?” he laughed. “Kelly and I were just in la-la land, we would just pull over to every country store and every overlook, we were lost and wild.” He continued, “This song is about that – having your parents or the world just roll your eyes at you when you are young and in love, but you don’t really care because that’s all that matters to you in that moment.” Check out the newest single below.

MAMADEAR is now back in the United States and ready to keep things rolling. In addition to the release of “Lost Cause,” fans should be on the lookout for their first music video to their song “Steal Away.” Kelly said they had a ton of fun making the video and it turned out exactly how they had hoped, and the trio is extremely excited to put it out very soon. The rest of the year is going to be busy for MAMADEAR, as their schedule is filled with live shows and new music. They will be opening up for Josh Turner, as well as their own headlining shows in the Southeast. MAMADEAR’s plan is to keep releasing new content, and in the words of the band, they are “excited about what the fall holds.”

To keep up with MAMADEAR follow them on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

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