MAMA SAM

Raised on campfire sing-a-longs in Wisconsin, Mama Sam (aka Sam Montanaro) is a heart-scrubbin’, soul-shakin’ powerhouse. Raw, magnetic, and just a little dangerous, she cuts straight to the bone. In Chicago’s 2000s underground scene, she left scorch marks with bands like Calibrated Crematorium, Willy Dynomite, Cartolinas, and The Flower Beds.

Portland became her next cosmic pit stop. She landed in 2014 and, by 2018, was captaining a psychedelic folk-pop starship called Mama Sam & The Jam. Her songs braid heartbreak and cosmic curiosity with a jolt of emotional electricity that can hush a room mid-sip.

Beyond her own project, Mama Sam has lent her unmistakable pipes and lush vocal arrangements to a bunch of Portland acts, including New Constellations, Ashleigh Flynn and the Riveters, ZWONGR, Mitch and the Melody Makers, and more.

Mama Sam & The Jam sound like Mazzy Star took a field trip with Fleetwood Mac and forgot to come back—drenched in harmony, a little interstellar, and gloriously groove-soaked. It’s vibey, goosebump-raising, frequency-lifting magic.