MATTHEW BURNETTE

Staff Writer

Among the multitude of artists that made up this year’s eclectic Bonnaroo lineup, a pair of performers made their first appearances at the festival on Friday, June 12.

Mother Mother, a Canadian indie rock band based out of British Columbia, took the this tent by storm with their unique brand of songs.

Lead singer and guitarist Ryan Guldemond noted that the festival is one that has been on the band’s radar.

“We’ve been hearing about it forever,” he noted. “I don’t remember not having Bonnaroo as like a highly credible festival in my consciousness. I’m sure we pitched for it many times and for whatever reason we just haven’t been able to play until this year, so we’re stoked.”

“I love the climate. I love the lushness,” he added. “The people are really nice and the catering was incredible.”

Known for songs like “Hayloft,” “Arms Tonite,” “Wrecking Ball” and “Burning Pile,” the band is also heading out to play at other festivals including Lollapalooza Chicago, Osheaga Music and Arts Festival in Montreal and Corona Capital in Mexico City.

Mother Mother is also made up of Guldemond’s sister Molly, Jasmin Parkin, Ali Siadat and Mike Young. Guldemond explained that working with his sister for the last 20 years has been “the best and the worst.”

“Like, there’s the spectrum of emotionality that’s really broad with family, so you could only imagine, right?” he said. “20 years of being in a band with your sister and sort of growing up as adults which means flailing. Your 20s and 30s are a big flail fest.”

“Add family, add business, add creativity, but it’s funny, we just had a fight the other day before coming here and it just feels like the end of the world like we’re never going to resolve this and then during the trip and at the airports you kind of bond through a hard travel day,” he continued. “Then it’s totally forgotten, like hugging today and can’t even remember what it was about, so it’s sort of like that for us.”

Mother Mother’s debut Bonnaroo set consisted of some of their more popular songs in what Guldemond referred to as a “really thoughtful” set that pulled form all 10 of their records. In addition, the band also debuted a brand-new song on stage

“We never do that,” he explained. “We never play a new song that hasn’t been recorded yet. We always record it and then learn how to play it and then perform it, so today’s kind of special for that reason. It very much goes against our formula.”

The song titled “Rot” was inspired by a fan Q&A that the band held when Guldemond noticed an interesting fan name and then tasked those participating to express their creativity by writing song based off of the name.

“I have to do the homework to, and so that’s where it was born from, a really candid, pure moment talking about creativity with our fans,” he said. “Molly sings the song lead which is cool because she typically sings mellow songs like sad, slow songs that like finish a record, but this one’s like got some heat and pulse, so it’s very new for her to sing a song like that.”

Another newcomer to Bonnaroo this year was Claire Rosinkranz, a California-based singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist known for her viral hit “Backyard Boy.”

Rosinkranz was booked for the festival two days before she took the stage but jumped at the chance to play.

“I’ve heard about Bonnaroo so many times, and I recently got more prepped about the style of festival it is, and I love the hippie-dippie campout. That’s awesome,” she said. “I’ve been out on the road for the past two months and I’ve been craving some camping, so just even seeing everybody camp here has been really cool to see.”

Despite some technical difficulties, she says that she felt good about her first set.

“I’ve been performing for the last two months so nonstop that I just felt really comfortable,” she explained. “I don’t know, festivals are just a good change of pace, so I had a great time.”

Bonnaroo served as the cap on a two-month tour where Rosinkranz supported Alex Warren in Europe and then embarked on headlining show in the States.

She says that she will be enjoying some much needed rest and relaxation before performing at Lollapalooza and the Austin City Limits Festival later this year. She also aims to release another album next year after this year’s My Lover.

“I was just talking about how the last couple of nights it’s been really hard for me to sleep because my writer brain has just been going off, and every time I close my eyes, I just have melodies and guitar licks and all of these different pieces floating around in my brain which makes it impossible to sleep,” she explained. “I’ve been out on the road away from the studio for so long that I feel like I’m pent up with a lot of music.”

Rosinkranz noted that she enjoys festivals because they offer different experiences like playing for different audiences that may not necessarily be in attendance to hear her play. “Festivals are just a really fun experience to experience other artists’ music and gain a new audience and it’s just a good time,” she said. “I’m down for it all.”