Madisen Ward And The Mama Bear: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert

There’s sweetness to Madisen Ward And The Mama Bear’s music that makes me smile, and then there’s so much more. I first saw the Kansas City mother-and-son duo perform last fall in Nashville’s Blue Room, a small, perfect-sounding stage at Third Man Records. The bluesy roots of the music suited the space, and the sound — with young Madisen Ward’s powerful, quivering voice backed by his mother Ruth — had a homespun feel. But there’s vitality to the pair’s music that kept it from feeling like a throwback or a g