When KLOF Mag last spoke with Mama’s Broke (Lisa Maria and Amy Lou Keeler) around their stunning 2022 album Narrow Line, they told us of their love for “traditional music from everywhere.” A new video from Sweet Harmony Sessions, filmed in the Tahoe National Forest, captures this ethos perfectly. Despite being an original tune, “Pick the Raisins from the Paska” has a historical burn that contrasts beautifully with the serene Sierra Nevada landscape.
They manage to merge two disparate traditions with astonishing skill, as their performance blends the percussive, old-time and Cajun art of fiddlesticks—where one musician taps the fiddle strings rhythmically with slender sticks—with a deeply felt, Ukrainian-influenced melody.
The song’s title reveals the intimate heart beneath the complex musicianship. It originates from a cherished memory of Lisa Maria and her Ukrainian grandmother, who shared the habit of secretly picking the raisins from their paska (Easter bread) and hiding them under the table.
It’s this synthesis of the personal (the paska), the historical (fiddlesticks), and the global (Ukrainian/Cajun) that makes Mama’s Broke so vital. As we’ve noted before, while their influences run broad and deep, the resulting sound is always uniquely theirs. This session is a raw, powerful reminder of a duo burning with skill, history, and heart.
Find out more about the Sweet Harmony Sessions, who record acoustic field recordings in stunning Sierra Nevada landscapes here: https://linktr.ee/sweetharmonysessions