Sugar Mountain Mama Serenade

Sugar Mountain Mama Serenade was founded by Jen Rosen in 2001 and disbanded in 2015. The collective started as a group of young women playing folk music on a back porch in Claremont and soon bloomed into a band. Their music can be described as eclectic folk combining bluegrass-y ballads, American blues, modern folk, beatnik jazz, and Irish originals. Sugar Mountain Mama Serenade played locally in Claremont and toured the coast of California and the Southwest. 

Original members: 

Anna Alquitela - ukulele

Mary Beth Fletcher - percussion

Nikki Fuentes - guitar, vocals

Becca Mann - accordion, vocals

Joy McAlister-Fox - harmonica, vocals

Jen Rosen - guitar, piano, vocals

Jenn Toney - bass

Katy Stone - banjo, guitar, piano, vocals

In 2003, this original line-up recorded the album, Home. In 2005, Sugar Mountain Mama Serenade recorded their second album, Bittersweet Bending. Sugar Mountain Mama Serenade recorded their third and final album, Peace of Mind, in 2010 with the addition of Trae Governatori on percussion and vocals.

The last line-up:

Jen Rosen - guitar, vocals

Mary Beth Fletcher - ukulele

Trae Governatori - percussion, vocals

Todd Lininger - banjo

Willow Bently - guitar, vocals

Nina Fernando - vocals

Carrie Keil - drums

Joy McAllister-Fox - Bass, harmonica, vocals

Nelda Kerr - guest dulcimer, vocals

Photography by Althea Sachs