Performing before a hometown crowd can be a risky proposition. Friends, family, neighbors, and acquaintances fill the crowd. Not everyone is starstruck; your sense of celebrity can be dimmed. Expectations may be higher than normal: Prove to us your success is justified.
That wasn’t the case Saturday night at the Truman, where Madisen Ward and the Mama Bear (Ruth Ward) received a warm embrace and a hero’s welcome from an enthusiastic crowd of nearly 800.
The son-mother duo from Independence is touring on The Radio Winners, the six-track EP they released in 2018 (and which the Associated Press named one of the year’s best recordings).
They would perform Radio Winners in its entirety, several tracks from their debut full-length Skeleton Crew, plus a few covers and other tracks during a 90-minute show that showcased their considerable songwriting chops and live-performance skills. Years on the road have turned them into a poised and polished act.
Backed by cellist Mike Hart, Ruth Ward opened the evening with a precious cover of Old Friends, from the Simon and Garfunkel album Bookends. A former coffeehouse folk artist and devotee of ‘60s and ’70s folk (think James Taylor, Joan Baez, Janis Ian), she did justice to Paul Simon’s classic song, altering it slightly while honoring its original vibe.
They were then joined by the rest of the band—Madisen Ward (guitar), Brent Kastler (bass), Tom Hudson (drums), and Bryce Veazy (guitar). Stephanie Williams would sit in later for Hudson on several songs.
The Wards started out as just a duo—two singers strumming guitars; they have evolved and adapted impressively into a full band, one that judiciously arranges its live material to suit its folky roots.
They started with Mother Mary, a groovy, soulful song from Radio Winners that gave the Wards a chance to show off their keen, familial harmonies and allowed Madisen Ward to unleash his rich, expressive voice.
There were plenty of highlights throughout the set: Daisy Jane, a track from Skeleton Crew, that rides a country-blues/Taj Mahal vibe; Walk in the Park,which sustained that jaunty mood; Hell and Back, a standout from Radio Winners that gave the band a chance to stretch out and issue a hefty rock-blues groove.
A deep gospel vibe kicked in during the reinterpretation of Lord Grant Me Strength. They followed that with a dandy cover of Cowboy Junkies’ Lost My Driving Wheel, performed old-school, as a duo.
The crowd was involved and enthused all night, but especially during two songs: Childhood Goodbye, the galloping anthem from Radio Days, and then Silent Movies, their first “hit,” which has become their trademark song. The sing-along to that was widespread and boisterous (and included the entire band).
They would arouse another outburst and sing-along a few songs later with Yellow Taxi, a swinging folk-blues number about a busker with no home who is resorts to sleeping in a taxi.
Its bright mood betrays the despair in its lyrics, which belie the truth made apparent this evening about the Wards and their band: They are welcome and appreciated just about anywhere in their hometown.
SET LIST
Old Friends; Mother Mary; Make It Easy; Daisy Jane; Walk in the Park; Hell and Back; Lord Give Me Strength; Lost My Driving Wheel; Started With a Family; Childhood Goodbye; Everybody’s Got Problems; Silent Movies; Family Treason; Gotta Lay Low; Yellow Taxi.