Mama Kin
Darwin Ski club, 20 Conacher St, 0820 Darwin Directions
Fri 21.08.2026 17:00
Promises & Wild Beasts is Mama Kin Spender as you’ve never seen (or heard) them before – in a theatrical experience that bristles with intensity.
Multi ARIA-nominated duo of mischief-makers, Mama Kin Spender is Mama Kin (aka Danielle Caruana), a storyteller and dream weaver with a penchant for soul-baring; and Dingo Spender, a producer and songwriter with remarkable instrumental dexterity. Long-time friends and collaborators, Mama Kin Spender combine drums, percussion and blistering guitar with lightning arrangements underpinned by harmonies that shimmer and smoulder.
Exploring life’s joys, bruises, stretch marks and scars, Mama Kin Spender possess a lyrical depth that pushes us to our far-flung edges. With three releases under their belts, including ARIA-nominated “ Promises” and ARIA-nominated “Golden Magnetic” and “Are You Listening?”, journey through grief, rage, reflection and arrival, Mama Kin Spender delve into life’s complexities with vigour.
For one special night at the Ski Club, Mama Kin Spender will take you on a transformative story strung through a cycle of songs drawn from their recent ARIA-nominated concept album Promises. Backed by a vocal section, live sound design and a Top End choir, they conjure the wild tidal nature of human desire, charting the friction between love’s profound, shape-shifting force and the promises we make to try contain it. Love is the bedrock and the beast that these naïve lovers seek to domesticate.
Fierce, intimate and unflinching, Mama Kin Spender brings their trademark percussive fire, searing harmonies and captivating soul-stirring presence to Promises & Wild Beasts.
This show is a rally cry to the heart – and who better to stoke the musical fires and get the night started right than Yolŋu singer–songwriter Yirrmal. He brings his stunning voice for a powerful and uplifting solo support set that touches the soul.
Listen to the album Promises here
Set Times
5pm Doors open
6.15pm Yirrmal
7.45pm Mama Kin Spender
Performers
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Mama Kin
Mama Kin:
As mischievous as she is charming, Fremantle’s Mama Kin is part raconteur and all-out entertainer. With a widespread reputation for her unique blend of foot-stomping soul, heart-wrenching ballads and stirring live shows, Mama Kin is back with a swag of new songs, a shift in sonic direction and a new band member.
Was It Worth It, the first single from her new album, The Magician’s Daughter, signals an expansion in Mama Kin’s musical palette. Was It Worth It ushers in a depth and potency underpinned by Mama Kin’s vocals that so spectacularly hover between vulnerability and power.
Cinematic at times, with lush arrangements and bold production, The Magician’s Daughter (due for release in early 2013) pushes Mama Kin’s own boundaries, challenging her trademark sound. Where her debut album Beat and Holler was a soulstress’ war cry, traversing the riotous and the raw, her sophomore album takes us deeper into the human condition, where the magic lives.
“really special, totally smouldering” - The Sun-Herald
"a delicious hotpot of soulful grooves, seductive melodies, stomping percussive beats and classic old-world instrumentation” - The Sunday Mail
“excellent, soulful and feisty” – The West Australian
“heartache and melody...pulling you along for a beautiful journey.” - Triple J
“There is something primal and infectious about soul delivered this way.” - AIR Independent Reviews
Mama Kin Spender:
Mama Kin Spender is a lightning bolt moment between two long-time friends, co-writers and mischief-makers: ARIA-nominated Mama Kin and producer Tommy Spender.
It’s a stripped back duo of brooding guitars, primal drums and howling harmonies, illuminated by a chorus of singers arranged by Virginia Bott (Brighter Later, First Chorus Band of Singers).
Mama Kin Spender’s songs rattle, roll and tremble, from block party to heart rending ballad. With a sound that is as raw as it is joyful, Mama Kin Spender will challenge you to raise your voice in defiance of the status quo.
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Yirrmal
New generation Indigenous Australian artist 'Yirrmal' from Yirrkala, North-East Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, Australia.
