Denver jazz-soul collective Mama Magnolia gives to audiences

By Steve Graham

Megan Letts grew up playing praise music in her parents’ church. She now fronts Mama Magnolia, a secular band, but maintains the giving spirit of a church performance.

“When it’s not meant to be a performance but it’s truly meant to be a gift, I love that,” she said. “I truly want to make it feel like a gift to play and perform for each other and for our audience.”

And the audience certainly appreciates the gift. Since forming in 2013, Mama Magnolia has garnered a devoted fan base for its funky, jazzy and soulful rock shows. Many of those fans will pack the Mission Ballroom on Friday, Jan. 17, when the group opens for the California Honeydrops and Fruition.

Letts expects some collaboration with the other two bands, particularly with Fruition, which features her fiancé.

“It will be like our engagement party,” she said.

Most of the Mama Magnolia members met at the University of Denver, where they were enrolled in the music program and playing all styles of music in a wide variety of groups and formats.

Those diverse influences and the formal music education shines through in the complex rhythms, funky bass lines and tight horn section of the band’s first two EPs — “Something About Fire” from 2016, and “Mama Magnolia Part 1” from 2018.

Letts sings lead vocals and plays keys, and she said she writes most of the Mama Magnolia lyrics. She co-writes the bulk of the music with guitarist Thomas Jennings. Rounding out the band are bassist Zachary Jackson, drummer Jackson Hillmer, trumpeter Carrie McCune and saxophonist Alex Cazet, all of whom contribute to the compositions.

“It feels so natural playing music with Mama Magnolia,” said Jackson. “We all write tunes for the group and tweak, explore, and create parts as a unit. We are one big, loving musical family and love pushing each other to be the best that we can be, and also love joking around on and off stage. Everyone listens to one another and supports one another, it’s a beautiful thing.”

Each member brings different influences and passions to the group, and they create an interesting collaborative whole.

“Everyone truly has the ability to explore their own musical space,” Letts said. “There’s not been one song that someone brings in and it comes out the same way. We call it Mama Magnoli-fying something.”

When they met at college, they were young and became fast friends.

“We kind of grew into adults learning the same musical language,” Letts said. “Something about this group of people just clicked.”

Five years later, they still click at each show.

“We really try to just share our love for music and our love for each other with our audience,” she said. “The comment I get more than any other is ‘you guys are so tight, you guys are really listening to each other.’”

Early this year, in addition to the Mission

Ballroom show, the group plans to release “Mama Magnolia Part 2” with a diversity of styles and songwriting contributions, reflecting several years of experiences.

“We’ve all been through it together, plus everyone really listens to each other and shoots good vibes out of their entire body,” Hillmer said. “What else do you need to make good music?”

Steve Graham is a freelance writer and former newspaper editor who likes taking his two young boys biking, hiking and brewery-hopping in northern Colorado.