Concert by the Oklahoma sister duo Skating Polly, known for their 'ugly-pop' sound, at the Baba Yaga venue in Seattle.
Skating Polly play Baba Yaga on Thursday, November 5, at 5 PM. The Oklahoma sisters have been playing together since 2009, when Kelli Mayo and Peyton Bighorse were just 9 and 13, starting out from a jam session at a girls' Halloween party. They've since built a whole career around that same family connection.
They call their sound "ugly-pop" — unruly, subversive and wildly melodic. It's a description that fits the way they work: they grew up on '70s punk and early-'90s alt-rock, and as largely self-taught musicians, they build minimalist, catchy melodies from the ground up. Bighorse is on guitar, and Mayo plays a guitar/bass hybrid she calls a "basitar." Kurtis Mayo, Kelli's brother, joined on drums in 2017, making the core of the band a sibling affair.
Over the years they've worked with Exene Cervenka of X and Calvin Johnson of Beat Happening, toured with Babes In Toyland, and opened for acts like Deerhoof and Band of Horses. They were also the subject of a feature-length documentary. And they tour as a family: Mayo's father serves as their tour manager, so when they're on the road, the whole crew is with them.
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It's a straightforward bill — just Skating Polly on the lineup. The show is at Baba Yaga in Seattle on Thursday, November 5, starting at 5 PM.
