Allegra Weingarten and Etta Friedman of Momma Talk Welcome to My Blue Sky

In April, the Brooklyn-based alt-rock band Momma released Welcome to My Blue Sky, their fourth studio album. On this new record, the group has retooled the poppy grunge they perfected on 2022’s Household Name, augmenting their sound with shoegaze glister, devastatingly vulnerable lyricism and even poppier melodies. The result is an exquisite record that shimmers like heat haze on blacktop, bleeds like a wounded poet and chugs like a runaway train. To support this release, Momma is touring North America and Europe, and they’ll be making a stop in Salt Lake City to play Kilby Block Party on May 16. 

Early last month, I sat down for a virtual interview with Momma’s primary singers, songwriters and guitarists, Allegra Weingarten and Etta Friedman, to discuss Welcome to My Blue Sky, hear their stories from performing at 2023’s Kilby Block Party and ask about their plans for the upcoming festival. 

The duo takes my video call in a midwestern hotel they’ve stopped at on their way to a tour date in Ohio. Friedman is sporting a black Snail Mail tee and Weingarten’s fiery red hair is pulled back with a headband. While I’m introducing myself, I can see the heart-shaped charm from the record’s cover dangling around Weingarten’s wrist. 

After introductions, I kick things off by asking if the two feel that Welcome to My Blue Sky is an extension of their previous trajectory and sound or if they view it as more of an artistic pivot. Weingarten considers this for a second while hitting her vape, then says, “I think both can be true. It’s definitely an extension in the way that we just had as much time and resources as we needed to explore whatever we wanted to. But it’s definitely a pivot in terms of overall sound. Like, it’s not as heavy or grungy as Household Name is.”

Friedman concurs, adding, “I would also say that, with Household Name, we had like a legit indie label behind us to give us resources and opportunities to go into a studio with a lot of, you know, fun gadgets and amps and guitars and stuff that we could play around with and sound how we had always wanted to sound. And I do think [Welcome to My Blue Sky] is an extension in that sense where it’s like, ‘OK, now we’ve done that. What else can we mess around with in that playground?’” 

And it sounds like no one was as ecstatic about the creative freedom afforded by professional recording equipment as Momma’s bass player, Aron Kobayashi Ritch, who was the primary sound engineer and producer for Welcome to My Blue Sky. “It’s like his happy place,” Friedman says about seeing Ritch at work in the studio. “I feel like that’s where he really just shines, you know?”

When I ask them to summarize what the new album is about, they both answer that it’s primarily about being on tour, but it also deals with learning from your mistakes and growing beyond the things you regret. “We sought to make a really personal and touching record, and I think we accomplished that,” Weingarten says. “Specifically, it’s about a very taxing tour cycle we were on in the summer of 2022 and all the heartbreak and love that unfolded. And I generally think it’s just about learning how to make mistakes and be at peace with them while you’re learning how to put yourself first.”

“‘Rodeo’ will forever be like, ‘I can’t believe we did that.’ That’s a song that we’re really, really proud of.”

Friedman nods while their bandmate speaks, then adds, “The point is that you can do things that might make you be like, ‘Shit. Am I that type of person? I didn’t look at myself that way.’ But you’re not necessarily defined just by that, and I think that’s part of growing. Sometimes mistakes bring you what you’re ultimately looking for even if you don’t know it. ”

As the perfect complement to the album’s travelogue elements, the band actually took its title from a billboard they saw along the highway. The billboard itself was just an ad for a gas station called “Blue Sky,” but it’s cryptic phrasing resonated with them. “It’s interesting that the sign said ‘Welcome to My Blue Sky’ and not ‘Welcome to Blue Sky,’” Weingarten says. “The phrase was just really profound. It can be interpreted in a lot of different ways. I didn’t know that it was for a gas station when I saw it, so I just thought it was this really poetic phrase posted up in the middle of nowhere.”

Friedman then weighs in about how they interpret the title, stating, “I think it’s about new beginnings. A lot of the record puts into words what our new life is gonna be like, who we’re leaving behind and who we’re bringing in. I think that phrase definitely spoke to that.”

I then ask them to tell me about when they played Kilby Block Party in 2023, and I should say I was actually in the audience for that show. Seeing Momma live was one of my priorities for the 2023 festival as I had been listening to them for several months, and my friends can attest that the band dominated my playlists all year. On the first day of the festival, I raced from the entrance to the Desert stage to secure a good view of Momma’s midday performance. There was already a large crowd gathered by the time I got there, but I was able to wedge close to the front before the band came on. 

When Momma took the stage, the crowd erupted and the four bandmates wasted no time laying into a loud, intimate set festooned with the best songs from Household Name, including “Rockstar” and “Medicine.” I was also thrilled when they pulled material from an older record to play “Biohazard,” a personal favorite of mine from 2020’s Two of Me. Though the sun was blistering and the crowd was rowdy, Momma’s set proved to be one of the highlights of the festival for me. And that’s saying something because I got to see several of my all-timers — namely Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Tanukichan, and The Strokes — that weekend. 

It turns out I wasn’t the only one having the time of my life. “We had a blast,” Weingarten gushes. “I was literally just saying to my friend that it was like one of the best weekends of my life. What I like about the festival is that it’s big, but it’s not so big that there’s some crazy hierarchy. We’ve played festivals like Coachella where you can only go certain places. But Kilby just literally felt like a block party. In the artist area, we were eating lunch next to Stephen Malkmus one day and we were all freaking out.”

“And Karen O,” Friedman interjects with a laugh. “Just seeing them going and getting their plates of food, I was like, ‘Wow, what the fuck?’” 

They’re both also looking forward to playing Kilby Block Party again in 2025. “We have the best day,” Weingarten claims enthusiastically. “We have a lot of friends that are gonna be there, so it’s literally just gonna be like a massive hangout.” 

At this, Friedman’s face lights up behind their glasses, and they say, “We do have the best day! We got really lucky with our day. I’m very excited. Also, the line up this whole year is insane. I mean, Beach House and Rilo Kiley?”

“Yeah, Rilo Kylie is like my dream come true,” Weingarten remarks. “It’s gonna be awesome.”

I follow up by asking what Momma’s setlist will look like this year, and Weingarten replies, “I would say mostly stuff from the new album. I think this whole tour we’re playing mostly new stuff. You’ll get the hits from Household Name, but we have written these new songs and we’ve sat on them for so long that we are really, really ready to play them live. Blue Sky is the favorite daughter right now.”

“We sought to make a really personal and touching record, and I think we accomplished that.”

And while Friedman and Weingarten are both sure of which Momma record is their current favorite, my next question of which tracks they like best proves a little harder to answer. “I feel like it switches a lot,” Friedman says, “but ‘Rodeo’ will forever be like, ‘I can’t believe we did that.’ That’s a song that we’re really, really proud of. And my favorite to perform live might be… I don’t know right now, actually.”

Here Weingarten, who has had more time to think, jumps in. “My favorite song on the record is ‘Rodeo’ and my favorites to perform live are ‘How to Breathe’ and ‘New Friend.’”

“Yeah,” Friedman agrees. “I think those are both pretty fun to play because there are moments where we both get to step back and just focus on what we gotta do on the guitar.” 

To wrap up, I ask if there’s anything else either of them want to share, and Weingarten addresses the regrettable backlash popular bands always face when they tweak their sound. “I just want people to know that we really love this record. As much as we love Household Name, we’re going to be touring this record and favoring it for years to come. So, Household Name fans, we love you, but you gotta get on board because this is a really important record to us.”

If you’re coming to Kilby Block Party this year, get to the Desert stage by 3:55 PM on Friday, May 16 to catch Momma’s set. I’ll see you there. You can also see Momma at the Kilby Block Party After Party at Urban Lounge that night. They’ll be playing alongside Wishy, a phenomenal alt-rock band I once saw open for Tanukichan (who I clearly see a lot) at The Beehive. Wishy will also play the set before Momma on the Desert stage at Kilby Block Party. 

And whatever else you do, go give Welcome to My Blue Sky a spin. From beginning to end, the whole album really shows the love and care each member of Momma put into making it. You rarely get to hear young musicians with so much talent pour so much of themselves into such a concise and accessible record, and it makes Welcome to My Blue Sky an early contender for my album of the summer. 

I can’t wait to hear Momma perform it live.

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