Indie Folk Duo Sway Wild Performs at Next Stage in Putney

Next Stage Arts and Twilight Music present indie folk duo Sway Wild at Next Stage on Friday, July 18 at 7:30 pm. Their self-titled debut album was released in 2019 and engineered by Justin Phelps. The duo Mandy Fer and Dave McGraw have toured the U.S. and Europe, performing alongside Mandolin Orange, Lake Street Dive, Iron & Wine and Charlie Hunter Trio. Mandy Fer also tours as the lead guitarist for Amos Lee and Allison Russell, and has recently performed with Brandi Carlile. The Sentinel caught up with Mandy Fer to talk about the upcoming show in Putney, how they started and what they hope the audience will take away from their performance. Here's an excerpt of the conversation: Victoria Chertok: Hello, Mandy, so glad to talk with you. Tell me how Sway Wild began. Mandy Fer: Hi, Victoria, great to talk with you! We've been playing as Sway Wild since 2018. It's been 15 years this month that Dave and I have been playing together. We used our own songwriter names until 2018 and then changed our name to Sway Wild, with a little bit of sonic adjustment and more of a rocking sound. Dave is now playing acoustic guitar and drum kit and I play electric guitar and we both sing. V.C.: Tell me about the new album — your second one — you've just released! M.F.: Our second album, "Archipelago," was released last week. We live out in the San Juan Islands which is an archipelago. Dave brought us to San Juan Island 13 years ago and when I took the ferry for the first time I said to him, "I would never live this far out!" Thirteen years later, I'm here and it's a beautiful spot and the community is amazing. We recorded in our living room and it's very low-fi. We had a whole collection of songs from the last few years that were like an archipelago of creativity for us and created within an archipelago. V.C.: You and Dave are a music duo and a romantic couple? M.F.: Yeah, Dave and I are a romantic couple but music came first, and then we realized that it was inevitable. We live together in a house at the end of a dirt road. V.C.: Where did your band name come from? M.F.: The essence of the band name change was when we changed our instruments. It is always about the harmonies of our voices together and the dynamics we can create. It was always on the rocking side. The word "wild" is a buzz word now, which is funny. We jumped on that train before. Dave has jumped back behind the drums for the first time in 20 years and we started creating something that had more vibrancy and was more true to our previous musical explorations. We were returning to the wild place within ourselves creatively. V.C.: What types of music do you play? M.F.: We do intimate folk tender songs and really rock out and play some funky stuff. The hope is that when people come they can feel the whole range of emotions from heartfelt tenderness to rocking out on the dance floor. V.C.: Are you hoping to convey any messages to your fans? M.F.: The most important thing is the power of community right now, within music. This is an immensely important time to really think about when we have a microphone in front of our mouths. Everything is very terrifying and how important it is to speak to the truth of our own situation and privilege. We are both white, cisgender heterosexual folks; to speak to that and share how important it is to stand up for all of those in marginalized communities. We have a lot of work to do together. V.C.: You say that your fans thank you for creating space where they can feel emotions of grief and acceptance, and grow to what the next world can look like. M.F.: The greatest teacher is the earth. A lot of time we've been doing it wrong by not living in harmony with the earth. An amazing teacher, Adrienne Murray Brown, talks about the ability that nature has to coexist and we can learn more from watching untouched nature. V.C.: Were you a nature lover from an early age? M.F.: Yes, both Dave and I are. I grew up in Chicago, north of the city. I met Dave in Flagstaff, Ariz. He grew up in Denver, Colo. We found our way to each other both playing music in town, and sharing a mutual love for being outside. V.C.: Who were some of your early music influences? M.F.: The Indigo Girls, 90s hip-hop, R&B and TLC was everything, then classic rock, Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix. I was completely in love with watching electric guitar players shred. V.C.: You said you didn't see many woman electric guitar players in those days and it lit a fire in you. M.F.: When I saw Ani Di Franco play electric guitar my mind was blown. I wasn't seeing many women in the spotlight playing electric lead guitar and that lit a fire under me. V.C.: What did Ani's music mean to you? M.F.: It made me realize what I was not seeing. It opened the door by saying this is possible. The way Ani marries activism with her creativity has always been a big inspiration to me. V.C.: Since the pandemic you've been jumping on stages with Allison Russell and Amos Lee and toured in Vermont a few times. M.F.: We did a bunch of shows and I played with Allison and Amos and also with Brandi Carlisle. I did a co-headlining tour with Amos and Indigo Girls. V.C.: Which guitar do you play on tour? M.F.: The guitar I'm playing is my blue Fender Strat which was gifted to me by my friends and their parents and my parents on my 16th birthday! V.C.: What is your favorite part of performing? M.F.: The connecting line between audience and performer. Being able to step into a room with people and having the energy shift. It's a way to feel our shared humanity together that feels like our lifeblood breaking down the barrier of performer and audience. V.C.: You played at Next Stage in 2023. What do you remember about it? M.F.: We played at Next Stage two years ago and it was a beautiful night. The crowd was lovely, very friendly and we felt so comfortable with them. After playing there we joked that we should move to Vermont. V.C.: What is it like to play music with Dave? M.F.: Dave is an amazing songwriter, poet and thoughtful human. He was working as a wildlife biologist near the Grand Canyon on the condor relief project when he came to music. He was in the middle of nowhere in the desert playing songs and hasn't stopped since. Dave has a deep appreciation and love for wildlife and birds. He's both tender songwriter and rocks out with an amazing percussive approach. IF YOU GO: What: Indie folk duo Sway Wild performs at Next Stage. Jake Klar, singer songwriter, opens the show. Klar is an artist whose music blends Americana, rock, pop, and folk sensibilities. When: Friday, July 18th at 7:30 p.m. Doors at 7 p.m. Where: Next Stage, 15 Kimball Hill, Putney, Vt. Tickets: Tickets are $22 in advance; $26 at the door; $10 livestream More Info: Advance tickets are available at nextstagearts.org or call 802-387-0102 Next Stage will provide a beer, wine and cocktail cash bar at the show.