Ladybird
Performing Saturday, June 28
Winner of the 2025 Virtual Band Competition
Milwaukee country rock outfit Ladybird have spent the last two years in development, quickly becoming one of the city’s most promising new acts. Composed of guitarist Sam Szymborski, bassist Josh Rardin, drummer Aidan Gouran, pedal steel player Will Hansen and guitarist/vocalist Peter McDermott, the five piece came together slowly, initially serving as a vehicle for McDermott’s songwriting.
“I had known I wanted to start a band in this vein and had been trying to bully Sam into playing with me for a while” says McDermott. We got together and played some cover songs…stuff like the Byrds and the Faces, and that let me know that this was gonna work”.
The dissolution of a four year relationship as well as leaving his job as a social worker for Milwaukee Public Schools played an integral role in McDermott’s early drive for Ladybird. A handful of EPs and singles laid the groundwork for the band to develop, and early changes in the lineup proved to be a blessing. In a matter of months, the band’s current lineup was solidified.
Making their live debut in 2021 at Milwaukee mainstay Cactus Club, over the next 18 months Ladybird honed their craft, playing as often as they could while slowly building their arsenal of songs.
Over the course of the next year, the band continued to write what would eventually become their debut LP, Amy Come On Home. “We had been writing for a while, and I remember sitting on my porch in Cambridge Woods in early fall, knowing that we had a date set in November to start recording,” says McDermott. “We knew we had a solid batch of songs and could put together something really special”.
Amy Come on Home was produced and mixed by Ian Olvera at Wire & Vice Studios in Milwaukee. The band’s decision to work with Olvera was a conscious one, per the recommendation of a mutual friend. “We talked about music that we love, stuff like Big Star and Springsteen, so I felt good that he knew our reference points” says McDermott. “ It was clear that he knew what kind of sound we were hoping to achieve on record; I knew I could trust him with that.”
“I feel comfortable putting mics up and recording most any kind of music” says Olvera. “It’s fun to record a jazz combo or a classical pianist,, but Ladybird comes from a place that is way more my speed in terms of the type of music I tend to make. My music lives in the same place that theirs does”.
With Olvera at the helm, the band spent just four days recording Amy Come On Home. “I think they wanted to make something that was sonically similar to the Jason Isbell records, but the idea I had initially was to multitrack and layer everything” says Olvera. “We quickly realized that it wasn’t right for this record and decided to set up as if they were just in a basement practicing. We did most of it like that and then touched up a few things here and there before Pete laid the vocals. That proved to work much better for us”.
“He has this naturally calming presence and his demeanor makes for an ideal working environment” says McDermott. “He had a lot of cool ideas and none of us ever felt uncomfortable doing anything in the studio.”
“As a producer you can just sit back silent and just engineer, or you can throw some ideas their way that work with the music, or maybe record some parts that you hear” adds Olvera. For me, the vibe was really fun, stress level zero. All sessions should be like that”.
Amy Come On Home’s ten tracks have a sense of casual comfort to them, their subject matter rarely being vague, with McDermott instead opting for vignettes about individual places and people. The songs’ specificity doesn’t prevent them from being relatable, though, and listeners will still find a sense of familiarity within the songs.
“So much of this record deals with specific people and places and experiences” says McDermott “but there’s a universal thread there too. Someone may not know where a specific place is, but maybe they had a similar experience.”
Album opener “Audrey’s Garden” lays the foundation for the rest of the album, showcasing all of the band’s strengths with sweetened production touches that make it feel like a movie that begins at the end. Its follow up “Kemp Lane” doubles down with its driving rhythm section and colorful touches of pedal steel. “My Worried Heart” is arguably the album’s most stark and vulnerable moment, with McDermott reflecting on the uncertainty of a relationship’s final act.
At its most serious, Amy Come on Home tugs at the listener’s heartstrings while still offering comfort. At its most fun, though, it shows a side of Ladybird that leans more rock. “Short King Shuffle”, is a straightforward bar rocker about the joys and perils of being under six feet. “Honky Tonk Mama”-one of the album’s three tracks written and sung by Szymborski-feels way less Son Volt and way more Black Lips. Right in the middle of the album, “Fight Song” is a group singalong that’s about as campfire and cowboy chords as it gets, and is the perfect bridge between the album’s two halves.
With the album now available, the band has their sights set beyond the city of Milwaukee. Not all musicians are made for the touring life, but it’s an absolute necessity for those looking to grow their fanbase beyond mere hometown success. Thankfully for Ladybird, it’s is all part of the plan.
“I haven’t been in serious bands as long as the rest of the guys, being in an active band is a relatively new thing for me” says McDermott. “For me, touring is fun. If we are able to do it, we wanna do it as much as possible and try to play in front of as many people as we can”.
The years of work have started to pay off for Ladybird. A successful album launch with an early and a late show at Cactus Club sent the album off in classic fashion, and the band have 2024 tour dates set to send them out east. Ultimately, beyond any type of praise or accolades, all the band wishes to do is simple– make a meaningful connection with its listeners.
“If nothing else, it would make me happy if it resonated with people and made them feel less alone or made them smile” says McDermott.