MAMA, Inc. is a non-profit organization. MAMA is an acronym for Madison Area Music Association. Each spring we hold an award show that honors the efforts of local musicians. This award show, along with the many other initiatives of MAMA, Inc. throughout the year, raises money to foster the next generation of musicians by helping fund youth music programs and by putting instruments in the hands of kids who might not otherwise have them. We work with many school districts and also community groups in the Madison area. Our objective is to keep the fundamentals of music available for our youth and to promote that cause.

Sounds Like: WAMI, NARAS

MAMAS MISSION STATEMENT

The Madison Area Music Association (MAMA) supports youth music in the greater Madison area, and strengthens and engages the music community as a whole.

MAMAS VISION STATEMENT

The Madison Area Music Association recognizes the importance of music in the growth and development of youth, and its enduring community impact. To that end, we strive to:

Provide financial support and resources to youth music programs;
Raise public awareness of the need to preserve and support the existence of music education;
Recognize the achievements of outstanding music students and music educators, and greater Madison area musicians; and
Provide promotional support for the greater Madison music community as a whole.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE MAMAS

Rick Tvedt founded the Madison Area Music Awards (MAMA) in 2003 under the encouragement of his friends Stephen Ellestad and Mark Adkins. As the publisher of the former Rick's Cafe, a Madison-based newspaper dedicated to local musicians, Tvedt felt a pull to acknowledge the large and talented pool of musicians he encountered on the scene. The first awards show was held on March 28, 2004 at the historic Orpheum Theater, in a highly-heralded Grammy-style gala.

Broadjam's Roy Elkins got involved the second year to help oversee the voting of the awards show and move to an online wiki voting model. Tvedt and Elkins collaborated with many volunteers over the following years to expand the MAMAs into an active non-profit organization with the mission of supporting the local scene and putting instruments in kids' hands. In 2009, the name of the organization changed from the Madison Area Music Awards to the Madison Area Music Association to reflect this broader mission.

To date, the MAMAs have donated over $150,000 of funds and gear to area music programs (as of January, 2021). The MAMA Awards has become an annual "Who's Who" event for the Madison music scene and is now hosted in the Overture Center in the Capitol Theater.

In 2014, after years of unrelenting dedication to the MAMAs, Tvedt handed off the Executive Director reigns off to Curt Davies, a local business executive and music fan. Tvedt is still involved in the organization as Treasurer and advisor for the Awards show. The organization continues to work to raise funds and secure equipment for area music programs and recognize the accomplishments of the Madison music community.

MAMA Tax ID # - 20-0614274

MAILING ADDRESS

MAMA, Inc.
PO Box 8754
Madison, WI 53708-8754

© 2022 Madison Area Music Associ