OSWEGO – Musical duos The Rough & Tumble and The Honey Badgers enjoy each other’s music, and hope to attract new fans for each other, during their concert at the Oswego Music Hall in its new 2×2 Partner Series co-bill on Saturday, April 11.
Doors open at 7 pm and the show will start at 7:30 in Oswego’s Roy C. McCrobie Civic Center, 41 Lake St.
Both bands are male-female duos and are known for superb lead and harmony singing, smart lyrics and song variety. The two duos are well acquainted with each other, having performed live and in the studio together, and they will be sharing the stage for much of this concert.
The Honey Badgers and The Rough and Tumble toured together for a month and a half in summer 2025 and found a great musical and lyrical kinship. Erin Magnin of The Honey Badgers says “things developed really naturally,” such as adding additional harmony parts and doing solos back and forth on violin and guitar. “Playing together, we complement each other very well. The messages flow together, and it feels very collaborative.”
The instrumentation will feature accordion, melodica, ukulele, violin and guitar, including baritone guitar and possibly electric guitar.
“The sheer volume of instruments on stage when the four of us are together is actually kind of funny,” Magnin said.
Both have recently wowed audiences at the Oswego Music Hall, as well as reviewers.
“Wow, what an appealing package,” M. McLeod of Empty Nest Concerts said of The Rough & Tumble. “High-quality originals in all sorts of traditional veins, from haunting ballads to stomping, screaming folk anthems. All performed with expert, polished musicianship and flawless ensemble.”
Indie Boulevard said The Honey Badgers offered: “Hope in a chaotic world… The Honey Badgers are true poets who know the secret of thoughtful lyrics.”
Advance tickets are on sale at https://www.oswegomusichall.org/ ($17-22) and at the River’s End Bookstore. Tickets are half price for children ages 6-16 and free for children under 5. If still available, tickets can also be purchased at the door (cash or check only).
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The Rough & Tumble – Mallory Graham and Scott Tyler – have been captivating audiences with what they call “dumpster-folk and thrift store-Americana” for over a decade. The Pennsylvania-born Graham and the California-born Tyler have a knack for weaving together elements of joy, sorrow, comedy and drama in their music, leaving audiences on the edge of their seats.
In November 2024 the band released their most recent album, “Hymns for My Atheist Sister and Her Friends to Sing Along To.” They describe the album’s focus as spiritual but not religious, reflecting “core foundational beliefs that kind of transcend religious sects.”
On their website they say it is “an album for the faithful, the faithless and the somewhere-in-between. This latest album is a record wherein all are welcome. For those that are brokenhearted from a faith that didn’t love them back, those who are still carrying religious baggage, or those who are continuing in the faith they were taught as children. It’s an album about truth, about mystery, and most importantly about loving your neighbor.”
All instrumentation on the “Hymns” record was limited to what Graham was permitted to have in her church growing up — piano, organ, guitar, and tambourine. With this self-limitation in mind, the duo leaned heavily on the human voice– and not just their own. In addition to The Honey Badgers, they called on fellow musicians Dave Coleman, Alice Wallace, Flagship Romance, Halley Neal, Ordinary Elephant and Sam Robbins to contribute vocals. The result is what the duo calls “The Congregation of Kind Souls.”
Graham’s and Tyler’s first musical influence was the church. Graham says they both grew up in “extremely religious communities” where the “church was the foundation of music.” Graham says her mother was the loudest alto in church, and Tyler says his mother, father, and grandfather were in gospel groups.
Graham made two Christian records with a band in high school, but secular influences were never absent. She says her favorites ranged from Janis Joplin to Alanis Morrisette to Shania Twain (“my 3rd grade career day report was that I wanted to be Shania Twain and I had to redo it because my teacher told me it was impractical.”)
She says that in college she found great inspiration in The Weepies’ album “Say I Am You.” Tyler says he had a similar revelation in college when he picked up a Simon & Garfunkel box set. He says it changed his understanding of harmony singing.
They met at a “School of Rock” that Graham attended in her last semester of college and then joined some friends in an artists’ colony in North Carolina before moving to Nashville and forming a duo. “I think we released three short EP’s in the first year. We just kind of dove in headfirst. And we never looked back.”
Versatility is a Rough & Tumble calling card. As they say on their website: “There are plenty of points of entry for The Rough & Tumble; folky familial heartache? Try 2021’s ‘We’re Only Family If You Say So.’ Raucous Americana? 2023’s ‘Only This Far’ is for you. Looking for cold, sad songs about grief for the short days of the year? Check out the most recent EP, ‘Winter Hare,’ recorded with friends and frequent collaborators The Honey Badgers. Or maybe you’re like one of the many who resonated with the message of unity and radical, irreproachable love on the humanist gospel album, ‘Hymns for My Atheist Sister and Her Friends to Sing Along To.’”
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The Honey Badgers are Erin Magnin and Michael Natrin. Magnin is from Delaware and Natrin is from Philadelphia. They currently reside in Newark, Delaware, where they attended and met at the University of Delaware. Magnin’s first musical love was the violin, for which she took lessons in elementary school before shifting her focus to singing. She sang in choir and theater in high school.
Natrin’s teenage musical roots also run deep, from playing the trumpet in his high school band to playing in various bands of his own. Natrin’s favorites included fellow Philadelphian Jim Croce. Magnin’s favorites included The Beatles, Joni Mitchell and Bright Eyes.
The Honey Badgers have been creating music together since summer 2011. Their musical partnership grew out of a local songwriting competition, for which Natrin asked Magnin to dust off her fiddle and join him for a couple songs. They chose the name Honey Badgers for the competition, “not really thinking super long term,” Magnin says. “We just chose a silly name because it made us happy.” They won that round of the competition and kept going.
In their first several years working together, they released their debut EP, “Booth Bay”, a thoughtfully crafted second EP, “Soul,” as well as a collection of live recordings titled “Mad Season.” In 2019 they committed further to their music, quitting their jobs to pursue music full time, and releasing their first full-length album, “Meet Me.” The songs tell a colorful story of love and connection.
In June 2024, following a devastating few years of navigating personal loss and the COVID pandemic, The Honey Badgers released their second full-length album, “The Earth Turns and So Do We,” a mature and varied collection of original songs focused on the repeating cycles of life, death, love and time itself. The album reached #15 on the Folk Alliance International radio chart. “Bring With You Nothing” from the album, won Gold in the Folk Category and third place overall in the 2025 SAW Mid-Atlantic Song Contest.
The Honey Badgers continue to meet new people, fall in love with new places and write new songs. Their most recent single “Summer Skin” reached #1 on the June 2025 Folk Alliance International radio chart. They hope to continue growing alongside their music. After winning the 2023 Falcon Ridge Folk Festival Emerging Artist Showcase and the 2024 Susquehanna Folk Festival Emerging Artist Showcase, “emerging” has become a guiding light for the two musicians.
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Saturday’s show will be preceded by the Oswego Music Hall Open Mic Friday on April 10. The open mic begins at 7 pm with sign-ups beginning at 6:30. Guest host Lloyd Polak leads off. Musicians typically play three songs each.
All ages, genres and experience levels are welcome. The open mic gives the opportunity to perform in a supportive “listening room” environment with cutting-edge professional audio and lighting equipment.
Open mic guest hosts are scheduled by coordinator Bryan Dickenson.
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The McCrobie Civic Center is wheelchair accessible, adjacent to Breitbeck Park and overlooks Lake Ontario and the Oswego Harbor. The atmosphere is intimate with candle-lit tables and a small stage. Light refreshments will be available at reasonable prices.
Oswego Music Hall is a family-friendly, non-profit organization that has been run entirely by volunteers since its inception in 1977. Volunteers can earn admission to shows through various tasks — from event support to making popcorn. Students can also earn credit for community service. To volunteer, email Volunteer Coordinator Michael Moss at [email protected].
For more information, see https://www.oswegomusichall.org or the Music Hall’s Facebook and Instagram pages or email [email protected].
Concerts at the Music Hall are made possible in part with funding by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the governor and the New York State Legislature. Other major supporters are the City of Oswego and Shineman Foundation.
2026 Oswego Music Hall Events – Spring Season
National Stage 49th season
Apr 11 2×2 Partner Series. Co-bill with The Rough & Tumble & The Honey Badgers
Apr 25 Tom Rush accompanied by Brendan Cleary
May 9 Season Finale & Emerging Artist Showcase. Headliner: Abigayle Oakley
Open Mic Friday Guest Hosts
Apr 10 Lloyd Polak
Apr 24 Larry Kyle
Guest Curator Series
Apr 17 Jazz-by-the-Lake: Monk Rowe’s Five Families Ensemble. Curator: Dave Kaspar
May 2 Music, Movement & Mindfulness, with musicians Desirée Dawson and Travis Knapp and curator/yoga instructor Ann Buchau
For a complete performance schedule and additional information about tickets and the artists, visit the website at https://www.oswegomusichall.org/ or stop at the River’s End Bookstore, 19 West Bridge Street in Oswego.
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