Deerlady (Mali Obomsawin and Magdalena Abrego) with Allison Burik

Mali Obomsawin and Magdalena Abrego are Deerlady— two improvising artists bonded in the language of experimentation.

Their debut album Greatest Hits is a journey through songs penned by Obomsawin that explore decay and delicate moments – cradled by Abrego’s world-building and evocative guitar playing. The band’s first single “There, There” premiered on the hit FX series Reservation Dogs in 2023, and the album, released the following January, has quickly won over audiences across Indian Country and the U.S. Described by NPR’s Lars Gotrich as a “headbang while you weep” experience, Deerlady is currently touring Greatest Hits throughout 2024. 

An award-winning bassist, songwriter and composer from Odanak First Nation, Mali Obomsawin’s auspicious debut Sweet Tooth (2022, Out of Your Head) received international acclaim and was named “best of the year” from GRAMMY.com to JazzTimes and NPR. Sweet Tooth’s success has brought Mali’s touring sextet to major jazz festivals across the U.S. and Canada, and landed her a triple-feature in the hit FX series Reservation Dogs’ 2023 soundtrack. Mali’s sophomore album Greatest Hits by Deerlady, an Indigenous-gothic duo project with guitarist Magdalena Abrego, was released January 19, 2024. NPR’s Lars Gotrich calls Greatest Hits a “headbang while you weep” record. In addition to touring her various projects this year, Mali’s work scoring the critically acclaimed documentary Sugarcane (dir. by Julian Brave Noisecat and Emily Kassie) had its world premiere at Sundance International Film Festival in January 2024. The film received Sundance’s “Directors Award” and recently announced a distribution deal with Nat Geo and Disney+.

Magdalena Abrego is a guitarist, composer, and teaching artist based in Hudson, New York. Influenced by free jazz and punk, Magdalena’s approach to her instrument playfully confronts tradition and embraces queer experimentalism. Her compositions have been described as an “unpredictable musical journey” (Boston Hassle), both “blissful and beautifully erratic” (Boston Compass), and NPR Music called her guitar tone “wooden, ancient and thick with mystic fuzz.” Magdalena presently serves as a faculty member in the Contemporary Musical Arts program at the New England Conservatory. Her expertise has garnered invitations to deliver guest lectures and provide guidance to ensembles at esteemed music institutions across the United States, including Berklee College of Music and Dartmouth College.

Allison Burik is a saxophonist, clarinetist, improviser, and composer based in Tio’tia:ke/Montreal, Quebec. Their current collaborations include Montreal collective Bellbird, experimental duo Umbrella Pine, and the Mali Obomsawin Sextet. Their debut solo album (coming winter 2024) explores the sonic possibilities of the woodwinds through electronics and contact microphones, resulting in soundscapes that are both earthy and alien. They have performed in festivals, residencies, and concerts in places as far reaching as France, South Korea, Canada, and the U.S. Though originally from Kansas City, Burik moved to Boston to receive their Bachelors Degree in Performance (2016) at Berklee College of Music, and their Master’s degree in Contemporary Improvisation at the New England Conservatory (2020). Over the years Burik has worked with notable musicians including George Garzone, Joe Morris, Tyshawn Sorey, Ingrid Laubrock, Ran Blake, Carla Kilhstedt, Anthony Coleman, Frank Tiberi, Bobby Watson, Jaleel Shaw, Shannon LeClaire, and Tia Fuller.