Concert Review: Mama Duke at Blues on the Green
Review & Photos by Victoria Allen
From receiving the Golden Buzzer on Season 20 of America's Got Talent to being featured in this year's SXSW Music Festival showcase, Austin-based artist Mama Duke turned up on stage during this year's Blues on the Green!
Mama Duke is an allstar record-breaking rapper, singer, and songwriter. She has dominated many iconic stages in Austin, including performing at Austin City Limits, AKA ACL, in 2022. She also has an awesome partnership with Austin FC as their club ambassador, often leading fan chants at games, promoting merch and even performing at the grand FC amphitheater. She is steadily rising up and I was super excited to see her name on this year's lineup. Within seconds of picking up the mic, the park filled with cheering and the space near the stage was transformed into a full blow dance floor!
It feels so good to be an Austinite because locals got a taste of the best music at this year's fest. Mama Duke played her hit song, "Feels So Good To Be You," which went viral after she performed on America's Got Talent last year. Her rise in popularity was catapulted after she showcased the song on AGT in 2025. When Mama Duke earned Mel B's Golden Buzzer, she became the first female rapper in the show's history to do so. She made it into the top 10's and starred in the final episode of AGT that season. She released the hit single in May of this year, so it is now available to hear on music streaming platforms. Fans hearing it live at Blues on the Green rushed to the stage the second the song began. We don't have a golden buzzer, but I'm sure hearing thousands singing and dancing along to the tune packed the same energy.
In 2025, Mama Duke dropped her first full album titled "You Can Open Your Eyes Now." She has a very infectious positive spirit and loves playing music that everyone listening can enjoy. She played a range of tunes that not only delighted the adults in the audience but also some recognizable songs for the kiddos. Everyone really loved her remix of Queen's "Another One Bites the Dust," which she sang before transitioning into a freestyle rap. That remix was one of many she performed. We also got to hear her mix of Salt-N-Pepa's "Push It" and Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody," which Mama Duke got the whole park to sing with her acapella style - For a brief moment the event felt like the world's largest karaoke party! Mama Duke is fantastic at crowd work. With a bright personality and being incredibly witty, she is the ultimate entertainer. On top of all that, she is a very clever lyricist that creates epic songs and raps. "Car Chronicles" became one of my favorite songs after hearing it live for the first time, it was hard not to vibe with. The song has an extremely catchy hook and suspenseful beat. It feels like the type of music that gets featured in action packed movies with how intense the beat feels. Overall, the song is very cool and easily pumped up the crowd.
Mama Duke brought out J. Dash, who is an American Rapper from Florida best known for his 2007 single, "Wop." He performed the iconic hit song live during Mama Duke's set and it was obviously still a huge fan favorite. People of all ages rushed to the barricades again to dance and sing along. J. Dash was the perfect guest artist to bring out for Blues on the Green because he matched Mama Duke's energy and kept everyone listening hyped! "Wop" surpassed 110+ million listens on Spotify and can be heard on his 2010 album, "Tabloid Truth." Mama Duke had J. Dash perform "the song that changed his life" because he helped her make a song that changed hers.
The entire performance was phenomenal from start to finish! Mama Duke was amazing to see live and I'm so glad along with many others that she performed at Blues on the Green this year! She's releasing music non-stop and conquering every stage. She's constantly working on major projects so I'm excited to see what her next move is in music! '
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