Mama Doll’s Sarah Berentson trading Spokane for China after two final shows

Sarah Berentson has been a familiar face in the Spokane music scene for about a decade.

First, as a member of Terrible Buttons. Then as founder and frontwoman of Mama Doll, a quartet currently rounded out by Jen and Justin Landis and Caleb Ingersoll.

But near the end of August, Berenston will have a new music scene to conquer: that of Chengdu, China, where she is moving to teach creative writing, drama and Spanish.

But before Berentson moves on to her next adventure, Mama Doll and she will play two Inland Northwest-area farewell shows: Friday at Lucky You Lounge and Saturday at Utara Brewing Company in Sandpoint.

Mama Doll began fairly casually in 2013 after Berentson decided to start her own project, which she said was completely foreign to her after her time with the Buttons.

She first reached out to friend Austen Case, and the pair began singing together.

Then Jen Landis invited the duo over to play a house show. Afterward, she asked if she could play bass.

The trio was eventually rounded out by then California-based musician Claire Fieberg, who Berentson persuaded to move to Spokane to play in the band.

“I would say the full first version was the four women playing together,” Berentson said.

From the get-go, Spokane embraced Mama Doll with open arms, with Berentson giving a shoutout to musician and Bartlett and Lucky You Lounge co-owner Karli Ingersoll, in particular, who really encouraged the band in its early stages.

The connections she had built in the music scene pre-Mama Doll helped the band start off on the right foot.

“It wasn’t like I was breaking into something brand new or no one knew who I was,” Berentson said. “I definitely started with a leg up because people knew the Buttons or people knew my sister (Kaylee Cole). I had connections. I was really grateful though that people pushed us to play and perform and really were so encouraging.”

Looking back on the band’s career, a few moments stick out for Berentson.

There was the time Mama Doll was named a band to watch by the Inlander during its Volume Music Festival (there was a line out the door of people trying to get into the Bartlett to watch the band’s set), or the time they played Bazaar.

Berentson remembers the band’s time on the road fondly, too, as well as the chance to perform with so many friends as the Mama Doll lineup evolved over time.

“Everybody that has been in Mama Doll has been a close friend of mine and people I love and care about,” Berentson said. “Every show I get to play with any of those iterations of Mama Doll is amazing because it’s my family and people I love, which I think is unique sometimes.

“They make the songs come to life. I feel like as the frontwoman, I get maybe more of the focus on me, but really, it’s about all of them onstage bringing these songs to life and making them feel what they feel like to the audience. I could not possibly do that on my own.”

Despite all the good times, Berentson, spurred by a divorce she went through this year, decided it was time to make a change and move to China.

Everyone was both supportive of the decision and sad to see the band come to an end – at least for now.

“Justin and Jen Landis and Caleb Ingersoll and I, we love playing together and being together,” Berentson said. “We laugh so much. It feels like a really safe and supportive environment to play music, and I think it brings a lot to each of our lives in our own kind of way.”

Berentson will leave for China shortly before the band releases a new album, which doesn’t yet have a release date and was recorded at Amplified Wax.

Berentson wanted to record an album even though she was moving because Mama Doll had changed a lot since its first album, and she wanted to preserve the moments she’d written.

“If not just for me, so I can look back and remember this was a time in my life that I loved and cherished deeply,” she said. “I feel like this album is much more for us celebrating what we’ve made together than it is necessarily for ideas of stardom.”

After Mama Doll plays its final show in Sandpoint on Saturday, Berentson hopes to wrap things up in Spokane on Sunday and head to the west side on Monday. From there, she’ll leave for China at the end of August.

In the meantime, Berentson has been reflecting on her time in the Spokane music scene and wants to thank those who have encouraged and inspired her along the way.

“I feel absolutely beyond grateful to have been part of this music scene, to get to perform in it, to get to learn, to grow, be challenged,” she said. “I’m so lucky to have lived in Spokane and have had this experience.”