Boston Globe critic Scott Alarik once characterized Rani Arbo and daisy mayhem as “neo-old-timey [with] cosmopolitan splashes of contemporary pop and jazz.” He assured us that Rani is “a far mountain holler from the brooding folk-pop songwriters” who are so abundant in the local music scene. Maybe that’s due to all the time she spent playing cello and singing in choirs as a child. We can tell you for sure that she picked up a fiddle in 1989 and found it better suited for the devil’s music than the cello. Rani first came to the public’s attention as part of Salamander Crossing, the premier roots band of the 1990s. Known for its varied and eclectic repertoire, Salamander Crossing was highlighted by Arbo’s fine fiddling and sultry vocals.

Now she’s making a major splash in the acoustic music pool with daisy mayhem. Her singing continues to electrify audiences and combines with an original fiddling style to showcase daisy mayhem’s repertory of country blues, vintage swing, modern songwriter fare, and Appalachian fiddle tunes and songs.

Arbo says she feels much more freedom in this new band. “This group can play traditional material with the spirit it deserves, as well as get very adventuresome.” Daisy mayhem has been known to include a Fats Waller tune on the ukulele, a twisted love song by Boston writer Deb Pasternak, a fiddle tune with Arbo’s lyrics, her hymn-like arrangement of Tennyson’s “Crossing the Bar,” a racy sea chanty and a gospel tune. “It’s a combination of melody, lyrics, emotion, and entertainment that appeals to me,” says Arbo. Other members of daisy mayhem include Andrew Kinsey (upright bass, vocals, banjo, ukulele & whistle), Anand Nayak (vocals, guitar), and Scott Kessel (percussion).

So if you think you’re ready for wicked percussion, sublime lead singing, great harmonies, and sparkling original songs performed by four people who share an irresistible chemistry on stage, there’s no better place to see them than the me&thee.

Rani Arbo
[“Gambling Eden”] bubbles with life… . [Arbo] has a languid, versatile alto voice, and plays a sweet, almost discreet fiddle. There is a spirit of depth in her delivery that recalls singing ladies of an earlier era.
As a band, they are generous and tasty, bringing to mind something timeless, evoking a Carter Family in the old-studio-around-the-single-mic feel. They sound nothing like the Carter Family, but approach their music just as authentically. . . . From their covers of traditional folk music — “Stewball” (with a reggae beat), “The Farmer Is the Man” (sincere as all get-out), “Turtledove” and “O Death,” — to contemporary songs like “Closer” by John McGann and Chris Moore, or the stunning, stately, jazzy version of Dave Carter’s “Farewell to St. Dolores,” each song becomes as much daisy mayhem’s as if they had composed each themselves. . . . I can’t wait to hear the band live. This album makes an old folkie smile — because the kids are alright.
Bonny Holder, Rockzilla

Arbo and daisy mayhem share a meticulous and respectful love for the genres they appropriate, which makes “Cocktail Swing” warm and fuzzy, but never cloying or precious. The guitar-, mandolin-, banjo- and ukulele-picking are impeccable; the fiddling is sweet; and Arbo’s voice is equally capable of whisper-singing sultry jazz tunes and belting out twangier Appalachian numbers.
Michael Manekin, THE VALLEY ADVOCATE