Six of Our Favorite Musician Moms

Being a musician is a non-stop, exhausting job that talented men and women alike put their entire heart and soul into. So is being a parent. Balancing life as a touring musician with life as a parent can be tough, which is why we want to give the fabulous musician mommies on this list a shout out, right in time for Mother’s Day. From Brody Dalle to Gwen Stefani, here are some of our favorite musician moms.

Brody Dalle

Best known as the tattooed front-woman of the punk group The Distillers, she’s also the mother of three children who she shares with fellow rock god Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age. Born and raised in Australia, she’s toured the world and now lives in Palm Springs with her husband and kids. On top of being a great mom, she’s been upfront in interviews about postpartum depression, staying sober for the sake of her children, and struggling with pregnancy weight gain as a performer–something regular, non-famous moms can relate to!

Corin Tucker

Not only does Corin Tucker (of Sleater-Kinney) make almost every Top Guitarists list, but she makes our list of coolest musician moms. She has a son and a daughter with her husband, filmmaker Lance Bangs. Another brutally honest mom, Corin Tucker said in an interview with Time magazine, “I certainly would never advise a young woman (or anyone) in rock that having a child and being a touring musician would be a breeze. It’s really really hard.” Fortunately, she must excel at time management because the group reformed and went on a major tour in 2015.

Gwen Stefani

Perhaps the most high-profile celeb mom on this list, Gwen Stefani is mom to three boys with ex-husband Gavin Rossdale. And there’s no doubt she’s one cool mom. From encouraging her boys to wear what they want, to playing with water balloons in the backyard, she sure knows how to have fun. Admittedly, one of her biggest challenges is setting aside one-on-one time with each of her sons–something working moms and non-celebrity moms of multiple kids struggle with, too.

Solange Knowles

Sure, everyone knows Beyonce is a cool mom, but Solange once cancelled an 8-week tour so she could spend some much-needed time with her son, who was adjusting to living in a new city. Now that’s what we call dedication! On top of that, she’s a teen mom–she had her son at the age of 17, right when she was trying to jumpstart her music and focus on her career. With the help of her then-husband, she was brilliantly able to juggle the responsibilities of being a mom and a musician.

Patti Smith

Referred to as the grandmother of punk by some, Patti Smith took herself away from music and the public eye for 16 years so she could raise her children, Jesse and Jackson. Now that her kids are old enough, they’re musicians themselves and have been known to share the stage with Patti during performances. And just as Patti and her kids are close, so are Patti’s fans and their kids–just check out this awesome look into what brought these family members together to catch a Patti Smith concert.

Kori Gardner

Kori and her husband, Jason Hammel, have released seven full-length studio albums since they formed Mates of State in 1997, and have had three kids in the process. Marriage and children are even the theme of 2015’s The Rumberbutts, an indie film that stars the duo as a married couple in a band. Known for bringing their kids on tour, it’s not uncommon to see one of their three kids running around backstage or hanging with their nanny during soundcheck. After bringing Gardner’s mother on tour once, the group even recommends bringing extended family members along on tour as nannies. Talk about keeping it in the family!

Looking for a Mother’s Day Gift?

Whether she’s a musician mom herself or has a special place in her heart for music, there are tons of great music-related gifts you can surprise her with this Mother’s Day. From biographies of female musicians to a pair of high-quality headphones, the sky’s the limit! And if you can’t think of the perfect gift yourself, why not gift a Music & Arts gift card? That way your mom can buy herself the gift she really wants! For more gift ideas, check out this article.