The Mojo of Music featuring Cigarette Picnic
In an era where artists often feel pressure to release a steady stream of singles just to stay visible, Duluth trio Cigarette Picnic has built something different. They don't yet have a catalog listeners can stream on repeat. Instead, they've earned attention the old-fashioned way with one performance at a time. It's a bold gamble in today's music landscape, but one that perfectly reflects who they are.
Described as a “stripped-down, sultry femme power trio built around rich harmonies and minimal instrumentation”, Cigarette Picnic is made up of Ricky Francois, Madi Phyle and Elsa Krantz. Their songs remain largely unheard outside of live audiences, yet those audiences continue to grow through word of mouth, curiosity and the undeniable chemistry the three friends create together on stage. And that chemistry extends far beyond their voices.
Mojo isn’t something manufactured on the spot. Style and fashion are always a visual representation of life, experiences, and a collage of influences that form those decisions. For Cigarette Picnic, style isn't about creating matching costumes or carefully coordinated branding guidelines. Their visual identity begins with something much more personal. It’s wearing whatever makes each of them feel strongest.
“I think we really do lean into the feminine part of us being a female trio and whatever we feel most empowered and feminine in on that day. That can change, but one of us will usually be like, "I'm planning on wearing this." And we'll work around that gal's outfit and try to build something that's a little cohesive. But ultimately we all make our own decisions on what we want to wear and feel most comfortable in.”
-Ricky Francois
This mantra creates a visual language that feels effortless rather than rehearsed. In looking through photos and videos from past bands’ performances, there is a keen, unmistakable cohesion. No one stands apart wearing something off the wall or flashy. There isn’t that feeling of a true lead personality. Instead, it's a trio of support, each one tying into each other with ease and accommodating everyone’s preferences.
Individuality is then a variation of that dynamic. Elsa leans into wearing more androgynous elements. At times, they feel most like a woman when wearing collared shirts and jeans. Ricky was taken on yearly elaborate shopping trips, which led to her wanting to wear all kinds of things and not sticking to one particular style. Madi focuses on wearing things that she can wear to dance and sing in, which means comfort and clothes that are more freeing to move around in.
Each member traces her relationship with clothing back to childhood, revealing three very different paths that eventually converged into Cigarette Picnic.
For Madi, it started with a Disney Channel icon. She remembers feeling jealous of Hannah Montana and her crazy closet. She wanted all of those clothes. She still loves Miley Cyrus.
Elsa remembers something completely different. As a child they gravitated toward secondhand stores, wide-leg leggings, tie-dye patterns and what they affectionately call their "hippie biker chick" phase. They don’t know where any of those ideas came from, as their parents weren’t wearing stuff like this. Preparing for the Blue Ox Festival, their mother began sending old photographs from those days to connect how things are all coming together. Elsa admits they don’t gravitate to those elements now, but more towards classic, simple, and timeless pieces.
Ricky's earliest memories revolve around shopping trips with her grandmother, who made fashion feel like an adventure. There would be extravagant shopping sprees twice a year where they could pick whatever they wanted. That got her excited about clothing at a very young age going through all sorts of phases. That excitement followed her through high school, where she proudly earned "Best Dressed" after never repeating an outfit during all four years.
“We all live in Duluth and there's a lot of music happening all the time. For me, I'm looking for clothes that I can wear to dance and to sing. It's all the same to me. We love going out to see Saltydog. That's our dancing music. And if I'm going out to see them, I'll wear the same thing that I would wear if I was performing on stage. It's what I might wear at the grocery store as well. Just comfort.
-Madi Phyle
Winners of the Blue Ox 2026 Virtual Band Competition, Cigarette Picnic earned a place on the Backwoods Stage. Witnessing the buzz in person, you’re immediately struck by the distinct character of each of their voices. Madi has an incredibly fragile and soft vocal, providing a soothing warm layer, while her personality remains bubbly and expressive. Ricky holds a deeper, more stern strong vocal that is a serious foundational strength in the harmonies. The final element to the trio is Elsa’s voice that holds a wide range of tonal coloration and character.
Together the juxtaposition of these three voices is the real magic of Cigarette Picnic. Just like their styles, each voice supports the other without being a noticeable spotlight stealer. Taking turns per song on lead vocals, the trio navigated through a set of original unreleased songs that varied from cats to molehills.
The mojo between these three friends is another dynamic to see live as eye contact, smirks, and an intuitive sense of volume control are expertly achieved around a single microphone. You can feel and see the bond between them. The differences in their outfits are like the differences in their voices, but when together on stage, the blending of all three is what makes the songs and visuals all cohesive.
Beyond the clothes and voices is the engine under the hood. The songwriting of the trio is cleverly poignant and easily adaptable to our own lives. “Molehill” proclaims how the protagonist could inflate a situation, going through the extra trouble to “I’ll make a sea out of a pond/ I’ll make gold out of bronze/ I’ll make a William of a Bill/ I’ll make a mountain out of a molehill.” It’s this defiant chaos and motto in the song that ties seamlessly into the vibe of a band with the name Cigarette Picnic.
Discussing their outfits at Blue Ox, Ricky discloses that all of her outfits are almost all built around her extensive turquoise and handmade jewelry collection. The black denim dress was thrifted and fits like a glove. Her cameo ring was found at an antique shop in Montana, along with her own Grandma’s jewelry. The denim dress has embossed black polka dots so she added in some onyx earrings to tie into the dots and circular details. The bolo sterling carved ivory necklace was being worn for the first time since receiving it for her birthday last weekend. The white ivory being a perfect contrasting piece to the full look.
Elsa is wearing their artist hat, which they asked for at Christmas six years ago when Taylor Swift’s Folklore album came out. They think of it as a little train boy hat that supports their artistic vibe. Their earrings are personal favorites, as silver gongs that were thrifted many years ago. It adds a layer of goddess embodiment to the look. Their top is a friends that was put on last minute before the show to be more cohesive with the white, black, and red colors of the trio's looks. The denim skirt is Madi’s and features a drop waist. The shoes are her boyfriend's ex-girlfriend’s that were given to her.
Madi loves to shop and having a festival to play provides the perfect excuse to go thrifting. The weave hat was found and immediately was a favorite. The necklace is her moms that she got while in Mexico when she was younger. The white cotton boho dress was also thrifted. The boots were found on Facebook marketplace.
Standing together, the three of them blend visually. The white and black dresses from Madi and Ricky are diversified with Elsa’s checkerboard pattern and two piece outfit. It’s cohesive without noticing. It’s seamlessly thoughtful and keenly supports the merging of their vocals. And it’s so authentic to their personalities.
That authenticity becomes especially important because, for many audiences, appearance creates the first conversation before the first lyric is ever sung. Since Cigarette Picnic has yet to release recorded music, many people encounter them with no preconceived expectations. Their first impression isn't a Spotify playlist or social media algorithm. It's three women walking onto a stage. For Ricky, she hopes audiences immediately sense strength.
"I want them to think, 'I don't know what's about to happen, but they look strong as hell and confident as hell, and it's going to be good no matter what comes out of their mouths.' It's so cathartic for us to be on stage singing our music for people. I want them to feel good in that way too."
Madi hopes something even simpler shines through.
"We all just love each other so much," she says. "We're best friends. I want people to feel our love, feel inspired by it and go do what they love."
Elsa hopes for something slightly unexpected.
“I want people to be freaked out (laughs). I want people to feel curious. I want to embody confidence and love and friendship and authenticity. And I hope that just by being ourselves, people feel like they can resonate and relate to us and experience some healing through what we're offering. I hope that the authenticity evokes curiosity.”
-Elsa Krantz
That curiosity has become Cigarette Picnic's greatest strength.
Without an album to introduce themselves, they've allowed their live performances to do the talking. Every show becomes someone's first impression. Every harmony, every glance between friends and every carefully assembled outfit reinforces who they are before listeners ever have the chance to replay a song.
Until those recordings arrive, Cigarette Picnic exists in a way that's becoming increasingly rare as a band whose reputation is carried not by algorithms or playlists, but by the unforgettable feeling of being in the room when the music happens, surrounded by the love of the trio.
Check out the links below for ways to learn more about Cigarette Picnic
