Who: The MAKs
Folk
When Melissa Menago, the frontwoman and guitarist of
Philly power pop band June Divided released her selfproduced
solo album, Echo The Optimist, she
strategically chose Karina Patricelli and Angelique
Zuppo for the live performances. They all knew one
another as performers but also as fellow music teachers
who quite often shared notes and ideas on the local
music scene in Philadelphia. Karina is the frontwoman
and bassist of the pop punk band, Valendina, and
Angelique fronted her own project Zupang. However,
Melissa had no idea she had assembled the supergroup
that would become known as The MAKs.
The MAKs played their first show in December 2024 and
quickly realized they had tapped into something special.
They quickly gained the attention of media and radio
stations. Within six months of their first show The MAKs
were named one of the four finalists of WXPN’s 24 Hour
Song Challenge and nominated for three Hometown
Hero Homey Awards (Delaware Public Media): “Song Of
The Year” “Best Folk Song” and “Best New Artist”.