Tunesmith Night, Saturday, November 11, 2017 – 7PM
Gold Room at the Jennings Hotel, 100 North Main, Joseph, OR.
The Wallowa Valley Music Alliance another edition of Tunesmith Night, a monthly showcase of original music. The Saturday, November 11 show features three songwriters from Portland and California: MAITA, Ismay and Matt Zeltzer. The cozy atmosphere and warm sound in the Gold Room at the historic Jennings Hotel provides the perfect atmosphere for our listening audience.
Portland indie-songstress MAITA‘s songs stand as a testament to the beautiful mess that we call life. MAITA is an artist who understands the perilous act of creation and authorship, and we witness her lyrical negotiations of this on her debut EP, Waterbearer—the tenuous line between reverence and doubt, between worship and desecration. Her haunting voice and lush, off-center melodies guide the listener through her musings, at once deliberate and confessional. After years of writing and honing her abilities in private, MAITA has been sharpening her songs on the road, playing over 200 shows—including two month-long European tours—in 2016 and 2017. She is currently hard at work on her debut full-length, which is slated to be released in 2018.
Coming from the coastal hills of northern California, Ismay is a singer, guitarist, and songwriter drawing inspiration from the natural landscape of the American West. With an ear for an old-time aesthetic and artistry of indie folk, Ismay’s blends inventive songwriting, ethereal vocals, and dynamic fingerpicking on the guitar. When she is not traveling the western states on horseback, Ismay can be found working on her ranch, collecting the sounds and stories of rural California. From this cultural history comes Ismay’s deep-rooted sound of the New American West.
California songwriter Matt Zeltzer paints a desolate, yet love-torn America, just as much influenced by Cormac McCarthy and John Steinbeck as by Neil Young. Mediating a soul torn between fatalism and romance, he weaves folk, blues, and soul idioms, acknowledging his predecessors, while staring blindly into the future of American music. Zeltzer rarely finds room for the ornate in his writing, nor in his music, known for its simple, organic production, preferring to leave the cracks and inequalities exposed. Led by his torn, soulful voice, it is the intense energy, vibrancy, and unusual honesty that transform Zeltzer’s music into profound and compelling art.
MAITA and Matt Zeltzer also perform together as The American West.
Tunesmith Night is presented in a round-robin format, with each musician playing a song, then the next taking a turn, creating an interesting and varied performance. Admission is $10 at the door or by season pass. Doors open at 6pm, music at 7pm, all ages welcome. No food or beverage service provided—BYO.