POAC kicks off performing arts season with Maiah Wynne

SANDPOINT — The Pend Oreille Arts Council has announced that Maiah Wynne will kick off POAC’s performing arts season this fall.

Wynne, an award-winning singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, will appear with her full band for the Sept. 16 performance at the Panida Theater.

The performance is set for 7:30 p.m.

Hailed by The Revue as “the next Brandi Carlile,” Wynne delivers “gorgeous, haunting indie-folk, where every lyric penetrates deep into your skin.” And Wynne's impact in Sandpoint will be much more than skin-deep as she spends time with local high school students, focusing on the power of self-expression through songwriting workshops, POAC officials said.

“As our kids head back into the classroom, it is the perfect time to welcome someone like Maiah into our schools with her positive message of self-acceptance through creativity and the arts,” said POAC Executive Director Tone Lund. “September is also National Suicide Awareness and Prevention Month, and Maiah’s visit to Sandpoint will underscore other important community events like the annual Walk for Hope.”

Wynne has a passion for social justice which drives much of her work. She often writes songs about underrepresented perspectives, facilitating healing, drawing much needed attention to critical issues, and raising funds for positive change. Renown for her powerful and universally resonant lyrics with a hauntingly beautiful voice, her current project is “Envy of None,” with Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Alex Lifeson of Rush, Juno Award winner Andy Curran and accomplished recording engineer/musician Alfio Annibalini. Their recent album released in April of this year instantly charted in Canada, the US and the UK.

Wynne has been featured on NPR’s All Songs Considered (2019) and Tiny Desk Contest, and her numerous film music placements include the major motion picture The Ballad of Lefty Brown, starring Bill Pullman. In 2019 she won the International Music from the Moon songwriting contest and performed for the Apollo 11's 50th anniversary homecoming dinner at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center. Raised in the Pacific Northwest, and currently based in Gresham Oregon, Maiah has collaborated with the Portland Cello Project and opened for artists and bands including Lucinda Williams, Dave Mathews, Tanya Tucker, Indigo Girls, Beth Ditto, Brandi Carlile, Asleep at the Wheel, The Sweet Remains and Rising Appalachia at festivals such as Red Ants Pants, Timber, Upstream, NW Folklife, and more.

All tickets to Maiah Wynne are $25, available at the POAC Office, online at artinsandpoint.org, or by phone 208-263-6139. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. with the show starting at 7:30 p.m.