MUSIC
The art of goosebumps
Mattox Farm Productions to host Songwriter Showcase at the Heartwood
By Lyndsie Kiebert-Carey Reader Staff Mattox Farm Productions has proven itself a force for musical good in Sandpoint, bringing nationally touring artists from a wide swath of genres and backgrounds to local stages. Despite the variety, it’s clear that MFP founder Robb Talbott aims to highlight the artistry in each act. A big part of that artistry? Songwriting. Lucky for local lyric-lovers, MFP will host a Songwriter Showcase at the Heartwood Center on Sunday, April 2 to give the art its due through a panel discussion with three local and regional musicians: Matt Mitchell, Justin Landis and Alyssa Nunke of Fern Spores. “The art of songwriting is a tough one to really appreciate in a will spend time discussing their bar setting where it can often turn work together and collaborating to background music,” Talbott told onstage. the Reader. “In the Heartwood, “I feel that Sandpoint wants with these three musicians, the to be able to hear the songs in a talent of each singer-songwriter space — and with will be on display, an audience — Songwriter allowing the that highlights the audience members Showcase talents of singto fully appreciate Sunday, April 2; doors and bar er-songwriters,” he the performance.” open at 6:30 p.m., show at 7 p.m.; said. “I have been Each musician tickets are $12/adults and $8/ wanting to do this youth in advance at Eichardt’s. will have about for a while and and $15 for adults at the door. 30 minutes to have been waiting Kids under 5 enter free. Heartplay and discuss a wood Center, 615 Oak St., for a fun line up selection of their mattoxfarm.com. to be in the area at songs with the authe same time.” dience, Talbott said, then all three Mitchell, based in Spokane
and known under the moniker Matt Mitchell Music Co., told the Reader that songwriting, at its best, is a “physical, spiritual and emotional act.” “When it’s real, honest and heartfelt, a good song is inevitably going to be something that a listener can absorb and make their own,” he said. “In a world of escapism and distraction, any form of art that encourages folks to feel, to question, to dig a little deeper is invaluable; songwriting does this for me and if a listener can share in that, I’m doing my job right.” Mitchell said he wants the audience at the Songwriter Show-
Matt Mitchell will join Justin Landis and Alyssa Nunke of Fern Spores April 2 for the Songwriter Showcase. Courtesy photo. case to walk away with “goosebumps, mostly” — “that feeling when a song stirs up emotion and makes a listener truly feel something.” “We often get so caught up in the routines of life we forget that the whole damn point is to be engaged with ourselves and present in the moment,” he said. “Music, like other artforms, can facilitate this and remind us that living is about being alive.”
Right Front Burner, 219 Lounge, April 1
CCS Fundraiser, MickDuff’s Beer Hall, April 1
Sandpoint’s favorite, funkiest trio will be bringing the ruckus to the 219 Lounge on Saturday, April 1. Featuring Paul Gunter, Dave Pecha and Alvah Street, Right Front Burner — a.k.a. RFB — has been a RBD — “really big deal” — for local live music fans for more than a decade, and the 219 is one of the best places to experience their big, groovy sound.
MickDuff’s Beer Hall is partnering with Community Cancer Services to throw a party for a worthy cause, with the Cancer is No Joke Fundraiser on Saturday, April 1. The event will feature the Opa! food truck, live music from local singer-songwriter John Daffron (a.k.a. Johnny Guitar) and a raffle for a three-hour sailing charter for up to six people from Cloud Nine Sail Charters — a prize worth $500 and sponsored by Bruce
9 p.m.-midnight, FREE, 21+. 219 Lounge, 219 N. First Ave., 208-263-5673, 219.bar. Listen at reverbnation.com/theofficialrfb, more info at facebook.com/rightfrontburner.
READ
I do not recommend this for bedside reading — or reading that is likely to brighten your day — but the report by the National Low Income Housing Coalition, “The Gap,” published earlier in March, has some fascinating numbers and analysis of the housing crisis experienced by low-wage earners around the country. In Idaho, for instance, there were almost 40,000 “extremely low-income renter households” in 2021, competing for only about 15,000 affordable/available rentals. Find the Idaho figures at nlihc.org/gap/state/id.
LISTEN
A snapshot of notable live music coming up in Sandpoint It’s not be an April Fool’s prank, but that’s a Saturday when it might be a good time to make an April fool of yourself — within reason, of course. — Zach Hagadone
This week’s RLW by Zach Hagadone
Robertson and Barb Perusse. On top of all that, $1 of every beer sold will go to benefit CCS and its work in the Sandpoint area community. Come for the good food, stay for the good tunes and do some good for CCS and those it serves. — Zach Hagadone
Kudos to Baxters on Cedar owner Brandon Emch for his stellar Spotify curation. I was there last week, enjoying one of my customary sumptuous lunches with the Reader’s downstairs neighbor, when several songs on Emch’s playlist of the day caught my ear. I asked him about it, and he recommended Pokey LaFarge as an artist worth listening to. That was good advice — the old-timey, rockabilly-meets-tinpan-alley-meets-indie folk singer-songwriter is one in a million (and he has a new-ish album, In the Blossom of their Shade, out now). Listen for yourself at pokeylafarge.net.
WATCH
It is almost assured that I will write more about one or all of these shows at some point in the near future, but I feel obliged to at least put readers on notice that several excellent series are now streaming new seasons, among them: The Mandalorian (a somewhat-unnecessary-feeling Season 3, Wednesdays, on Disney+); Ted Lasso (the third-and-maybe-final season, Wednesdays, Apple TV); and Succession (the fourth-and-definitely-final season, Sundays, HBO Max). Of those, I must confess that Ted Lasso is by far the winningest.
5-7 p.m., FREE. MickDuff’s Beer Hall, 220 Cedar St., 208209-6700, mickduffs.com. March 30, 2023 / R / 21