Summer Serenade fundraiser to benefit local music scholarships

MCS partners with Cabin View Winery for classical music concert

By Reader Staff

The talented Music Conservatory of Sandpoint faculty will perform a variety of summery classical music Sunday, July 23 at the Little Carnegie Concert Hall in Sandpoint. The concert will feature instrumental solo, vocal and micro ensembles, with all proceeds benefiting music scholarships for the extensive arts access programs offered by MCS.

Partnering with this year’s fundraiser is local newcomer Cabin View Winery. Owner and winemaker Jim Mills will be on hand to share his 20-plus years of experience in the winemaking industry.

Doors will open at 6 p.m., with a no-host wine bar for those wanting to take advantage of all that the evening has to offer, including summer light appetizers and concessions. The concert begins at 7 p.m. Tickets are $25 for adults and $10 for students. Early online purchase is recommended at sandpointconservatory.org.

Summer Serenade

Sunday, July 23; Doors at 6 p.m., show at 7 p.m.; $25 adults, $10 students. Little Carnegie Hall, Music Conservatory of Sandpoint, 110 Main St., 208-2654444. Buy tickets at sandpointconservatory.org.

“This annual event is unique because it demonstrates the bonded relationship between MCS, our teachers and our students,” MCS Board Secretary Charis Uzabel stated in a news release. “We really work hard to come alongside our students to help them succeed, and we understand that nurturing skills can take years plus a lot of investment from families.”

The music program has been tailored to give a nod to the summer season, with selections from Hammerstein, Bach, Mozart, Debussy, Schumann and more performed by MCS faculty members.

“We aim to keep music accessible for all, and this concert is one way the community can not only experience our talented musicians, but also join with us to support Sandpoint’s youth,” Uzabel added.

Accenting the music selection will be local wines from Cabin View Winery selected by Mills.

Following the performance there will be a chance to mingle with the performers and continue sipping. The firehouse doors will be closed for this 7 p.m. event.

For more information or to donate to student scholarships, visit sandpointconservatory. org, or mail to P.O. Box 907, Sandpoint, ID 83864. Tickets are available online or at the door.

A snapshot of notable live music coming up in Sandpoint

The Wow Wows, Idaho Pour Authority, July 22 John Firshi, Eichardt’s Pub, July 26

Homegrown North Idaho band

The Wow Wows come front-loaded with a full electric sound that never feels sludgy or bass-reliant. Rather, it exudes a slinky sensibility with its jangly guitar and frequently shoe-gazy rhythms.

The Wows Wows rock, too, especially on tracks like “She’s My Lover,” “Next Surprise” and “Blue Van” from the 2019 album River Dolphin, on which shades of psychedelia mingle with the best of vintage punk and, dare we say, the merest hint of rockabilly.

Catch the band at Idaho Pour Authority and you’ll say “wow” more than once.

— Zach Hagadone

8 p.m., FREE, 21+. Idaho Pour Authority, 203 Cedar St., 208-5977096, idahopourauthority.com. Listen at thewowwows.bandcamp. com.

There’s something warm and familiar about John Firshi’s music. An accomplished guitar player and soft-spoken soul, Firshi plays an intriguing mix of originals and covers. His fingerpicking is beautiful and unpretentious, with the use of a loop pedal allowing him the space to layer in guitar solos and expressions that give depth to the songs he plays.

Firshi leads the weekly Monday Night Blues Jam at Eichardt’s

This week’s RLW by Zach Hagadone

and plays around town with his band Headwaters, but his solo shows are always a delight — whether you’re just interested in background dinner music or prefer to sit in the front row and watch the magic happen.

— Ben Olson

7 p.m., FREE. Eichardt’s Pub, 212 Cedar St., 208-265-4005, eichardtspub.com.

During one of my customary doom-scrolling sessions, I ran across

The Marginalian, and in that instance I thanked the algorithm. The site is a wide collection of stellar essays by Maria Popova on “art, science, poetry, philosophy and other tendrils of our search for truth, beauty, meaning and creative vitality.” Essentially, it’s an example of why the internet was supposedly invented. Check it out at themarginalian.org.

I already wrote about Mama’s Broke ahead of the band’s July 9 gig at The Heartwood Center, but it bears repeating that this duo from Halifax, Canada is an absolute must-listen. Though often described as “folk music,” what Lisa Maria and Amy Lou Keeler do is something different, stirring up a moody brew of haunting harmonies tinged with the maritime influences of their eastern Canadian roots. It’s little wonder they won Ensemble of the Year at the Canadian Folk Music Awards in 2017. Find out more at mamasbroke.ca.

Read Listen Watch

Consider this advance notice: Season 2 of Neil Gaiman’s Good Omens is set to premiere Saturday, July 28 on Amazon Prime, which gives you enough time to binge Season 1, which arrived on the platform in what feels like another lifetime in 2019. Based on the novel of the same name by Terry Pratchett and Gaiman — and adapted for the small screen by Gaiman — it tells the tale of the End Times and the darkly humorous efforts of Aziraphale the angel and Crowley the demon to stop it. Of course it’s so, so much more than that. See for yourself.

From Pend Oreille Review, July 10, 1911