Second Story Presents... Maita & Mer (fka E.Ellison)

Sunday, Sep 13

7:00pm

Hosted by

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$25 per person

50 total spots

Listen to Mer

Listen to MAITA

Second Story presents... Maita & Mer (fka E.Ellison) doors at 7pm | show at 7:30pm $25 | space is limited and advance RSVP is required To reserve your ticket, please pay (@Blair-Borax) via venmo *AND* RSVP via partiful. You will receive an email with more information a few days before the show, but all of the info you need should be here too. Please feel free to email secondstorypdx@gmail.com if you have any questions :) ||| MAITA: Japanese-American singer-songwriter Maria Maita-Keppeler only writes songs she intends to finish, and once the debris has been blown away, the melodies remain — vibrant, sharp, and often heartbreaking. Her project MAITA’s latest LP, want, which was released in 2024 via Fluff & Gravy Records, is all of the above. A razor’s edge look at a relationship in turmoil, the record serves to strip away everything undesired in Maita-Keppeler’s life, leaving behind only that titular word: want. “The album allowed me this opportunity to be a little more courageous about my feelings,” Maita-Keppeler says. “I grew up feeling very much like the peacekeeper. Now, I have to be really assertive about what I want for myself.” MAITA's first record, Best Wishes, was released via Kill Rock Stars in May 2020 — but it was bittersweet, as the album came out peak-pandemic and they were unable to tour. As restrictions loosened MAITA began to see the benefit of rave reviews from KEXP, SPIN, FLOOD Magazine, and NPR’s Bob Boilen. They toured the US and Europe and played shows opening for the likes of Mirah, Blind Pilot, Horse Feathers, Typhoon, and garnered featured slots at SXSW and Treefort as well. Meanwhile, the band was working on polishing up their third LP, want, which Maita-Keppeler penned during the isolation of the pandemic. Recorded at Echo Echo in Portland, Oregon in the winter of 2022, the record serves as the most crystallized of MAITA’s works thus far. “We felt like the songwriting had a kind of visceral quality to it,” she says. “I love high highs and low lows.” Through it all, though, runs the theme of wanting. “These songs all explore desire within the framework of a long-term relationship where you're just trying to push and dig deeper,” Maita-Keppeler says. “I feel like not a lot of songs really get to the core of those struggles and how nuanced they actually are.” ... Mer: Mer (new working title) is comprised of Elisabeth Ellison, Joni Mueller, and Alex Radakovich. The trio of keys, bass, and drums have been writing music together since May of 2025, most recently working together on an hour long body of work of Brazilian inspired music for the Camas high school choir, who they partnered with in performance this past spring. They are taking the 16 song collection down to 10, and revising them to fit the sound they have been carefully crafting. It is multi-faceted, but stays in a rhythm based lane, while pulling from various genres from art pop to post rock. Together, their individual strong suits create one cohesive sound that continues to evolve and challenge their abilities each time they perform.