Max Garcia Conover. Photo by Nat Frederickson

The first time I saw singer-songwriter and Bath resident Max Garcia Conover was in 2016 at what was then called Empire Dine & Dance. I was so struck by his lyricism that when I wrote about him in 2017, I compared him to Bob Dylan.

My opinion hasn’t changed.

Since then, Garcia Conover has released a ton of music and remains an incredible, poetic songwriter.

You can hear for yourself on Sunday at One Longfellow Square, when Garcia Conover will be joined by Argentinian artist Paula Prieto.

This will be the first time the musicians will meet in person, though they collaborated remotely on the EP “Everything in Winter” in 2023.

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Garcia Conover said that a couple of years ago, he discovered a music collaboration site called Soundbetter, where he came across Prieto.

“I didn’t have any intention of contacting anyone until I came across her music. I immediately liked her songwriting and the way she records her voice, so I reached out,” he said.

Now, in 2025, fate has intervened.

“She’s randomly coming up this way and so we last-minute put a few shows together. I’m really looking forward to sharing the stage with her and being with people in a room together. That’s never felt more important to me,” said Garcia Conover.

Prior to the Portland show, the duo will be playing shows in Massachusetts and New York.

Max Garcia Conover with Paula Prieto will be 8 p.m. Sunday. One Longfellow Square, 181 State St., Portland, $20 in advance, $25 day of show. onelongfellowsquare.com.

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Heather Maloney

Massachusetts-based singer-songwriter Heather Maloney released her “Exploding Star” album on Friday, and you can hear several songs from it at her album release show at One Longfellow Square.

Heather Maloney. Photo by Carly Rae Brunault

The album, her eighth, includes the track “Labyrinth in the Weeds.”

The album-opening song is an instant reminder of Maloney’s songwriting prowess.

I went down an old path, all the way back
in the late summer long grass
You, in the sunset — made you a silhouette
Light-leaks and vignettes in a field I cannot forget

“Exploding Star” is Maloney’s first album in five years and for a time, its release was uncertain.

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Its dozen songs were written after Maloney lost her father in 2021. She wrote the songs as part of her grieving process and had no intention of putting them on an album. But when some close friends and family members nudged her, Maloney realized that the songs were worth recording.

She spent a couple of days in her childhood home recordings songs, backing vocals, backyard crickets and percussion played right on the home’s walls and floors.

Maloney opened up about the experience in a press release. “That house is the backdrop to so many moments with my father that became song lyrics on the record, so having the house itself be a part of a few songs was such a beautiful and intense experience for me.

“I will never forget what it felt like to return to the place those memories were made, and sing them with such grief and gratitude. At times I felt that my dad was still somewhere in the house, and I was singing directly to him. At other times it felt like I was surrounded by all of our young and distant ghosts.”

The title track asks a heartbreaking question, but does so in the context of an acoustic tune that segues into a lush, full-color, harmony-rich offering.

“Are you floating in the cosmos finally free from time while I’m down here in the highway looking for signs?” asks Maloney.

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“Things I Thought I Needed” is another standout, opening with a piano and Maloney’s clear-as-a-bell voice and then blossoming with acoustic guitar, percussion and a swell of harmony vocals.

High Tea

Get yourself to One Longfellow Square in plenty of time to see folk-punk act High Tea open the show. The duo of Isabella DeHerdt and Isaac Eliot is new to me, but if the tune “Tender Heart Attack” is any indication, it’s not to be missed.

Also be sure to bring cash or a credit/debit card because Maloney will be bringing vinyl copies of “Exploding Star” with her.

Heather Maloney with High Tea will be 8 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 12. One Longfellow Square, 181 State St., Portland, $15 in advance, $35 day of show. onelongfellowsquare.com.

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