Maren Morris is never one to sit on the sidelines and stay quiet when social issues arise.
The country-rooted singer-songwriter has torn up the charts with songs like "The Bones" and "The Middle," but she's not ever gonna bite her tongue to avoid offending potential fans. She's used her fame to raise money for the NAACP, people who are food insecure, and public school music education. She's called out country music for its diversity issues and blasted star Morgan Wallen for his racist language. When she lambasted Jason Aldean's wife for transphobic comments, then-Fox News host Tucker Carlson called her a "lunatic country music person" — which Morris quickly slapped across a T-shirt (along with the number for Trans Lifeline) and sold them to raise over $150,000 for GLAAD, a nonprofit organization that advocates for acceptance of LGBTQ+ people.
So it shouldn't come as a surprise that Morris' latest visit to Spokane centers on another crucial issue of our time — the crisis of fentanyl overdoses. On Oct. 7 at Spokane Pavilion, Morris will headline the second S.A.F.E. Fall Festival, a family-friendly event hosted by Spokane Alliance for Fentanyl Education (S.A.F.E.).
Founded in November 2021, S.A.F.E. looks to unite the larger Spokane community and educate people about the ever-shifting landscape of the fentanyl crisis. Having experienced the devastation wrought by a familial fentanyl overdose, Rayce Rudeen Foundation CEO and S.A.F.E. founder/chairperson Marsha Malsam thought the community needed to move away from the siloed communication about the drug in order to create a cooperative support network.
"We wanted to start something because we lost my nephew Rayce to fentanyl," says Malsam. "There was a lot of different messaging, and everyone kept saying, 'We can't do this alone.' And so the foundation partnered with the DEA. And through that, we brought in leaders from the community from all different sectors — business people, medical health, government, law enforcement, educators — onto a board. We wanted to really unite together and make sure we're all saying the same messaging and using each other's strengths."
Part of the issue is just how uncomfortable conversations around fentanyl can be for parents, kids and just about everyone else. By organizing knowledge-gathering summits — whether with local youths or community leaders — S.A.F.E. wants to fully understand the various perspectives on the crisis. Through "lunch and learns" — hourlong presentations and conversations about fentanyl — at businesses, schools and other groups that request them, the organization is getting its message out to the people. For someone like Spokane Teaching Health Center executive director and S.A.F.E. board member Traci Couture Richmond, knowing how painful fentanyl loss can be underscores the importance of education about the issue that is compassionate.
"I lost my sister in 2021 to a fentanyl overdose," Couture Richmond says. "She had been addicted to drugs for 10 years, and battled that addiction. And so I have discovered that there is a lot of stigma out there around drug addicts and the type of people that they are. And the fact of the matter is that this can affect anybody, it doesn't matter what kind of family you come from or background you have. If drugs want to take you, they will take you. And I just see so many of the systemic issues in the way that we treat addicts and that the way that we are not educating parents or empowering parents, so I just really want to be a part of something positive."
But S.A.F.E. understands that people probably aren't probably rushing out to attend morbid educational meetings about illicit drugs with their free time. That's where S.A.F.E. Fall Fest enters the picture.
"We could say, 'We're doing the biggest summit on fentanyl!" and people are gonna go, 'Yeah, that sounds great, but no.' So our hope was to bring in like a headliner to get people to understand that we're working with them," Malsam says.
While Morris might be the draw, she's only part of the festivities. The music lineup also features local blues standout Sammy Eubanks, cover band Bruiser and area high school bands (which will hopefully draw in the kids' families). There will also be more family-friendly activities like cornhole games, giant Jenga, bubble blowing stations, face painting, a Gonzaga basketball ticket raffle and more. The key for S.A.F.E. is that all of these diversions will be stationed next to booths run by community service providers (Spokane Regional Health District, Compassionate Addiction Treatment, etc.), who will hopefully be able to chat with parents as the kiddos play.
Plus, S.A.F.E. Fall Fest might be the best entertainment deal of the year, with tickets only costing $25 which includes a $10 food voucher.
"I mean, where else can you go see Miss Morris for $25?" Couture Richmond asks rhetorically. "It makes it really affordable for families."
"We just would love everyone to come and just have a great experience," says Malsam. "[People] can feel they're contributing — by coming out on a beautiful day, having fun, listening to music and learning something, they could help a community member not lose a life or loved ones." ♦
S.A.F.E. Fall Festival: Maren Morris, Sammy Eubanks, Bruiser, Local high school bands • Sat, Oct. 7 at 3 pm • $25 (Includes $10 food voucher) • All ages • Spokane Pavilion • 574 N. Howard St. • spokanepavilion.com
