LOVELL — What can you expect when you pair Heather Masse with Jed Wilson and place them in a venue with perfect acoustics? A stunning, intoxicating extravaganza of jazz, folk and blues.

The two will play a benefit performance at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, July 14, at The Brick Church for the Performing Arts, 502 Christian Hill Road.

Tickets are $20 and will be sold at the door.

Although this dynamic and engaging duo performs in theaters and venues across the country, including many guest spots on Garrison Keillor’s “A Prairie Home Companion,” Lovell lays proud claim to both of them.

Singer-songwriter Masse grew up in Lovell, though she and her family now reside in the Catskills; pianist Wilson lives in Lovell.

Masse began singing at an early age. Trained at the New England Conservatory of Music as a jazz singer, she is steeped in the jazz tradition, which informs her distinct approach to singing folk, pop and bluegrass.

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A member of the Canadian group The Wailin’ Jennys, she has performed at top venues, sharing the stage with the world’s most acclaimed pop, classical and jazz acts, including Elvis Costello, Wynton Marsalis, Sheryl Crow, Bruce Cockburn, Joan Osborne, Bruce Hornsby and the Boston Pops Orchestra.

Masse’s many recordings include her solo debut album “Bird Song.” Her 2013 CD, “Lock My Heart,” features jazz standards and originals with legendary pianist Dick Hyman. Her newest release, “August Love Song,” is a musical collaboration with octogenarian trombone maverick Roswell Rudd.

Wilson and Masse have been creating dynamic music together for almost 15 years.

Wilson grew up in Gladstone, Ore., and began studying piano at a young age. As a teenager, he was an active performer on the Portland, Ore., jazz scene, and won prestigious awards, including Downbeat Magazine’s Best High School Jazz Soloist honor three years in a row.

He received a bachelor’s degree in jazz performance from New England Conservatory in 2004. While still a student at the conservatory, he formed a long-standing musical partnership with renowned jazz vocalist and conservatory faculty member Dominique Eade.

Wilson is presenting Encounters in Sound, a six-part series of concerts with guest artists, at the Leura Hill Eastman Performing Arts Center at Fryeburg Academy. He and Masse will be with “Prairie Home Companion” on an August cruise in Alaska.

Refreshments will be served at intermission. For more information or for reservations, call 207-925-1500.


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