Musician and former “Inland Folk” radio show host Dan Maher, 72, died May 19 at his home in Pullman according to Maher’s longtime friend Kenton Bird.
Maher was diagnosed with liver cancer earlier this year, and a tribute concert to help pay for his medical expenses was held in April in Moscow.
“Dan’s knowledge of folk music and musicians is encyclopedic, and no one is better at getting a crowd to join in for a sing-along,” Trish Gardner, an organizer of the benefit concert, said in an Inland 360 story that ran before the event. “The abundance of support for this event has made it clear how loved and respected Dan is.”
His show “Inland Folk” aired weekly on Spokane Public Radio and Northwest Public Broadcasting for 38 years, and he was a founding member of the Palouse Folklore Society in 1981.
A singer, guitarist and songwriter, Maher recorded five albums over the years, four of which are available on bandcamp.com, according to Bird.
Maher hosted a folk music program called “Good Road” for an internet radio station after “Inland Folk” was ended by WSU in 2019 when he admitted he acted unprofessionally in a relationship with a student, according to a May 20 Spokane Public Radio story. The show will continue indefinitely through archived programs at mixcloud.com, Bird said.
A memorial service is scheduled for 11 a.m. June 21 at the Living Faith Fellowship, 1035 S. Grand Ave. in Pullman.
