Annie Bartholomew, KTOO

KXLL has some talented DJs. David Reed, one of our newest, is also film maker. This weekend he’s going to Sitka for Homeskillet Fest to collect more great footage.

“Each year dozens of artists from the Northwest and beyond gather in the small coastal town of Sitka, Alaska. The result is a festival unlikely to repilcated: A small fishing town stacked the musicians ranging from a single person with a guitar to a gang of computers used by breakdancing madmen. Homeskillet festival seems to have it all, but in a personal dose. All acts share one stage and artists can been seen in the audience enjoying other performers. Everyone gathers to enjoying the music together, reflecting how the festival began in the first place – friends on a Sitka beach entertaining each other through song.” -David Reed

Home Skillet Festival from David Reed on Vimeo.

 

Manner is one of my favorite people in hip hop. He’s headed down to Sitka for Homeskillet Fest this weekend with Diatribe NW, they’re performing Friday night along with a bunch of other wicked cool up-and-coming hip hop acts.

Don’t believe you’re missing out on something awesome? Guess who played there twice. Macklemore. Get real Juneau, and get to Homeskillet.

 

Juneau’s premier dance party phenomenon, Alaskan Scorcher, is returning to the Alaskan Bar tonight from 10:00 till last call, and they’ve got a special surprise just for KXLL listener!

Do you remember Scorcher’s Greatests Hits? Well get ready for Volume 2. The Scorcher dudes have 100 copies to dish out, first come, first serve. The compilation consists of Jerry and Todd’s favorite songs, handpicked Scorcher-style.

Tonight is also the homecoming of DJ Doctor DJ who’s come straight from Houston to bring down the house. Expect new music and new moves – no bluegrass allowed, only Bollywood-ska-rocksteady-soul goodness.

Looking to switch things up from the Haines Fair this year? Sitka’s Homeskillet music festival hosted by Homeskillet Records  brings acts from all over southeast Alaska and the northwest including hip hop and electronic  music.

“Flying in up to 20 musicians and housing them is no small task,” said Homeskillet Festival director, promoter and curator, Nicholas Galanin, “It’s a challenge to host in this community, particularly with finding venues.” After years as an outdoor event, the music is moving inside to Sitka’s Alaska Native Brotherhood Hall.

Though the festival imports “Lower 48” artists, it makes a point of showcasing southeast Alaska talent too including the Wool Pullers, Diatribe NW, Silver Jackson, Strumming Dog, Terri Tibett and Mark Sixbe .

Juneau singer-songwriter Nicole Church is performing at the festival for her third time and looks forward to the event each year. “Hip hop, folk, blues, just all of these different types of music brought together for one weekend and the collaborations are amazing,” said Church. “Just being able to interact with every other musician is really unique to the festival.”

A new addition this year is the musician and visual artist Chocolate Chuck who will be doing video visual work throughout the festival and performing with Seattle based musician Ocnotes.

Headliners include Kingdom Crumbs, Iskaa Dhaaf, Breathe Owl Breathe, Katie Kate, Ocnotes & Chocolate Chuck, Hanna Leess, but Galanin assures the whole lineup will be amazing.

Tickets are $25 for each night, and this year they’re putting a cap on the number available. Find them on the Homeskillet website for special $45 for both July 26^th and 27^th. Children under 10 are free.

On Friday morning, Lahna Deering was in the KXLL studio promoting Deering and Down’s weekend shows when Radio DJ Jessie suggested they go thrift shopping at “Sally’s,” Juneau’s downtown Salvation Army.  After taking a million photos the night before at open mic, I decided to try something new and video tape the adventure. Set the song “Towney” Lahna, Rev and Jessie pick through Sally’s looking for that perfect piece. 

 

 

Shot and Edited by Annie Bartholomew
Music: Deering and Down / Towney