Don’t miss the all-ages Trampled by Turtles tonight for a KXLL Beeraiser, brought to you by our friends at the Pint Size Bus.
The Duluth boys will be peforming at Centennial Hall hot off the boat from Haines. Doors open at 8:00, will call’s at 7:00 -look for the pint size bus to claim tickets.
Price is $25 at the door with bar and beer garden by the Rendezvous.
See you there, Juneau!
It was a busy weekend for music southeast Alaska. Juneau songwriter Liz Snyder kicked the Southeast Alaska State Fair for Homeskillet Festival. We caught up with her to talk about Sitka and her new project, the Wool Pullers.
Excellent: Who are the Wool Pullers and how would you describe your sound in one sentence?
LS: The Wool Pullers are Liz Snyder and Alex Kotlarsz. Our sound is… Acoustic folk rock. An unexpected thrill of female and male harmonies atop the rhythm of two acoustic guitars. Kinda catchy stuff.
Excellent: Why did you choose Homeskillet over Haines Fair?
LS: Originally, I didn’t know they would be scheduled the same weekend. But Haines has never been appealing to me as a musician in the sense that music is not its main focus. Homeskillet is ALL about the music. The genres were all over the place with hip hop, electronic, acoustic, folk, blues, indie, experimental, etc. The artists were mind blowing. It was something I did not want to miss out on.
Excellent: Have you performed at Homeskillet before?
LS: This was my first year.
Excellent: Which artists were you most looking forward to seeing there?
LS: I was excited to see all of them. I hadn’t heard of many of the artists on the line up and made a point not to listen to any of them beforehand so it would remain a surprise for me. And what a surprise it was. It still hasn’t all sunk in. I am still asking myself if this festival even happened or if it was all in my head. What a treat to admire these artists in action while also being able to hang out with them and talk music/get to know them as more than just musicians.
Excellent: How do you think Homeskillet fits into southeast Alaska’s music scene?
LS: It needs to be more known. Its a wonderful opportunity for local Alaskan musicians to share and network with up-and-coming artists from outside of Alaska. Not only that, it it provides the people of southeast with a very special and unique opportunity. Face it, good shows are hard to find around here. More people need to attend this festival. It is a diamond in the rough. I was surprised to find out none of my friends from Juneau had even really heard of it. We need events like this within our community. All ages shows where the focus is to appreciate the art, the music, the passion rather than just going out to get drunk while maaaybe hearing the music in the background. That would be impressive.
Excellent: Anything you else you want to tell people about Homeskillet, yourself, ect.
LS: I’ve never been more inspired by a music festival in my life. To quote Mikey Nice from Kingdom Crumbs, “damn.. People like this actually exist?” Yes. We do and we are starving for more.
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 26th and 27th. Children under 10 are free.
