In our sixth of 10 Folk Fest Session Red Carpet Concerts, we present the “Improbabillies.” The Seattle-based trio consists of Forrest Gibson on guitar, Scott Meyer on fiddle and Grant Dermody on harmonica. Of our Folk Fest Session videos, this is the only instrumental and it’s a medley of Dermody’s “Crossing Over” and “Tree of Life.”
Watch other Red Carpet Concerts with musicians like Kim Beggs, and Caleb Klauder and Reeb Willms. Stay tuned for the Foghorn String Band’s video early next week.
An outdoor percussion performance with up to 99 musicians will have its Alaska premiere Saturday. The composition is called “Inuksuit” and will take place at the University of Alaska Southeast campus. “Inuksuit” is by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer John Luther Adams who is a former resident of Fairbanks. The performance is organized and conducted by Third Coast Percussion who is here thanks to Juneau Jazz and Classics.
“Think of it like a cross between a concert and a sound installation,” said Chicago-based Third Coast Percussion member David Skidmore on a Juneau Afternoon.
“We’ll be outside, we’re hoping for good weather. It looks like a pretty good forecast. Rather than being fixed in the seated position, the audience walks around. So you walk wherever you want to and you sort of customize the performance for what you want to hear,” said Skidmore.
Third Coast Percussion is a quartet based in Chicago. The musicians have been playing multiple concerts, running workshops, and doing school visits throughout the week.
“Without giving away too much, basically the piece starts with all the performers in one area and the performers move further and further apart as the piece progresses,” said Skidmore.
According to the open call for musicians on the Juneau Jazz and Classics website, “It is not necessary to be a professional musician or even a percussionist to participate. One only needs to be able to read music, have a love for varied sound worlds, and an adventurous spirit!” While the piece can accommodate 99 performers, 35 people signed up.
“It [Inuksuit] has this very big dramatic arc, musical arc to the piece. It will be unlike anything anyone has ever heard and it’s actually really a pretty moving experience,” said Skidmore.
The weather forecast does look good tomorrow. The concert-length performance is free and begins at 2 p.m. If you can’t make it to UAS on Saturday, you can watch our live video coverage of the event on KRNN’s Facebook page as we “Facebook Live” the concert.
Editor’s note: The original headline overstated the number of musicians participating and has been corrected.
Over the last week and a half we’ve been presenting videos that we recorded during this year’s Alaska Folk Festival. Today, we present Red Carpet Concert number five of 10 with Kim Beggs of Whitehorse, Yukon. Here’s her tune, “Heart in a Bucket.”
The Red Carpet Concert Folk Fest Session videos are a collaboration between KTOO, Juneau filmmaker Ryan Cortes and audio engineer Justin Smith of Gustavus.
Watch the rest of the Red Carpet Concert Folk Fest Sessions with musicians like Caleb Klauder, Liz Snyder and Harrison B. Stay tuned for Friday’s video with the Seattle-based “Improbabillies” with Forest Gibson, Scott Meyer, and Grant Dermody.
Our fourth of 10 Folk Fest Red Carpet Concerts is with Harrison B and Tim Pepper. Harrison B, who is currently based in Seattle, defines his sound as progressive American Soul. Here is “Keep it Movin.”
Our Red Carpet Concert Folk Fest sessions are a collaboration between KTOO Public Media, Juneau filmmaker Ryan Cortes of Gemini Waltz Media, and Justin Smith of Rusty Recordings in Gustavus. Tune in Wednesday for the release of Kim Beggs.
Watch other Red Carpet Concerts with musicians like Caleb Klauder and Reeb Willms, Liz Snyder and Patrick Troll, and Sean Tracey and Nate May. Tune in Wednesday for the release of Kim Beggs.
Our third of 10 Folk Fest Red Carpet Concerts is with Caleb Klauder and Reeb Willms. The Portland, Oregon-based musicians are also part of the Foghorn Stringband and the Caleb Klauder Country Band. Here they sing a duet called “Last Time I Saw You.”
Watch more Red Carpet Concerts with musicians like Liz Snyder and Patrick Troll, Sean Tracey and Nate May, and Dara Rilatos. Tune in Monday for the release of Harrison B.
During this year’s Alaska Folk Festival, we filmed ten bands in a tiny room at the Alaskan Hotel as part of our Red Carpet Concert series. The videos are inspired by NPR’s popular Tiny Desk Concerts. The only criteria for the short concerts are that the music is original, and that it is played on the arts room’s red carpet wherever it may be — at KTOO, in a parking garage or on a beach.
Here are past Red Carpet Concerts with musicians like the Bowties, Sean Tracey and Nate May, Dara Rilatos, Cousin Curtiss, or Sophia Street. Check back on Friday for the release of Oregon-based Caleb Klauder and Reeb Willms.
