The 36th Annual Anchorage Folk Festival! featuring Guest Artists AJ Lee and Blue Summit and Corey Ledet Zydeco!

The full festival schedule will be posted here shortly. In the meantime, please consult the following pages for schedules of Main Stage and Folk Week performance sets at the Wendy Williamson Auditorium and at venues around Anchorage as well as Workshops held at the Wendy. All events listed here are free and open to the public!

Schedule Of Events

Main Stage

1–5 pm
Chugiak Eagle River Senior Center Monday Jam 1:00 pm
We love to get together every Monday Night at 6–8pm at the Chugiak Eagle River Senior Center to play music together. Everyone is welcome to join and have fun with us. Bring an instrument or just come and sing. We know you will have fun. Small group of people who love to play and sing.

Country Memories 1:30 pm
Country—Johnny Cash, Hank Williams, and others; Gospel (e.g., When the Saints Come Marching In) and other songs. Jill Ekstrom – fiddle; Billie Martin – washboard; Davis Norman – guitar; Barbara Roberts – vocal

Down from Lazy Mountain 2:15 pm
We are a husband-and-wife duo. Our roots are in Bluegrass, Country, and Folk music. We plan to do some fun soulful tunes together with some currently relevant topics. Mike Hansen – guitar; Betty Hansen – mandolin

Gal Pals 2:30 pm
Bluegrass gals playing some of our favorites. Marianne See – guitar; Mary Oudean – fiddle; Angela Oudean – mandolin; Mandy King – bass

Arctic Diamonds 2:45 pm
We are individually unique in styles and backgrounds which blend together in a way that creates a different kind of inviting harmony. May our music resonate within you. Lyn Franks – guitar, percussion; Petersen – guitar and vocals; Kris Nesteby – guitar; Suzanne Little – guitar and other things

Cherie Bowman 3:00 pm
Cherie is a longtime Alaskan resident, most recently residing and working in Juneau. This is her first performance with the Anchorage Folk Festival, and she hopes you enjoy her unique blend of folk and blues!

Turnagain Blues 3:15 pm
This country blues duo, a married couple, has been practicing in their basement, performing around town, and playing at this festival for 10 years. Their blues covers the range of human emotion through the performance of traditional and original songs. Sarah McCabe – vocals and bass guitar; Bill Ostrand – acoustic guitar

Fiora Denali 3:30 pm
As an Alaskan born singer and songwriter, Fiora Denali has spent her adolescence documenting her own experiences through song. Over the past three years, she has begun performing and is soon releasing music. Fiora Denali- vocals and guitar

Jin Ave 3:45 pm
Jin Ave is a trio that writes and performs original songs. The songs they write span many genres—folk to bluegrass to rock to punk to shanties to pop. Levi Adams – vocals, guitar; Chris Dalton – bass, trumpet; Mike Simpson – banjo, guitar, vocals

Garrett Playing by Himself 4:00 pm
I write songs in hopes to unite people instead of dividing them. I just hope my music helps people see the light at the end of a dark tunnel. Jamea Garrett Hermansen – guitar/vocals and harmonica

Alaska Main Squeeze 4:15 pm
We are a cover band playing a variety of styles to include folk, country, waltz, swing, and, of course, polka!! We perform at many public and private events such as Oktoberfests, Alaska State Fair, assisted living facilities, and school and church functions. Jason Ott – Guitar, vocals; John McCleary – Accordion, vocals; Jill Williams – Accordion, harmonica, vocals; Joyce Haugstad – accordion, vocals; Donnie Foss – drums; Gary Stevens – vocals

Jonny J 4:30 pm
Edgy folk with a bone to pick, wounds to lick, and stories to tell in a style that weaves raw and vulnerable energy into dark and melancholic themes. Jonny J Solo is a singer/songwriter from Fairbanks, Alaska. Jonathan Hutchinson – guitar, vocals, kick drum

Alaska City Folk Arts and Friends 4:45 pm
Attendees of any folk arts camp since 1992. We will play songs and tunes. Led by Mary Schallert.

starting at 7 pm
Anchorage Mandolin Orchestra 7:00 pm
AMO is composed of mandolin family instruments as well as guitar and bass. Our group is composed of a few professional musicians but mostly hobbiests ranging in age from 26 to 79. Armin Abdihožić, Bob Clark, Jessica Filley, Yvonne Goldsmith, Garth Hangartner, Suzanne Little, Kathy Means, Chris Richardson, Jeff Silverman, Jed Smith, Heather Thomas, Joan Unger, Jon VanOmmeren, Karl Wilhelmi

Terry Kelly 7:15 pm
Original pop/folk songs about bears, love, and other wildlife.

Fiona Rose and the Show Ponies 7:30 pm
Whimsical tunes written for the folks. Come join our growing family band! Fiona Rose – vocals, guitar; Logan Bean – bass, vocals, trumpet; Matt Roberts – drums; Matt Faubion – guitar; and maybe a surprise friend

Shakedown Strings 7:45 pm
Drawing upon their improvisational prowess and experience as jazz musicians, Kansas City-based Shakedown Strings celebrate the music of the Grateful Dead and explore the band’s vast repertoire of songs and musical ideas. Adam Galblum- vocals, violin; Clayton DeLong – vocals, acoustic guitar; Rick Willoughby – vocals, upright bass

Shake City String Band 8:00 pm
Alaska folk fusion. From traditional folk tunes, to reimagined covers, to original songs, Shake City brings an eclectic flavor to the Anchorage music scene. Katie Wasko – violin, vocals, guitar; Kade Bissell – hammered dulcimer, percussion, guitar, vocals; Kyle Lindsey – viola, violin, vocals, aux percussion; Brett Lindsay – cello; Zach Akins – bass

The Apples and the Trees 8:15 pm
Mary, Miles, and Ryan have been playing together in some form since 1993 and playing at the folk festival. Mary Schallert, Miles Allen, Ryan McLaughlin

John Cook and Ben Heller 8:30 pm
John Cook and Ben Heller perform original music that covers a range of styles including folk, blues, jazz, and rock music. John Cook: guitar, Harmonica, vocals; Ben Heller – guitar, vocals

Guest Artists: AJ Lee and Blue Summit 8:45 pm
Currently made up of AJ Lee on mandolin, fiddler Jan Purat, and guitarists Scott Gates and Sullivan Tuttle, this group is proud to be Californian, proud to represent the neo-traditionalist bluegrass and folk from the state and the mighty communities surrounding them. Their music shines with this "think global, act local" sort of approach.

Click Here To Folk Week performance

Click Here To Workshops

Click Here To Buy Tickets