‘Alaskans on stage and Alaskans in the audience’ — and the Alaskans behind it all at the 51st annual Folk Fest
- Jasz Garrett
- 3 hours ago
- 7 min read
Old or new, musician or volunteer, it's community that makes the music festival possible
By Jasz Garrett
Juneau Independent
The 51st annual Alaska Folk Festival opened Monday night with emcee Grace Elliott leading the audience in a traditional countdown to the first act, the Juneau Community Chorus. It was a flashy start to the free week-long festival with a neon guitar designed by Bayani “Bing” Carrillo suspended above the singers.
In the introduction, Elliott gave a shout-out to photographer Brian Wallace, who has documented many festivals, and Jeff Brown, who organized post-Folk Fest parties and had a 40-year career with KTOO. He has attended the festival for decades and was sent “much love” from the crowd Monday. The radio station was recognized for airing the festival live year after year.
The festival is made possible through donations and the sales of merchandise, according to Annie Bartholomew, a board member and longtime Juneau musician. But she said it really relies on the people behind the scenes.
“It’s mostly independent people supporting who love this and want to see it happen every year,” she said. “It couldn’t be done without the volunteers. We’re strong because we put Alaskans on stage and Alaskans in the audience.”
The festival puts Alaskans on the stage in more ways than one.
A five-person crew ran up and down the stage during opening night, changing it every 15 minutes to a new set. And each night of Folk Fest, the stage crew switches to a new team.
On Monday, it included Mike James, the lead, Jane Hale, assistant lead, Jan Beauchamp, Ben Hoffman and Dale Brandenburger. Board member Hyram Henry also offered support to the volunteers.
“It’s a matter of getting the mic set up, making sure they’re aimed correctly at the instruments, and the vocal mics and instruments like the piano that need to be moved,” Hale said.
Hale has been an emcee and performed before. She was volunteering for stage crew for the third time and said it’s much more anxiety producing than standing on the stage to play music because it’s up to them to make sure sets go smoothly.
“It’s fun, but it’s pressure,” she said. “The great thing about being on stage crew is you feel fully immersed in the experience, right? You’re sort of there between the performers and the audience and making sure that the sound is good. It’s just very satisfying, but it’s work.”
It was Hoffman and Brandenburger’s first night volunteering, and Hoffman’s second Folk Fest ever. Hoffman said the crew learned different ways to adjust microphone stands at different angles for each instrument and how to prevent feedback.
“I think we’re learning every time we have to put new microphones up there’s a better way to do it,” he said.
“We had to make sure that the people are not standing too far back from the mic, and coax them up there so they’re just three finger widths apart from singing so they can be heard, and to get them immediately playing and singing so that the sound people can dial in the sound right away,” Brandenburger added.
Hoffman is scheduled to perform sacred harp singing with several others at Folk Fest this Saturday at 12:15 p.m. He said he has been playing old-time music in town and everyone was talking about the festival’s 50th anniversary last spring. He said he was surprised at how much of a party it is, but also appreciative of how all different kinds of musicians are welcome.
“Not everyone’s a professional musician, and I think it’s cool how there’s a range of levels between people who are really, really professional musicians, and people who are just from the community and good musicians,” he said. “And I think seeing that there is that much range of engagement that was coming up and getting on the stage, that made me feel OK to do it.”
Hoffman’s group sings every second and fourth Saturday from 4:30 to 6 p.m. at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, and he invited anyone interested to join.
Brandenburger said for him, Folk Fest is a week full of fun and friends playing music all week long.
As the stage lead, James assigned duties to the crew and coordinated jobs throughout the night. Some sets are simpler than others, but all require coordination to ensure clean transitions. Volunteers are also running the soundboard, main sound system, monitor boards and timers. Volunteers also set up the stage itself, and others run the merchandise and membership tables.
James said he has been coming to Folk Fest since he was a kid and plays the harmonica as well.
“The thing I really like about Folk Festival is the community is so important,” he said. “And then there’s just people I only see here once a year. People come from out of town for this. And then there’s always new people that haven’t been here before. The fact that it’s free — you can’t go to another event like this somewhere else and have the whole thing be free like this. It’s just open and accessible to anybody.”
In the audience, a mother spun her daughter to covers of “Country Road” by James Taylor and “Tennessee Waltz” by Patsy Cline. Juneauites took a break from snow boots to dress up in their best cowgirl boots and rhinestones. As the night went on, the house filled up at Centennial Hall, keeping the audience warm after this long winter’s persistent snow.
Andrew Heist, past board president of the festival, was filling different shoes as well Monday night. It was his first time as stage manager. Along with serving on the board from 2019 to 2025, Heist has performed at Folk Fest for the last 20 years and been a musician for 30. He and his wife, Erin Heist, are recording an album this year, funded through the Rasmuson Foundation.
“It’s amazing to have done all the work over the last six years, and get to step back into being a volunteer supporter, but get to know that it’s been passed into good hands, and it’s going to be fine without me,” he said. “It’s a lot of work to volunteer. It’s so rewarding, but it’s also nice to get that time back so I can enjoy the festival in a different way.”
Heist said finding Folk Fest solidified his decision to move to Juneau. Like others, he said it is a special event that does not exist anywhere else.
“It only happens if people volunteer and support it, and volunteer to put the time in on the board,” he said. “I got to be a part of that legacy and keep it moving forward.”
Heist said the highlight from time spent as board president is seeing the interest continue to grow and young people continuing to play the festival because it’s “how it continues forever and how we grow amateur musicians.” He said even since last year, the event has grown.
Beauchamp has been attending since the second Folk Festival in 1976 when it was still in the old Alaska State Museum.
“This town comes alive for Folk Fest,” she said. “It’s not just here on the main stage. It’s all over town in every venue. People in nicer weather, they’re out on the streets. It’s just really fun to see Juneau fire up and welcome everybody here.”
She said it started with musicians across Southeast, then the state, and now people come from all over.
Professional Southern rock singer Jess Meuse performed at the festival for her first time. She moved to Juneau from Alabama last year through the U.S. Coast Guard. Meuse said she met local musicians before the festival by watching concerts around town and singing at karaoke nights.
But even before she moved, people online were telling her about the festival. Meuse said she has been a singer her whole life and has been songwriting since she was a teenager. She started with classical violin and then taught herself how to play guitar.
She said her first Folk Festival left her impressed.
“It’s just constant music,” she said. “There’s so many acts here. I looked at the timeline of every 15 minutes, and I for sure thought it was going to fall behind, because if you know anything about production, it’s hard to stay on schedule. But it’s been punctual.”
Meuse sang three original songs and is currently working on an album. Her album is fully produced, but doesn’t have a release date yet, although singles have come out. She releases songs independently and is currently putting together a home studio to work with contacts in Nashville.
“I’m getting more into the publishing side,” Meuse said. “I’ve been to Hollywood. I spent a lot of time there, and I saw the darkness on the other side, and I decided that it’s not worth the price of my soul to do something that I just really love.”
She said she looks forward to finding future inspiration and collaboration throughout the rest of the festival, which ends Sunday evening with a closing act by guest artist Willi Carlisle at 9 p.m.
• Contact Jasz Garrett at jasz@juneauindependent.com or (907) 723-9356.
