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| Courtesy of Nick Galanin |
 Rappin' Southeast Alaska: RA Scion, left, a member of the Seattle hip-hop duo Common Market, and MCs Micelph and Phonetic share the stage last weekend at the HomeSkillet Music Festival in Sitka. |
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SITKA - It began around a campfire on a beach, a guitar passing from person to person, each one using the space to sing a song of their choice before passing it on to the next. A few years later the same group of musicians took turns on the stage of their own outdoor music festival.
HomeSkillet Music Festival, first in an envisioned annual series, debuted last Friday on the rolling green hills of the Sea Mountain Golf Course in Sitka - the dream of Sitka-raised Nick Galanin and George Huff, two people with talents for music, Web design and getting things done.
The two-day event featured singer-songwriters, blues, rock, punk and hip-hop. Besides inviting local musicians to take their best to the stage, the organizers brought in acts from Juneau, including DJ Astronomar and myself, plus renowned acts from Outside: Jake La Bots, solo blues guitar player and singer-songwriter from Los Angeles, and Common Market, an energetic, uplifting hip-hop duo from Seattle.
The festival's first night was dedicated to acoustic musicians, and the second to rock and hip-hop. The bands performed under a green-and white-striped tent to an audience of fishermen and women, students, business owners, politicians, deckhands, artists, musicians and cannery workers.
The first night featured singer-songwriters Vern Culp, myself, Geo, Jed Delong, Silver Jackson (aka Nick Galanin), blues guitar player Hank Moore and slide guitarist Lee Asnin.
La Bots closed out the night with solid, crisp Delta blues finger picking. He hits the rhythm dead-on with fingers that float up and down the neck. His singing is articulate, refined, taking the melody all over with precision and finesse.
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| Courtesy of Nick Galanin |
| Headliner: Scion gets his turn at the mike. |
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After 2 1/2 hours he took it down and announced his last song. Three encores later he looked weary but kept going. After another 15 minutes he rose to a cheering crowd. Nick grabbed the mike and closed the show, thanking Jake and everyone, and pumping everyone up for the next day's hip-hop show.
The second night featured Sitka rockers Glorious Youth Parade, punk rockers Circle Hook, DJ Astronomar from Juneau, MCs Micelph, LP3 with Krista Lorenz, and Phonetic, who is worth mentioning because of his command of the stage and audience and powerful lyrics. "He owns it when he's up there," Astronomar commented.
Common Market (MC RA Scion and DJ Sabzi) closed the show. Walking back and forth across the stage RA belted out lyrics, some rehearsed, some freestyle. Occasionally he stopped and pointed to the audience and asked, "Ya'll up on that?" "This is what's goin' on in the 206 ya'll."
Common Market's show is high-energy. Their lyrics are political, putting a microscope on certain realities of the planet and of the human condition. Their message is hopeful, advisory at times, with a definite bent on advocating for peace and justice.
After the show, most people dispersed downtown to the Pioneer Bar, leaving only a small group of the locals who had pooled their talents as musicians, computer designers, electricians, sound experts and supporters to put on this festival.
Still pumped with inspiration, the friends returned to the stage and took turns once again performing their songs and passing the guitar for a secret jam - the fruition of a good idea.
• Teri Tibbett is a Juneau freelance writer, singer-songwriter and host of the world music radio show "Traditions" on KTOO-FM.
