The opening night of the 49th annual Alaska Folk Festival on Monday was at heart a family homecoming, as musicians and listeners returned to Centennial Hall after a year’s absence while it was being renovated to hear old familiar voices and be introduced to new ones.
“This is such an amazing legacy this festival has as we’ve made ourselves into a family,” Grace Elliot, the host for the evening, told the audience midway through the evening of nearly four hours of music by 15 bands performing in 15-minute segments. “I don’t know how functional a family it is. But it’s a fun family and I appreciate that. You know we get together, we catch up, see the fresh babies, we find out who’s doing what, who moved where, who’s new and all that kind of stuff while we’re just having a good time listen to our friends and neighbors.”
Becca Antonoplos dances with her daughter, Mackovia Rohrbacher, 2, in the rear of the main ballroom at Centennial Hall during the opening night of the 49th annual Alaska Folk Festival on Monday. (Mark Sabbatini/Juneau Empire)
On that note, she said, the Juneau family trio band The Goetz Who was missing one of its players as Jeff Goetz and Stella Goetz took to the stage.
“I learned that Fisher — the drummer — is yet another fatality of the Slush Cup,” Elliot said, referring to an event the previous day where about 80 people spent the last day of the season at Eaglecrest Ski Area trying to cross a 100-foot-long ice-filled pond. “He didn’t quite make it all the way according to his sister. So he is home nursing a very sore throat, so I thought maybe while we’re waiting for these guys to set up we could send a little Folk Fest love out to Fisher.”
On a count of three the crowd in the cavernous main ballroom of Centennial Hall shouted “Get well Fisher,” who along with others not at the venue had the chance to hear the happenings via public radio and livestream.
Musicians perform an impromptu set in the hallway outside the main ballroom at Centennial Hall during the opening night of the 49th annual Alaska Folk Festival on Monday. (Mark Sabbatini/Juneau Empire)
The weeklong event is scheduled to feature more than 130 acts split mostly between Centennial Hall and the Juneau Arts and Culture Center across the parking lot from the convention center. Live stage sets will be the primary focus at Centennial Hall, while dance bands will perform at the JACC. There will also be a variety of workshops at the two sites and a handful of festival events at other venues, including a “side stage” featuring four performers from 6-8 p.m. nightly — and an open stage from 4-6 p.m. — nightly through Saturday at The Pottery Jungle at 233 Seward Street.
This year’s featured guest artist is Laurie Lewis, a California bluegrass musician who’s been performing for nearly four decades beginning in her early 20s. Featured among the many dance bands is The Daiquiri Queens from Lafayette, Louisiana.
The complete schedule and information about the artists is available at https://akfolkfest.org.
• Contact Mark Sabbatini at mark.sabbatini@juneauempire.com or (907) 957-2306.
