A young artist who gained widespread attention with a song about Alaska is returning to the Last Frontier this weekend, including a stop in Juneau.
Maggie Rogers, whose song “Alaska” went viral in late 2016, is playing a free acoustic set at 7 p.m. Saturday at the University of Alaska Southeast Recreation Center. Tickets are not available, so attendees are asked to arrive early to get a seat.
Student Activities Coordinator Tara Olson said the UAS Student Activities Board (SAB) is setting up about 150 seats for the show and that she expects to fill all those seats. The show is open to people of all ages, but those under 18 are required to be with a guardian, Olson said.
Rogers is playing a show at the University of Alaska Anchorage on Friday night, and Olson said that when the UAS SAB students heard about that show they sprung to action. They reached out to Rogers’ agent, and Rogers said she was willing to play at UAS.
The concert is done in conjunction with Alaska Airlines, which partners with the SAB by providing travel to performers and educators to benefit the university and Juneau community, Tim Thompson from the Alaska Airlines public affairs office said Monday. Students are responsible for identifying the artists or educators, Thompson said, and Alaska Airlines has been involved as a partner since 2015.
Rogers’s agent Lisa DiAngelo told the Empire on Monday that Rogers is currently working on her debut album, a follow-up to her EP from earlier this year, “Now That The Light Is Fading.”
According to the event’s Facebook page, UAS student Avery Stewart will open for Rogers.
• Contact reporter Alex McCarthy at 523-2271 or alex.mccarthy@juneauempire.com.