Musician Scott Wilson’s time on the Centennial Hall stage at Folk Fest began and ended Wednesday night. The full Folk Fest experience, however, was just beginning.
The Whitehorse, Yukon, resident and bass player was back at Centennial Hall on Thursday afternoon, rolling his instrument in along with his two bandmates, from the group Mountain River. It’s his first year at Folk Fest — which is now in its 43rd year — but Wilson knows the weekend is all about off-the-cuff jam sessions.
“It’s a totally different festival, because it’s really a musician’s festival,” Wilson said. “I mean, there’s an audience, but … everybody gets their 15 minutes, everybody’s up late at night, so it’s a real musician’s festival.”
The good news for those who aren’t musicians or dancers is that they can take in the music all weekend. Musicians are gathering at Centennial Hall and at local bars, restaurants and stores to share music with other artists and listeners. Many of the events are scheduled for this weekend, with shows set up at places such as the Rendezvous, Red Dog Saloon and the Alaskan Bar, but there will be spontaneous performances from time to time as well.
C. Scott Fry, a longtime musician in town who works at the Alaskan Bar, pointed to different parts of the empty bar early Thursday afternoon, looking forward to tonight and Saturday when the bar would be anything but empty.
“At times, you might have bluegrass back there, Irish fiddlers up there, old-timely music out front, and they’re all just kind of playing at the same time,” Fry said. “Sometimes they take turns. It’s pretty cool.”
In terms of dancing, the Juneau Arts and Culture Center has set up its main hall for two days’ worth of dance. From 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. today, the JACC is hosting the 25th annual All-Day Coffee & Jam, where a band will play a wide variety of music to get attendees up and dancing. Locals are asked to bring a dish to pass with out-of-town dancers and musicians. Bands then arrive at the JACC at 7 p.m. tonight, ranging from Donkey Cart from Douglas to Rebelinx from Prince George, British Columbia.
There are daytime dances for much of the day Saturday, JACC Rental Director Rachael Juzeler said. Starting at 7 p.m., the headlining dance groups will perform, including a performance from Folk Fest headliner The Murphy Beds at 9:20 p.m. The full schedule is located on the Folk Fest website, akfolkfest.org.
For those looking to learn more about playing instruments, writing songs or dancing, various workshops will take place at Centennial Hall and the JACC. Workshops begin at 10 a.m. Saturday with instruction on how to use microphones and other stage gear responsibly and will continue until 4:30 p.m. Sunday’s workshops begin at 10:30 a.m. and also run until 4:30 p.m.
Juzeler said there will be a few food trucks outside the JACC as well. Burger truck Pucker Wilson’s and vegetarian truck Happy Camper are usually outside the JACC, but they’ll be joined by Peterson’s Pretzels and a hot dog truck will also likely be there.
Joining the dancing and enjoying the atmosphere are about more than just the music or the food, Juzeler said.
“I think it’s more the sense of spring,” Juzeler said. “Folk Fest is Folk Fest. It just means spring is here.”
Everybody can enjoy the events for free, from the headlining acts at Centennial Hall to the dances at the JACC and the shows at bars. For those unable to make it, the shows at Centennial Hall will be streamed by KRNN from 7-11 p.m. tonight.
There’s a ton to do and only so many hours to do it as Folk Fest marches into the weekend, and musicians, dancers and music fans are likely to be exhausted by the end of it.
“There’s tons of opportunity to play,” Wilson said. “The one thing you don’t get a lot of is sleep.”
• Contact reporter Alex McCarthy at alex.mccarthy@juneauempire.com or 523-2271.
