The 34th Annual Anchorage Folk Festival
returns to the UAA Wendy Williamson Auditorium
January 19-29, 2023
Performer Signup closes November 1, 2022 at 11:59PM Alaska time
Guest Artists
Week 1: January 20-22
Mile Twelve
Mile Twelve is a modern Bluegrass string band from Boston, Massachusetts. Winners of the 2020 IBMA New Artist of the Year award, they have been making waves in the acoustic music world with their seamless blend of expertly-crafted songs, creative arrangements, and virtuosic execution. The band takes its name from the mile marker that sits at Boston’s southern border, a road sign they’ve passed countless times while heading out on tour. With members based in Boston and New York, the lineup includes Evan Murphy (guitar, vocals), Catherine “BB” Bowness (banjo), Nate Sabat (bass, vocals), Ella Jordan (fiddle, vocals), and Korey Brodsky (mandolin).
Week 2: January 27-29
The Bucking Mules
A straight-shooting Old-time string band, the Bucking Mules deliver American Old-time music at its pure and joyous best. The band cut their teeth in Tennessee, North Carolina, and Virginia through extensive time spent with old 78s and elder master musicians from the region. The result is a group of well-studied musicians who know how to bust down on a fiddle tune, belt an old song, and move square dancers. The Mules traverse the traditional musical landscape of the Cumberland Plateau, the Tennessee River Valley, the Blue Ridge, and beyond. Favoring spirit and simplicity over pretense, the band distills a reverence of the past into a potent performances tailored for contemporary fans of folk, roots, bluegrass, and more. A blue ribbon winning band and a favorite on festival stages and in dance tents (e.g., Clifftop 2014 Traditional Band champion), the Bucking Mules create some of the most exciting, engaging, and rooted Old-Time music being made.The Bucking Mules are Luke Richardson (banjo), Joseph Decosimo (fiddle, banjo), Karen Celia Heil (guitar, fiddle), and Joe Dejarnette (bass).