Haines musicians are gearing up for the 42nd Annual Alaska Folk Fest, where hundreds of musicians will converge on Juneau for a week of tunes not just of the folk variety.
“It’s kind of an odd thing that they call it the Alaska Folk Festival,” said Haines musician John Hunt, “because there are jazz artists and country artists and mandolins and fiddles and guitars. I’ve played square dances with my trombone. It’s just a hoot.”
The festival runs April 4-10. Hunt will play with The Pimentos, a classic Haines country/swing group, at the Red Dog Saloon Saturday, April 9, around 10 p.m. Eric Holle, Kip Kermoian, Gregg Bigsby and Tim June are also members of The Pimentos.
Hunt will also play as a member of “Grampa Burfl and Fiends” on Thursday, April 7, at 10:30 p.m. at Centennial Hall.
“There are musical friends of mine that I get to see for 2-4 days a year and it’s at the folk festival,” Hunt said. “We get to spend half an hour to 3-4 hours playing music together and then we say goodbye and do it again in a year.”
Haines singer-songwriter Burl Sheldon will perform mostly original songs with potential accompaniment from a few friends on Saturday, April 9, at 1:30 p.m. in Centennial Hall.
Andrew Cardella, who just finished playing drums for a touring band, will also perform, using a new guitar fashioned by resident Cosmo Fudge.
Cardella is scheduled for 1:45 p.m. on Sunday, April 10, at Centennial Hall.