Blackwater Railroad Company and Wiley Post play Williwaw on Friday

Approaching their 10th year of combining bluegrass, country, rock, and Americana music, the Blackwater Railroad Company has earned its spot at the top echelon of Alaskan bands. Working in chaotic unison to create beautiful harmonies, this five-piece string band has developed an unparalleled sound.

“This year has been wild. It’s been really great. As things are opening up again, people are going out. We played some shows last summer, but it didn’t quite feel normal, whereas this summer was really great.” said one of the band’s guitar players, Leo Storm Ash. “I think people were really thirsty to go out and have a good time and listen to live music. Everywhere we played all over the state was the same, the crowds were just electric. People were cooped up and really looking to have a good time and enjoy that Alaskan sunshine and come hang out with us. It’s been super fun.”

On Friday, the band will join forces with Wiley Post for the band’s last full band show, before embarking on their upcoming two-week Hawaiian Tour in December.

But these season professionals aren’t on “Island Time,” yet. They are determined to throw one hell of a going-away bash.

“We’ve always got the crowd pleasers, some of the classics that I feel like people would be upset if we didn’t play. We’ve also got some new tunes that we’ve yet to release, and I’m going to record what we’ll be playing this Friday. You never know what you’re gonna get when you come to a Blackwater show as far as what songs but we always bring amazing energy for sure,” said Ash.

Among some of the band’s expected repertoire is music from their albums Onsara Vol. One and Onsara Vol. Three. For those anxiously awaiting the release of Onsara Vol. 2, there may be a delay.

“We got inspired by the Wu-Tang Clan. They recorded an album and only released one copy. And it’s a very long story of what happened with that one album. So there’s only one copy of Onsara Volume Two, and we auctioned it off. But the truth may or may not be that we may also have mistakenly called it three when we submitted it. It’s possible that our old manager may have put volume three rather than two. And that’s why there’s no two, but I much prefer the Wu-Tang story,” said Ash with a laugh.

Blackwater Railroad Co. and Wiley Post will perform Friday, November 18th at Williwaw Social (609 F St.), starting at 7pm. Tickets purchased in advance through Williwawsocial.com are $15, while tickets purchased at the door will be $20.