‘Cold Country’ brings new electric show to Talkeetna stage

TALKEETNA — You may have heard the members of “Todd Grebe and Cold Country” perform on stage before as part of the acoustic Alaska string quartet “Bearfoot.” Or, maybe as part of the former band “well Strung.”

But when the band returns to local stages this week it will be with a new lineup and a new five-piece electric country sound. See Cold Country on stage from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. tonight at Tap Root, 3300 Spenard Rd., Anchorage, and follow them up the highway for a second show at 7:30 p.m., Dec. 28, at the Sheldon Community Arts Hangar in Talkeetna.

Denali Arts Council Operations Manager Holli Papasodora said tickets to the show are available online and at the door. Tickets are $12 for arts council members and $14 general admission.

“Bearfoot” has a huge following in Talkeetna, and Cold Country is continuing that relationship, she said.

Cold Country is Todd Grebe, vocals; Angela Oudean, fiddle; Conor McManamin, electric bass; Nate May, electric guitar; and Andy King, drums.

Although Cold Country is a relatively new Alaska band, its roots run deep in Alaska music.”

Grebe said the group Bearfoot disbanded about a year and a half ago, and Well Strung hasn’t picked under that name in many years.

Fiddler Angela Oudean was still in high school when she began performing as part of the “Bearfoot Bluegrass,” the band’s original name. Grebe joined Bearfoot later and also was a founding member of Well Strung.

Now Grebe and Oudean are married, expecting their first child in March, and performing as Cold Country. The couple also moved from Nashville, Tenn., home to Anchorage this month to be nearer their families, Grebe said by phone recently.

He said after their child is born, they plan to begin prompting their new CD, which is thus far untitled. He said it will be the first “electric” album for either he or his wife.

Though their days as an acoustic act are behind them, Grebe said their music still represents the American roots genre, just performed on electric instruments now.

For fans, that means Oudean will still play the same acoustic fiddle, just with an electronic pickup for amplification.

The main difference?

“She may be a little louder now,” Grebe said.

He said Cold Country planned this small Alaska tour to reconnect with friends and fans in the Last Frontier and as a way to get their name back out in front of fans.

In addition to performing on stage and selling CDs, Grebe said they plan to offer private music lessons at their Anchorage studio, or, he said they’ll make house calls to teach students in the Valley.

“People say they never know where we are,” Grebe said. “We want to let everybody know that we are here. Here to stay.”

Cold Country also has gigs scheduled in the Valley at 8 p.m., Jan. 31, at Mad Hatcher Pizza and Pub, and June 13 at the Granite Creek Picker’s Retreat in Sutton.

Contact Heather A. Resz at 352-2268 or heather.resz@frontiersman.com.