Palmer Buzz

Musical Heartbeat in Palmer—There is lots of music around Palmer these days.

The Palmer Ale House, Garcia/Klondike, 203 Kombucha, Fishhook Bar, Hatcher Pass, Four Corners, Lekkers, even Pizza Delphi on weekends. We are so fortunate. But before any of these venues were rocking and rolling, there was Vagabonds and Whistling Swan Productions.

Erik on Stage—On Saturday night, a local took the stage at Vagabonds. It was none other than Erik Howk, our local guy who starred with Portugal, The Man. His Grammy winning band has traveled the world. And Saturday night he was at Vagabonds talking and acting just like a nice, humble guy from Wasilla. Introducing him was Wasilla friend Kevin Worrell, one of his best music friends; Eric said he has never been happier than playing with Kevin on the stage. (pic with permission from Heather Resz)

Vagabond's Significance—Eric talked about his hometown Wasilla and places in the valley including, of course, Hatcher Pass. He said that Vagabonds coffeeshop was where he grew to love live music. He mentioned Whistling Swan productions which was responsible for so many of the acts that came up to the valley. He mentioned Clay Porter, Dan Burn, Nashville Cats, and Rambling Jack Elliot. Eric pointed out the front window at the Palmer Main Street and said the view hasn’t changed at all. He emphasized that people made an effort to come to Palmer and play at Vagabonds. This was the first concert in Vagabonds since 2019.

So Sweet—The evening was unforgettable. More than a few of us were remembering Erik’s Mom, Susan Howk, while her son was singing heartbreakingly beautiful music. The intimacy of Vagabonds, the memories of the valley, the camaraderie of the audience, musicians, coffee baristas and Lori Koppenberg, the owner of Vagabonds, was one huge circle hug of love. Eric mentioned his new album, Skyking, which has an amazing story behind it.

Hosts—Kevin Worrell runs “Well Rounded Arts” which is a nonprofit that runs Parlor in Round, who booked and managed the tour and cohosted and presented the show along with the Palmer Arts Council—a hard working volunteer organization in Palmer. You probably remember Kevin Worrell’s band Sugar Saturated Strings as a hit band in Alaska’s scene.

Historical crowd sourced Memories of former Palmer shows—A Palmer Alaska Buzz Facebook question was asked for historical memories of Vagabond Blue Concerts over the years. (These were produced by Mike McCormick and Whistling Swan Productions, which promoted concerts in Alaska since the 1990s. Mike McCormick worked hard to feature emerging artists, local performers and musical veterans. And in Palmer, Vagabonds was the perfect venue and vibe.) The Palmer Alaska Buzz Facebook question was asked for any personal memories of Vagabond Blue Concerts. Crowd sourcing this question on the Palmer Alaska Buzz came up with many, many responses. Are they all correct? Possibly. But the list is long and many of the names of the performers are precious:

Ellis Paul, Todd Snider, Richard Shindell, Lucy Kaplansky, Peter Case, Ruthie Foster, Willy Porter, Red Molly, Dan Bern, Erin McKeown, Alisdair Fraser, Natalie Haas, Dan Tyminski, Sarah Jarosz, Aoife O’Donovan, John Gorka, Guy Davis, , Rhionna Giddings, Mandoli Orange, Willy Porter, Peter Mulvey, Sarah Jarose, Keith Sykes, Stever Forbert, Tish Henojosa, Thao and the Get Down, Stay Down, Eric Anderson, Dave Van Ronk, Gerygone and Twig, Chris Smithers, Karen Savoka, Heart Rouge, Brooks Williams, The Suitcase Junkett, Caroline Chocolate Drops, Eric Bibb, Ruthy Foster, Arlo Guthrie, Judy Collins, Taj Mahal, Tim Easton, and many more.

Barbara Hunt lives, writes and paints Palmer, Alaska. She works hard to keep the robust pulse of our Palmer community. Barbara shares the good stuff weekly in the Palmer Alaska Buzz Column in the Mat Su Valley Frontiersman and daily on the Palmer Alaska Buzz Facebook Group. Contact at bhunt@mtaonline.net or text 907.315.3222