Valley music scene growing fast

MAT-SU -- With the Alaska State Fair well under way in Palmer, music is in the air more than ever these days.

But it isn't just the state fair that has music booming through the Valley. Music venues across Mat-Su show a rising interest in live music from local artists and indicate a vibrant local music scene is taking shape in the Valley.

Josh Fryfogle came to the Valley two years ago just to visit, but fell in love with the place and decided to stay and pursue his music. He says the Valley is an artistic place that inspires people, and because it is a melting pot of people from all over, new people and new musicians are accepted quickly.

"That will be a big factor in the local music scene," Fryfogle said. "Music is gonna happen. It's inevitable in a place that's growing this fast."

Fryfogle thinks the key to building the local music scene is getting musicians to promote themselves and market their music to venues.

He said there are plenty of good musicians in the Valley, but many of them don't want to perform or promote themselves, so they don't get the credit they deserve. Venues are interested in having live music, Fryfogle said, but they want it to be promoted and done professionally.

"Local venues must realize that they're investing in their image; it's marketing," Fryfogle said. "Encouraging a music scene means encouraging the venues to compete for musicians and giving them a place to be artists."

And there are more music venues springing up all the time in the Valley. Recently, the Great Bear Brewing Company in Wasilla has emerged as a gathering place for local talent. Wednesday night open-mike nights have been a big hit in the last two years, said Great Bear office manager Tammy Schmidt, and weekend shows have become a regular fixture.

"We book a lot of local musicians from all over the area," Schmidt said. "Actually, we now have more people sending us demos than we have time and space to book."

Great Bear Brewing Company now features live music four nights a week. In addition to open-mike night on Wednesdays, a lineup of musicians plays on Thursday nights and bands play every Friday and Saturday night as well.

But the most crowded Mat-Su venues for the next week are out at the state fairgrounds in Palmer. Out of several hundred musical acts at the state fair this year, nearly half are from the Palmer-Wasilla area, said Alaska State Fair program director Suzy Crosby.

"We book acts that are talented, will attract and draw a crowd and are appropriate for the venue," Crosby said. "There isn't a deliberate effort to book local acts, but if they contact me, show some initiative and demonstrate their talent, they'll get booked. And there are quite a few excellent local acts in the lineup this year."

Over the weekend the Valley's own Ken Peltier played at the Sluicebox, showcasing songs from his recent album, "Educated Man," which was recorded in Nashville and released this spring.

"The Valley absolutely has pro musicians," said Fryfogle, who appears at the state fair on Wednesday, Sept. 1, on the Bluebonnet Stage. "They're just as good as musicians in any other place, if not better. Everything that's necessary for a music scene to boom is right here in the Valley."