Musician Scott Wilson\u2019s time on the Centennial Hall stage at Folk Fest began and ended Wednesday night. The full Folk Fest experience, however, was just beginning.<\/p>\n
The Whitehorse, Yukon, resident and bass player was back at Centennial Hall on Thursday afternoon, rolling his instrument in along with his two bandmates, from the group Mountain River. It\u2019s his first year at Folk Fest \u2014 which is now in its 43rd year \u2014 but Wilson knows the weekend is all about off-the-cuff jam sessions.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a totally different festival, because it\u2019s really a musician\u2019s festival,\u201d Wilson said. \u201cI mean, there\u2019s an audience, but \u2026 everybody gets their 15 minutes, everybody\u2019s up late at night, so it\u2019s a real musician\u2019s festival.\u201d<\/p>\n
The good news for those who aren\u2019t musicians or dancers is that they can take in the music all weekend. Musicians are gathering at Centennial Hall and at local bars, restaurants and stores to share music with other artists and listeners. Many of the events are scheduled for this weekend, with shows set up at places such as the Rendezvous, Red Dog Saloon and the Alaskan Bar, but there will be spontaneous performances from time to time as well.<\/p>\n
C. Scott Fry, a longtime musician in town who works at the Alaskan Bar, pointed to different parts of the empty bar early Thursday afternoon, looking forward to tonight and Saturday when the bar would be anything but empty.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt times, you might have bluegrass back there, Irish fiddlers up there, old-timely music out front, and they\u2019re all just kind of playing at the same time,\u201d Fry said. \u201cSometimes they take turns. It\u2019s pretty cool.\u201d<\/p>\n
[Photos: Folk Fest 2017<\/a>]<\/p>\n In terms of dancing, the Juneau Arts and Culture Center has set up its main hall for two days\u2019 worth of dance. From 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. today, the JACC is hosting the 25th annual All-Day Coffee & Jam, where a band will play a wide variety of music to get attendees up and dancing. Locals are asked to bring a dish to pass with out-of-town dancers and musicians. Bands then arrive at the JACC at 7 p.m. tonight, ranging from Donkey Cart from Douglas to Rebelinx from Prince George, British Columbia.<\/p>\n There are daytime dances for much of the day Saturday, JACC Rental Director Rachael Juzeler said. Starting at 7 p.m., the headlining dance groups will perform, including a performance from Folk Fest headliner The Murphy Beds at 9:20 p.m. The full schedule is located on the Folk Fest website, akfolkfest.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n