Alaska musicians head to Iceland festival with eye toward a bigger cultural exchange

A cadre of Alaska musicians is performing in Iceland this weekend, with the hopes of developing a cultural trade route throughout the circumpolar north.

Psych-rock trio SunDog, Afro-Indigenous hip-hop artist Air Jazz and genre-busting rockers Casey Smith Project were slated to perform in a showcase Saturday at Iceland Airwaves, the country’s biggest festival.

Michael Howard organized the mission through his Anchorage Music City and Dog Yard Records nonprofits. Howard has been to the festival multiple times, and the idea of bringing an Alaska contingent had been slowing brewing over the past few years.

“It’s been in conversation, this emerging picture of Anchorage and Alaska as a member of the circumpolar north,” he said. “Years ago, I traveled to Iceland Airwaves, and it was just like, light bulbs going off — it works.”

Howard contacted the festival earlier this year, and soon the Alaska artists were in place for a showcase. Although much of the festival features local music, plenty of international performers and attendees are in the mix, including Seattle station KEXP, which has a perennial presence at the festival.

Other showcases at the festival include groups of artists from Finland, Spain and the Yukon. Howard said the other showcases are funded by government-funded arts councils. The festival is an opportunity to perform, but also to connect.

“There will be a lot of networking opportunities in Iceland,” SunDog bassist Deven Lind said. “It’s kind of an industry festival, so a lot of people who we should know in the European markets are going to be out and about. And a lot of people that we should know in the American markets are going to be there.”

Howard said that on previous trips, he’s received prompting from organizers and attendees at the festival to get Alaskans involved.

“We have something unique,” Howard said. “We’re America’s northernmost big city and these nations have developed advanced music exchange programs. Opening up a trade route with the circumpolar north is such a strategic move and a big opportunity for us.”

At the Anchorage Economic Development Corp., President and CEO Jenna Wright said livability is a key metric for future growth, and creating a vibrant musical ecosystem is critical to that.

“One where musicians and producers and event managers and everyone that’s involved in working in the ecosystem can make a livable wage and support themselves doing the work that they love, that’s going to be a great thing for the Anchorage economy, because it’s going to make us a more attractive place to be,” she said.

Howard said future exchanges could involve preexisting connections like the Arctic Council and Arctic Encounter.

“A lot of these countries use their musicians as diplomats,” he said. “This also ties in with Arctic policy issues more broadly. In addition to music festivals, it’s also just like, us really being engaged (with other Arctic nations).”

Wright said trips to events like the Iceland Airwaves festival can work twofold, both as a showcase for Alaska talent and a recruiting tool.

“The more that we can get out to different events in different Arctic cities and nations and showcase the amazing talent that Alaska has in the music space, that will help our efforts of trying to attract visitors and residents to live here, or just travel here to see our amazing music space and what else Anchorage has to offer,” she said.

The group of Alaska artists is diverse sonically, but also geographically. The members of SunDog grew up together in Chugiak and are now based in Anchorage. Casey Smith hails from Fairbanks. Air Jazz, whose name is Arias Hoyle, is based in Juneau.

Howard expects the group to be great representatives for the Alaska music scene. Anchorage audiences got a preview last month when the artists played a fundraiser for the trip at 49th State Brewing.

“I’m kind of in awe,” he said. “These guys are just the most professional, the most dialed in. They are ready to travel. They kick butt performing. I mean, their performances really blew my mind.”

Smith, who sings and plays guitar, has a new record coming out this year titled, “Just Like You Wanted It.” Performing with bandmates Derek Haukaas, drums, and Scott Joyce, bass, he’s excited to play at the vaunted Nasa entertainment venue in Reykjavík.

“I’m at this phase of my life where anytime I have the opportunity to go do music somewhere, I try to go,” he said.

This will be Hoyle’s first time performing outside the U.S. The artist, who is Black and Tlingit, said he’s excited to bring his unique sound to international audiences.

“I hope it’s culturally groundbreaking, hearing some hip-hop infused with Indigenous cultures, as well as SunDog, who has the psych-rock thing going, and they have their more indie-leaning Indigenous representation,” he said. “That’s all really cool fusion. I hope Iceland likes it.”

Most recently, Air Jazz appeared on the 2024 album “Alaska Borealis,” which featured Alaska hip-hop artists with Killah Priest, best known for his affiliation with legendary group Wu-Tang Clan.

Air Jazz is also part of the Indigenous music collective Khu.éex’, which released “Siyáadlan” over the summer.

Lind is joined in SunDog by singer/guitarist Abi Sparkman and drummer Phillip Giannulis. The band is armed with a brand-new album, “About You,” which was released in September. Aside from networking, Lind is excited about seeing some of the performing Icelandic bands, including dark wave all-female trio Kælan Mikla and hardcore band Une Misère.

Lind said reports from friends who have traveled to Iceland described it as unique and exotic, but also very familiar in some ways to Alaskans.

“We’re excited to see how similar and how different we are as Alaskans compared to their their version of the north,” he said.