Category Arts + Culture

Jonny J’s songs sound like they have been lived in. On For the Poison, the hard-strumming folk troubadour traces a path through heartbreak, drinking, faith, memory, and the long, uneven work of carrying yourself through hard seasons. Built piece by piece over several years, the album gathers songs that began as emotional snapshots and turns them into something cumulative, a record that moves through darkness without ever fully giving in to it.

There is grit in these songs, but also movement, honesty, and a quiet thread of hope. Early tracks wrestle with emotional dependency, self-destructive habits, and the unresolved weight of growing up around religion. As the album unfolds, something begins to shift. By the final stretch, the storm has not disappeared, but the air has changed. There is room again for light, for distance, for the possibility of starting over.

Ahead of his heartBEAT show at GATHER with his band, the Whiskey Fish, Jonny talks with us about how the album came together, what it means to write from real life, his home recording process, the Irish folk roots in his sound, and why Fairbanks remains the kind of place people keep choosing, even when they swear they are ready to leave.

Joshua LaBuda’s latest album, dianthus poet, doesn’t demand your attention with massive hooks or easy payoff. It asks something quieter of you. It asks you to slow down, to listen closely, and to sit with the tension, beauty, grief, and belief woven throughout its songs.

Released under his former band name/pseudonym Once & Future, the record trades the larger, more immediate energy of earlier work for something more intimate and meditative—an album that feels best experienced alone in the dark, in your car, or through a good pair of headphones.

Steeped in poetry, philosophy, and spiritual longing, dianthus poet explores the contours of human nature, morality, doubt, and grace. From the spoken-word reflection that opens the title track to the swelling existential ache of “dying star,” the haunting loss at the center of “stayaway,” and the benediction-like closer “holy water,” the album unfolds like a slow-burning reckoning.

Ahead of his first full live performance of the record at Gather as part of heartbeat, Joshua talks with us about how the album came together, his evolving faith, artistic collaboration, the Fairbanks music scene, and why 40 below still teaches you something true about being alive.

Local musician Ted opens GATHER’s new heartBEAT winter series with the release of his debut album, High on Love—a soulful blend of Yupik rhythm, Motown groove, and 90s pop-rock. In this interview, Ted talks about finding his sound, the stories behind his songs, and what it means to create from the heart.

Fairbanks musician Casey Smith talks soul, psychedelia, and the evolution of his sound in this in-depth interview ahead of the Casey Smith Project’s July 11 vinyl release show at GATHER.

Hometown hero Emily Anderson returns to Fairbanks with indie-rock powerhouse Sarah Tudzin (illuminati hotties, Boygenius) and Americana favorite Steve Brown for Parlor in the Round—a wild, one-night-only mashup of music, improv, and Alaska storytelling. Before the show, Emily and Sarah caught up with FairbanksAlaska.com to talk music school memories, punk-rock pivots, and Sarah’s vintage Alaska sweatshirt.

Australian indie rocker Alex Lahey’s punk-tinged power pop takes on life’s heavy stuff with a spoonful of sugar. In 2023, she released her third album, The Answer is Always Yes, showcasing her telecaster’s classic alternative crunch and her uncanny knack…

Hailing from the Golden Heart City and currently based out of LA, Emily Anderson is coming home and bringing her wide stylistic palette, trunk full of instruments, and music friends with her. While some may be more familiar with her…

This is the problem of history. We cannot know that which we were not there to see and hear and experience for ourselves. We must rely upon the words of others. Yaa Gyasi excerpt from Homegoing Once I finished the…