Jake Blount, an award winning banjo player, is the featured artist for the Alaska Folk Festival’s 2022 show. (Courtesy photo / Michael Last)

Jake Blount, an award winning banjo player, is the featured artist for the Alaska Folk Festival’s 2022 show. (Courtesy photo / Michael Last)

Q&A: Renowned East Coast banjo performer to headline Folk Fest

Drawing his inspiration from Black and Indigenous communties back east, Blount is the featured artist for 2022.

With a sound from the humid tidewater regions of the Eastern Seaboard and a list of accolades long enough to paper a house, Jake Blount is an auspicious pick for the Alaska Folk Festival’s featured artist.

Each year, the Alaska Folk Festival selects one artist to be the featured artist for the event, a single group or artist selected on strong recommendations, as well as a series of criteria such as “willing to come to Alaska” and “be alive and not dead.”

Blount, a banjoist, fiddler and singer with a background in ethnomusicology, is based out of Rhode Island.

ADVERTISEMENT
0 seconds of 0 secondsVolume 0%
Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
00:00
00:00
00:00
 

Coming from the East Coast, Blount grew up in Washington, with roots in the Tidewater region around the Chesapeake Bay, Blount began playing the banjo after a chance encounter in a Washington restaurant with Megan Jean and the KFB on his way to a dubstep concert. Blount bases his brand music in the styles of the Black and Indigenous communities of the southeast U.S. that he comes from.

Blount has two albums out, 2017’s “Reparations” and 2020’s “Spider Tales”, in addition to a number of singles and projects with other artists. Blount is scheduled to play at 8 p.m. on Thursday evening and 8:45 p.m. Sunday evening alongside George Jackson, Mali Obomsawin and Gus Tritsch.

The Empire sat down (telephonically) to chat with Blount ahead of his visit to Alaska.

The conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

Courtesy photo / Michael Last 
Jake Blount, an award winning banjo player, is the featured artist for the Alaska Folk Festival’s 2022 show.

Courtesy photo / Michael Last Jake Blount, an award winning banjo player, is the featured artist for the Alaska Folk Festival’s 2022 show.

Ever been to Alaska before?

I have not. This is going to be my first time. I grew up on the East Coast of the U.S. It’s not spectacular topographically.

How long did it take the Folk Festival spot to come together?

It took until this year to happen, but I’m glad it’s happening. Is it practical? Not necessarily. But we didn’t become musicians because it’s practical.

How long have you been playing?

I’ve been playing music since I was 12.

And why the banjo?

The banjo is descended from African instruments and developed by enslaved people in the U.S. It was developed in the Chesapeake Bay region. Knowing that history of it, knowing that it’s such a big part of our family’s history.

How did you get into a place where you were making music full time?

I graduated from school and I kind of expected to fall into an academic path. I wound up getting enough gigs that I couldn’t hold down a normal job between gigs. I got lucky to have something like that fall into my lap that most people have to fight for.

What are some of the inspirations for your work?

Over the past several years, I’ve felt pretty drawn to some of the religious music that comes out of the community. A lot of the time, what I feel drawn to in songs is the old hymnals.

How does that process go?

A lot of what I do is not just sharing music but sharing the stories around the music. A lot of time, I spend researching the music. String band music is something that’s not widely spread about. I have to go into some specific places. There’s a lot of levels of cultural analysis I need to do to present it respectfully.

And what have you been up to lately?

I just finished a month-long stint (touring) and I’m about to start another. It’s about getting things going again. I have a lot of downtime to make up for.

• Contact reporter Michael S. Lockett at 757-621-1197 or mlockett@juneauempire.com.

More in News

(Juneau Empire file photo)
Aurora forecast through the week of Feb. 15

These forecasts are courtesy of the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ Geophysical Institute… Continue reading

The Tlingit and Haida Elders Group performs the entrance dance at the 89th annual Tribal Assembly of the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska on Wednesday, April 17, 2024, at Elizabeth Peratrovich Hall. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)
Trump rescinds Biden executive order expanding tribal sovereignty and self-governance

Order giving Natives more access to federal funds cited in awarding of major Southeast Alaska projects.

The House Finance Committee listens to public testimony about next year’s proposed budget on Friday at the Alaska State Capitol. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
The Alaska House budget currently has a ‘full’ PFD of about $3,800. Except it really doesn’t.

Legislators on all sides agree PFD will shrink drastically before floor vote to avoid $2 billion deficit.

Dylan Court and Emily Feliciano-Soto at a rehearsal of “Necessary Nonsense,” a Theater Alaska production debuting Friday. (Photo courtesy of Theatre Alaska)
Middle schoolers bring ‘Necessary Nonsense’ to life in Theater Alaska Kids Company’s debut play

Imagine a world where “Alice in Wonderland” characters mingle with limerick legends… Continue reading

Jonathan Estes, a parent of three students attending the Dzantik’i Heeni campus, testifies for a safe playground at a special Juneau Board of Education meeting on Thursday, March 13, 2025. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire)
Juneau School District submits budget for next school year to Juneau Assembly

The plan assumes $400 BSA hike and no staff vacancies; board also advocates for DH playground.

A totem pole and visitor guide sign on the downtown Juneau cruise ship dock on Thursday. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
‘Anecdotal’ signs Juneau’s tourism season may see a dropoff due to Trump’s policies, officials say

Tariffs, talk of recession causing uncertainty and ill will resulting in reports of cancellations.

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photo)
Police calls for Wednesday, March 12, 2025

This report contains public information from law enforcement and public safety agencies.

Gabriel von Eisenstein (David Cangelosi) is pulled in two separate directions by his wife Rosalinda (Sara Radke Brown, right) and Rosalinda’s maid, Adele (Kayla Kohlhase, left) during a dress rehearsal of “Die Fledermaus” on Wednesday, March 12, 2025. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire)
Juneau Lyric Opera celebrates a chorus of community for 50th anniversary

German operetta “Die Fledermaus” that launched JLO gets revival with old and new voices Friday night.

Most Read