Long before music came into the picture, singer-songwriter Jackson Emmer said he started out as a “poetry and literary nerd child.” He said it wasn’t until he was attending college in Vermont that he even thought about how songs were made.
Before long, the award-winning folk and country musician got a taste for the troubadour lifestyle.
“I was traveling around the country doing part-time jobs, and when somebody would put me up for the night, I'd write them a song,” Emmer said.
Emmer - who draws inspiration from the likes of folk-country legends John Prine, Townes Van Zandt, and Guy Clark - found work at a club in Asheville, North Carolina where scores of original acts passed through on the tour circuit.
“That kind of set me off on a path of, I think maybe I should make a record and start singing my stuff for people instead of singing in the bar band,” Emmer said.
Along his musical journey, Emmer temporarily lost his ability to speak due to vocal nodes, but bounced back to write songs suited for his uniquely rough-hewn voice. After 15 years, he still tours when not busy being a dad in his home base of Santa Cruz, California.
Emmer spoke with KYUK in between shows in Skagway and Valdez as part of his five-show Alaska tour. He’s wrapping it up tonight at the Yupiit Picaryarait Cultural Center alongside Colorado-based flatpicker and bluegrass aficionado Martin Gilmore. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. for the show hosted by the Southwest Alaska Arts Group (SWAAG).
Emmer said that both he and Gilmore are excited for their Bethel debut.
“Everybody that I've run into in Alaska this past week, we say we're going to Bethel, and they all are jealous,” Emmer said.
Emmer said that the pair have an intimate vibe.
“It's going to be original music, two people singing and playing guitar like we're on somebody's back porch. If we could all sit on a back porch or in my living room to do this show, we would,” Emmer said.
Find out more about Emmer’s music at his website.
To purchase individual or family tickets in advance from SWAAG, scan the QR codes below.
