Phone (907) 733-8728

Talkeetna Artists
& Musicians Links

Talkeetna, Alaska is a remote small town with an extraordinary amount of talent!
Here are just a few of Talkeetna Travel's picks.

TALKEETNA MUSICIANS

Esther Golton Look for Esther's CDs in Talkeetna shops.

Esther Golton is an unusual singer-songwriter.  She accompanies her rich, gentle voice with a mountain dulcimer, played non-traditionally.  She's also known for her amazing flute improvisations.  She released her CD Unfinished Houses in 2007, then spent over a year traveling the country performing. Her warm style has been well received in folk venues, house concerts, and written reviews. In 2009, she released the lovely, soothing instrumental CD, Aurora Borealis: Conversations with Alaska's Northern Lights, a collection of musical paintings of the Aurora, all flute with dulcimer accompaniment. Learn more by visiting her website. You can listen to her some of her music on Myspace , and you can purchase this wonderful collection of songs via her main website, in Talkeetna stores, or at CDBaby, ITunes, and many other digital download sites.

Rare Form Jazz

With Murray Nash on piano and Rocco Iacovone on sax, Rare Form is an incredibly talented jazz duo.  You can hear jazz standards and originals during their regular early-evening shows at the Fairview Inn.  It's a great atmosphere, where local fans gather and listen, and Rocco's wife Denise Iacovone paints to the music. Rare Form has two CDs recorded live at the Fairview. You can buy them at the great little online CD store, CDBaby.

Larry Zarella

Larry Zarella is one of Alaska's best-loved singer songwriters, with a golden voice and a warm stage presence that connects to your heart.  Larry is a member of the popular band The Denali Cooks, and can get a room full of people dancing even when he plays solo!  You can buy his CDs on CDBaby and you can hear some of his music on his Myspace page. These days he's been traveling and playing mostly on the East Coast, but you may catch him on one of his annual Alaska tours, if you're lucky!

Doug Geeting
Doug Geeting is well-known as a bush pilot, but he is one of Alaska's best-kept secrets when it comes to his music.  Masterful fingerstyle guitar and a deep bass voice pull you into the stories he sings.  You can listen to his CDs, available in Talkeetna shops or at CDBaby, over and over again.

Steve Durr
The eldest son of an English professor who "escaped" the academic world to live in the Alaskan bush, Steve Durr is a mainstay of the musical community.  He knows just about every classic cover song there is, and has recorded severak CDs of his fine original songs. You can hear his music online at his Myspace page.

Catgut & Carnegie
Fiddler Paul Hatfield teamed up with our Australian-import, Stuart Carnegie, and "Catgut and Carnegie" was born.  They played folk, bluegrass, and classic rock, sometimes joined by other local musicians.  Paul Hatfield passed away in 2011 and is very much missed. Stuart has returned to his homeland Australia.

The Simpletones
If you're lucky enough to catch the Simpletones playing their old-timey music, you won't be able to take your eyes and ears off them.  These folks LOVE playing music together!  You can see it on their faces.  Sometimes, on nice days, they can be found on the pavilion at the Village Park... You never know!

TALKEETNA ARTISTS AND CRAFTSPEOPLE

Ross Benischek

What happens when you combine an expert welder with an artist?  Ross Benischek creates unique and beautiful sculptures from metals, often combining art with function.  You never know what he'll come up with next!  A candle holder in the shape of a birch tree, a mirror frame with branches and leaves cascading around the edge, a wall hook in the shape of a pair of old boots... He also custom builds steel woodstoves - each one is made to order, sized and decorated to your specifications.  You can view the beautiful steel tree candle holder (pictured) at Talkeetna Travel's office.  If you are interested in a piece by Ross, email klalaska@yahoo.com .

Jim Gleason

A Talkeetna legend, Jim Gleason has been painting watercolors and oils for decades. Many of his scenes depict the "old Talkeetna", and can be found hung in various homes and businesses. In recent months he has been carving a community of "Little People" form balsa wood, colorfully portraying scenes on Talkeetna's Main Street. You can see photos of some of his work by clicking the link above. (Scroll down to view recent oil paintings.) Gleason paintings and carvings are not widely available. Several are for sale at the Birch Creek Center, 7 miles from downtown Talkeetna. As of summer 2011, you will be able to view hundreds of carvings depicting the spirit of Talkeetna which Gleason created over a 2 year period, displayed in the Talkeetna Gifts and Collectibles Museum.

Denise Iacovone
Artist Denise Iacovone resides in Talkeetna each summer.  Her paintings are most often abstract, with striking moods and shapes.  You can see her in action, painting to the music of the jazz duo Rare Form twice a week at the Fairview Inn.

Kevin Foster

Listen closely when wandering the streets of Talkeetna, Alaska and you will most likely hear the steady hammer blows coming from Kevin Foster's Anvil, forging and forming metal into yet another handcrafted design. Blacksmith Kevin Foster creates ironwork with processes that haven't changed for hundreds of years, Steel is heated in a coal or gas fire, forged in very high temperatures and shaped by hammer into objects of art and utility.  Kevin says, "ideally I strive for all my pieces to work equally well as both decorative and functional."  Beautiful stuff.  Walk around the corner from the purple Mountain High Pizza building, and you can see Kevin's work.

Curt Wagner - 1948 - 2010

Talkeetna was sad to lose long-time Talkeetna artist Curt Wagner, known for his landscape paintings, one of which resides in the Anchorage International Airport. This painting of Mt. McKinley is located behind the bar at the Fairview Inn. As mountain climbers come down from their Denali climb, they tape a small flag from their country at the summit of this picture. By the end of climbing season, this picture is full of flags from around the world!

Tony Crocetto
Tony Crocetto is known for his landscapes of familiar, rather than famous, places in Alaska, and wonderful, brightly colored abstracts.  Pictured is "Nenana River with Smoke"  Tony is married to artist Julia March Crocetto, whose beautiful jewelry and fiber art are also available locally.

Dave Totten
Wildlife artist David Totten creates portraits of Alaska's mammals & birds that are rich in contrast and uniquely realistic in content. When in the area, stop by the Wildlife North Art Gallery located on Main Street in Talkeetna.

Talkeetna Travel · P.O. Box 474 · Talkeetna, Alaska  99676
Phone (907)733-8728  · Email:  talkeetna_alaska@talkeetnatravel.com

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