SEALASKA HERITAGE TO BRING MARC BROWN & THE BLUES CREW TO NEW ARTS CAMPUS PLAZA FOR JULY 4TH WEEKEND
Public invited to free inaugural performance at the campus, SHI to livestream
June 28, 2022
Sealaska Heritage Institute (SHI) has hired noted Fairbanks musicians Marc Brown & The Blues Crew to play at its newly-opened arts campus at Heritage Square in Juneau for the Fourth of July holiday.
The free event will mark the inaugural performance at the campus, which opened on June 8 of this year. The plaza was intended to be a hub for gatherings and performances.
“Our plaza was built with performing arts in mind, and we are kicking off the use of this new space with one of the state’s best Alaska Native bands,” said SHI President Rosita Worl. “We hope the plaza will become the new heart of Juneau, where residents will come together to share their art with the public.”
Brown is a Koyukon Athabascan who was raised within a large family of musicians in the small village of Huslia, Alaska. After picking up his first guitar at the age of 4, Brown began taking lessons from his late grandfather, Tony Sam Sr., at age 12. Within two years he was playing rhythm guitar for Sam Sr.’s band, which focused on country and gospel music. Brown would later attend the prestigious Berklee College of Music.
Listeners may remember the group most recently when they performed in the Áak’w Rock fest held in Juneau in 2021. Their 20-plus-year career has come with many significant milestones: opening for well-known bands like ZZ Top and Jethro Tull, winning a 2011 Native American Music Award for Best Blues Recording with their 10th album Indian Rock’n’Roll, and a nomination with that album for Group of the Year.
Their 15th and latest album, Open Your Eyes, is currently in the works and will feature what they’re known for: blues you can dance to!
The band will take the stage at 5 pm, Saturday, July 2. SHI will livestream the performance on its YouTube. The plaza is located at the Sealaska Heritage Arts Campus across from SHI, which is at 105 S. Seward St. in downtown Juneau. This is a family event that is free to the community. Alcohol is not permitted at the concert.
Sealaska Heritage Institute is a private nonprofit founded in 1980 to perpetuate and enhance Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian cultures of Southeast Alaska. Its goal is to promote cultural diversity and cross-cultural understanding through public services and events. SHI also conducts social scientific and public policy research that promotes Alaska Native arts, cultures, history and education statewide. The institute is governed by a Board of Trustees and guided by a Council of Traditional Scholars, a Native Artist Committee and a Southeast Regional Language Committee.
CONTACT: Kathy Dye, SHI Media and Publications Deputy Director, 907.321.4636, kathy.dye@sealaska.com; Marc Brown, marcanthonybrown@hotmail.com.
Caption: Marc Brown & The Blues Crew. Photo courtesy of Marc Brown. Note: news outlets are permitted to use this photo in association with coverage of this story.