There’s something special about Alaska. OK, that’s not true. There are a lot of special things about Alaska. But there’s one that comes to mind today: Alaska’s sense of community. For example, one does not simply drive past a vehicle pulled over on the side of the road without checking first to make sure that everything is alright. It could be hours until the next car comes along after all. Community means everything in Alaska, and the Anchorage music scene is no exception.
For one artist, her upward journey has inspired her to give back in a pretty special way: through a series of events called Girl Crush Friday. She even went so far as to call them “the Barbie movie of Anchorage arts events.”
“I got my start playing right before the pandemic so I didn’t have much of a chance to perform live, but once I did I realized pretty quickly that I wanted to give back to this community that had given so much to me,” wrote Pepper Kit when explaining the inspiration behind the Girl Crush Friday events, the most recent one held at Van’s at the end of September.
“That’s how GCF was born; out of that feeling of wanting to create my own community space where artists could come and feel comfortable to bare their souls and sing their hearts out, the community could come together and have fun, and women-run small businesses and vendors to read tarot, do face-painting, or whatever it is they do,” said Kit.
This most recent iteration of the event, the second of its kind so far, featured musicians Karrie Pavish Anderson, Katie Scoggin, Scary Jeri, and of course Pepper Kit herself.
Karrie Pavish Anderson has been a mainstay of the Alaska music scene for a while now. Alaskans might remember her for “The Climbing Project,” released during the pandemic, where she brought together musicians from all corners of the world to perform together in a virtual choir on her track, “Climbing.” It is this same energy that brought her to Girl Crush Friday.
“I love that at GCF I get to meet other Alaskan women artists from varied genres and ages and check out what they’re brewing up,” she said. “As an artist with disabilities, the event feels inclusive too. All are welcome, and that’s beautiful. Alaska’s music scene is on its way up, and women are an integral part of it.”
For Katie Scoggin, the invitation to Girl Crush Friday came as a bit of a wake up call.
“I have been on a bit of a hiatus, but when Pepper Kit reached out to me, it reminded me that I am still an artist and I still have songs that I want to share with the world. To me, Girl Crush Friday means empowering women to remember their talents and gifts like Pepper Kit has done for me,” Scoggin said.
When most of us think of magic, we think of Harry Potter or Merlin or a someone in a tuxedo pulling a rabbit out of a hat. In Paganism, there is the understanding of magick — rituals and techniques that realign a person’s consciousness so that he or she may better perceive and participate in divine reality, according to The Pluralism Project. For one artist, September’s Girl Crush Friday was imbued with some deep magick. Though she has been in the music scene before, this is the first time as a solo artist that Scary Jeri has taken the stage.
“I have an affinity for spirituality, tarot, astrology, paganism, etc, so Girl Crush Friday, for me, is a [way] to share magick and empowering energy with people through music,” Scary Jeri said. “[Plus,] I really love to rock out with my supporters and other incredible artists!” And “rock out” she most certainly did.
The night ended with a set from sad-girl pop/rock artist and Girl Crush Friday host, Pepper Kit, without whom GCF wouldn’t exist.
“There are a lot of amazing events and showcases in Anchorage and so carving out my own space took a bit of brainstorming,” Kit said. “I love Phoebe Bridgers and her BoyGenius team touring the country and I love the idea of bringing that spirit of inclusivity and girl power to a smaller, but maybe just as powerful, stage.”
That “spirit of inclusivity” is much needed in the music industry.
“According to a 2019 study done by University of Southern California-Annenberg’s Inclusion Initiative, female artists make up 12% of songwriters, which is a crazy low statistic,” Kit said. “And women are too often pitted against each other whether we want to be or not. An event like this is us reclaiming our power and coming together to create something. My hope is that this event is just super fun for everyone who comes and maybe even becomes an inspiration for other females to join our ranks.”
Alongside the music, people had a chance to have their tarot read or dive deeper into astrology with Tales of the Tarot and Astrology for the Seasons. If that isn’t your style, there were coloring sheets of the show’s poster (because who doesn’t love to color, right?), a Girl Crush Friday-inspired word search put together by one of the musicians, special giveaways from the event’s artists and vendors, and even a special Girl Crush-inspired drink at the bar.
While September’s event was for those ages 21 and over, Pepper Kit assures us that if Girl Crush Friday continues, future editions will be at different venues, as she wants to give fans of all ages a chance to experience.
“We need more of that because that’s how this generation inspires the next generation to make music themselves,” Kit said.
Disclaimer: Columnist John Christensen manages Pepper Kit, creator of Girl Crush Friday, through his brand, Candlewick Studios.
This article was published in partnership with Arts Anchorage.
John Christensen is an Anchorage-based photographer, columnist, and creative who operates under the Candlewick Studios brand. He has written previously for the Anchorage Press.
