Esthetician, singer and drag artist Alicia Lespin says that music has always been a constant throughout her life, but it wasn’t until the pandemic that her passion was reignited.
“Covid hit and the shutdown happened, nobody could work and everybody had to stay in,” Lespin said. “When we resurfaced out of that covid era, I started having thoughts of, ‘Maybe I should start singing again.’”
At the time, Lespin was working at Middle Way Cafe in Anchorage, where local musician Uncle Sam would come in weekly to perform. It started with Lespin simply singing along to a song or two, which snowballed into being asked to busk at local farmers markets in town.
“I spend a lot of my time in Alaska, but I do go out of Alaska to find ways of inspiration,” Lespin said. “I go to places like the Dominican Republic, which is where I was born. I go to Brazil, which is one of my favorite countries in the whole entire world because of how culturally diverse it is, and because of how immensely diverse it is in the music scene as well.”
She started with just herself and a track in the background, but has grown into an artist with a multi-person band.
“I started going to open mics. That is how I met the group of people that I am now starting to work with, and the artists that I am starting to work with today,” she said. “Most recently, I’ve been listening to a lot of Nick Carpenter, I have been listening to a lot of classic jazz and spending a lot of time with the classic jazz scenery with Nick Petumenos and also John Danver.”
In addition to her singing, Lespin is a makeup artist, and says it’s been a great pathway to push her to do drag.
“While doing drag, I also sing live, so it promotes my artistry as a vocalist and a singer but it also helps me get out of the box and also express my artistry as a makeup artist,” Lespin said. “It’s all intertwined and it’s all connected.”
One of Lespin’s last winter events until the spring is on Saturday, Nov. 29 at The Writer’s Block from 6-8 p.m.
Sam Davenport is a writer residing in Anchorage. She's a leo and a plant-person, and loves spending quality time with her dog, Aspen. She is a Real Housewives fan and has been called a Bravo historian.
