Old Crow Medicine Show is playing Salmonfest Saturday, August 5. (Joshua Black Wilkins)
Ketch Secor first visited Alaska when he was 14 and it made a lasting impression on him. He traveled the Alaska Railroad, bought chewing tobacco in Sitka and kissed a girl in Fairbanks. The singer and fiddle player for the long-running, high-energy folk band Old Crow Medicine Show joins us this week ahead of the group’s Salmonfest appearance. He tells us about their upcoming album “Jubilee” that celebrates a quarter century as a band, the finer points of playing street corners and more.
Old Crow Medicine Show headlines for Salmonfest 2023 in Ninilchik, Alaska on August 5, 2023. (Valerie Lake/Alaska Public Media) Old Crow Medicine Show performs on the River Stage on Saturday, August 5, 2023 for Salmonfest attendees in Ninilchik, Alaska. (Valerie Lake/Alaska Public Media)Fans snap photos of Old Crow Medicine Show on the main stage at Salmonfest on Saturday, August 5, 2023. (Valerie Lake/Alaska Public Media)Old Crow Medicine Show headlines for Salmonfest 2023 in Ninilchik, Alaska on August 5, 2023. (Valerie Lake/Alaska Public Media) Musical group Free Creatures performs at the Headwaters Stage at Salmonfest in Ninilchik, Alaska on August 5, 2023. (Valerie Lake/Alaska Public Media)Anything That’s Rock and Roll plays Tom Petty tribute songs to a full audience on the Ocean Stage at Salmonfest 2023 on August 5 in Ninilchik, Alaska. (Valerie Lake/Alaska Public Media) The Burroughs returned to Salmonfest to a large screaming audience on Friday August 4, 2023 in Ninilchik, Alaska. (Valerie Lake/Alaska Public Media)Salmonfest attendees heard from Alaska Native elders and land stewards about the role of salmon in the state on Sunday August 6, 2023 in Ninilchik, Alaska. (Valerie Lake/Alaska Public Media)Fisher Poet Clark Whitney performs his song “Every Summer.” (Riley Board/KDLL)Sam Nelson of X Ambassadors performs at the amphitheater stage. (Riley Board/KDLL)Shelley Cotton talks to visitors at the United Tribes of Bristol Bay booth. (Riley Board/KDLL)Crowds dance to Free Creatures on the Headwaters stage at Salmonfest in Ninilchik, Alaska on Saturday August 5, 2023. (Valerie Lake/Alaska Public Media)Audience members cheer for the Fisher Poets at Salmonfest 2023. (Riley Board/KDLL)
Ammon Swenson is Alaska Public Media’s Audio Media Content Producer. He was born and raised in Anchorage, Alaska. He graduated from UAA in 2018 with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and integrated media. He’s previously worked for KRUA radio, the Anchorage Press, and The Northern Light.
