{"title":"Annie Hopper","description":"\u003cp\u003eAbout Annie Hopper — born in Colorado, raised an Army brat, always heading west or north. Alaskan sourdough for over forty years. Two beautiful children and a loving partnership. Songs from front porches, campfires, fishing boats, and the roads north.I ask myself often where the light for something begins, and when I try to put words to it, I am lost in memories of people, places, and moments that add up to something now.I rode my spider bike into town to spend my 25-cent allowance on a stack of 45s. I am in my pink bedroom playing those small records, some songs over and over, dancing with my twelve-year-old friends to anything I can get my hands on. Later, I am slow dancing, or doing the bump.Somehow I am gifted a guitar at sixteen, which I am eternally grateful to my parents for. My neighbor Artie was my guitar teacher, but mostly I got stoned and listened to him play that Gibson, which was later to become mine. I thought if I had that guitar, I could sound like that too. He was in a bluegrass band, and we followed them around the state of Virginia, to festivals that took my breath away. I just wanted to play and sing.On to college, playing music with my best friend Janet on porches and under trees, falling for a boy and his guitar while the desire to play grew stronger. We loved John Prine and Gram Parsons, and we snuck into the Cellar Door in Washington, DC to hear the Flying Burrito Brothers and more. We moved from dorm talent shows to more stairwells, but mostly we loved Woody Guthrie, songs of the road, and more.Then I hit the road. Hitching to Alaska on 18-wheelers, fishing commercially, not dying — staying alive long enough to tell a story or two.Inspired by Bonnie Raitt, Linda Ronstadt, Emmylou Harris, Dolly Parton — who else was there? Ah yes, the Eagles, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Fleetwood Mac. We played our front porches for hours, and later anywhere and with anyone who would listen, in Colorado and on the roads north to Alaska, on ferries and such. Campfires, broken hearts, poetry gone astray. I love music and softball and the friends and comrades. I loved that I could put my broken heart on paper and sing it to whoever would listen.We build a lodge in the Eastern Alaska Range. And now we have fellow musicians across the north land of Alaska who sit in and play and make everything stronger and clearer, for the love of creating music and songs. We have our music festival, “Jammin' at the Rapids”, who now are contributing musicians on these songs.  Now we record and play in ice caves in the belly of glaciers. JD (Jeff) and Annie have played together for over 12 years, mostly at the Lodge at Black Rapids in the Eastern Alaska Range, which they call our home stage.JD Mason - An easy going dude, living as an Ecologist in Delta Junction, Alaska, (just north of the lodge) who with an invite will bring a six pack and play all night.  He has his own sleeping bag so if you have a couch he is good to go.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"annie-hopper-jamminaqt-the-rapids-cd","title":"Annie Hopper - Jammin' at the Rapids (CD)","description":"IT TAKES A VILLAGE has never felt truer than in the making of this album.\r\n\r\nThese songs were written over a lifetime spent in the mountains of Alaska’s Eastern Alaska Range, where we built and managed the Lodge at Black Rapids. They reflect a life shaped by change, raising children, experiencing deep love and heartbreaking loss, and finding strength in the unwavering support of family, friends, and community. None of it happened alone.\r\nLife in Alaska is built on resilience, cooperation, and shared stories. Throughout my life in Alaska, I have been deeply influenced by the wisdom, generosity, and traditions of Alaska Native people, whose presence and friendship have enriched both my life and my music.\r\nThis album is my way of saying thank you.\r\n\r\nThis is for everyone who has loved, encouraged, and inspired me and our family, your kindness is woven into every song. To the remarkable musicians of Alaska who shared their talents and helped bring these songs to life, we are profoundly grateful.\r\n\r\nWith heartfelt gratitude, we dedicate this album to the village that made it possible. And to Annie's children, Huckleberry Jack and Steve Marie Hopper, and to my dear one, John Hargesheimer","brand":"10th Plane Recordings","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53944812699941,"sku":"859744215924","price":19.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0758\/1250\/3845\/files\/cover-for-tune-core-1_54a53f53-d30a-4fd0-a2d3-73d52a5b76af.webp?v=1790985551"}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0758\/1250\/3845\/collections\/cover-for-tune-core-1_a3114216-d403-406f-910a-6bfa636df301.webp?v=1791927665","url":"https:\/\/store.spinneymedia.com\/collections\/annie-hopper.oembed","provider":"Spinney Media","version":"1.0","type":"link"}