The Risan Project Tour: Todd Johnson Brings Environmental Advocacy to Fairbanks
In a recent KSUA chat with The Sun Star, Todd Johnson, the lead singer of Salem and a documentary filmmaker, shared excitement about bringing his unique mix of music, film, and environmental activism to Fairbanks for a special show at UAF on Wednesday, April 9. A storyteller with a mission, through his work, he uses his platform to bring awareness about the issues that mean the most to him. His latest project, The Risan Project Tour, combines film, music, and a compelling message about climate action.
For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When a Rainbow Is Enuf - Review
From February 27 to March 2nd, the Interior Independent Theatre, hosted by The Basement, put on the renowned play For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When a Rainbow Is Enuf. The play is a Black theatre piece written by Ntozake Shange, an African American playwright and poet, in 1975. Consisting of twenty to twenty-two poems, For Colored Girls… consists of poetic monologues, choreography with music, and symbolic moments. This is known as a choreopoem. This play became a book by Shange and then a movie re-written, produced, and directed by Tyler Perry in 2010.
Going Nowhere - Album Review
How do we wrangle with loss or the breaking apart of something? Dawson Gentleman asks this question over and over in his debut album, Going Nowhere.
Just Like You Wanted It - Album Review
With his third album, Just Like You Wanted It, released on February 14, 2025, Casey Smith Project is hitting his stride. The album results from more than a year’s worth of demos, jam sessions, and meticulous attention to the track masters (for a lengthy sit-down with Casey Smith about the album and his tour in Iceland last year, read my two-part interview).
Interstella5555 - Film Review
Daft Punk stopped making music in February of 2021, approximately twenty-eight years after their landmark debut album, Homework (1997). However, their sophomore effort, Discovery (2001), sent them straight into the stratosphere. Appropriately so for a now iconic release, the visual album of Discovery titled Interstella5555: The 5story of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem (2003) was released in a select number of theaters nationwide for one night only.
“Just Like You Wanted It”: Casey Smith Project Talks About New Album and Touring Iceland (Part 2)
Casey Smith Project sits down with the editor-in-chief of The Sun Star to discuss the new album and playing at the Iceland Airwaves festival overseas—Part 2 of a two-part interview.
“Just Like You Wanted It”: Casey Smith Project Talks About New Album and Touring Iceland (Part 1)
Casey Smith Project sits down with the editor-in-chief of The Sun Star to discuss the new album and playing at the Iceland Airwaves festival overseas—Part 1 of a two-part interview.
Meet the Brothers Ramirez: DJ the Arc and DJ Lagosa
Before they are set to open for DJ Dancing FaraZ at SpringFest, I sat down with the Brothers Ramirez to ask a few questions about their music, their origins, and their hopes for the future as DJs.
Meet Casey Smith Project
Before his March 29th show at The Pub, I sat down with Casey Smith of The Casey Smith Project to ask a few questions about his music, his origins, and his hopes for the future as an artist and musician.
"I'm Not in Texas, for Real!": J. Saenz Brings Hip-Hop Heat to The Pub
It’s been a minute since The Pub has had rap on its stage. Texas-based J. Saenz (pronounced “signs”) changed all that Saturday, March 9, thanks to Casey Scroggins.
Meet Carnelian Woman
Before their February 24th show at The Pub, I sat down with Carnelian Woman to ask a few questions about their music, their origins, and their hopes for the future as musical collaborators.
"Completeness Magical": Carnelian Woman's Sophomore Performance at The Pub Quietly Dazzles
Carnelian Woman returns to The Pub for another gorgeous and understated live show.
Mean Girls (2024) Was Refreshing in Some Ways but Mostly Worse Than the Original
I wasn’t going to watch the new Mean Girls movie at first. I knew it was a remake of the recent Broadway musical, which wasn’t entirely engrossing. I’d heard about Angourie Rice’s flat singing and awkward camera angles. Honestly, I just don’t watch a lot of movies in theaters in general. But then I saw this TikTok by Glenn DeVar and knew I had to check it out myself.
Meet DancingFaraZ!
We have the privilege of hosting the fantastic Seattle based DJ, Faraz Zarghami, otherwise known as DancingFaraZ. He’ll be performing at this year’s Starvation Gulch, which will be held on September 23rd, starting at 10pm in the Nenana parking lot on campus. Read on to learn a bit more about Faraz, his larger than life personality, and his work as a DJ.
Meet MICHELLE
MICHELLE is a collective of six members: Sofia D'Angelo, Julian Kaufman, Charlie Kilgore, Layla Ku, Emma Lee, and Jamee Lockard. Individual interview answers are designated by first name.
Looking Back: “We Are… MICHELLE!”
This past spring semester, UAF students and community members lined up outside the Student Recreation Center in anticipation of the SpringFest Concert featuring MICHELLE with opener Jake Chavez.
Barbara Kruger's Iconic Artwork Highlights Consumer Culture
In 1987, renowned artist Barbara Kruger unveiled a thought-provoking artwork that would leave an indelible mark on the art world. With a powerful message aimed at the consumer-driven society of the time, Kruger's creation, titled I shop therefore I am, challenged the notions of identity and materialism that had permeated modern culture.
Scream VI - Film Review
Scream VI has no business being as entertaining as it is.
The second sequel from Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, known to their fans and the world as the filmmaking collective Radio Silence, came to mainstream success and acclaim with 2019’s Ready or Not, a quietly subversive and fun black comedy horror film that established many of Scream VI’s strengths, which, unfortunately, also highlight the growing weaknesses of the popular slasher film franchise after Wes Craven’s death in 2015.
Certified Copy, Certainly
When I return to the Museo del Prado this summer and gaze once more at Francisco Goya’s The Third of May 1808, I will think of Walter Benjamin. His seminal essay, “The Work of Art in the Age of Its Technological Reproducibility,” is as frustrating as it is a necessary document in the study of all text: art, film, or literature. Benjamin’s thesis pivots on three questions: how artistic production is affected by machinery and industry, what this technology does to the authenticity of a work of art, and from where art in an industrial, machine-led world derives its value.
Cracker Island: Catching Up on the Music and Lives of the Gorillaz
The latest Gorillaz album came out on February 24th after months of high anticipation from fans. Cracker Island is their eighth studio album, its production began in 2021 after the Gorillaz Netflix movie was scrapped. They collaborated with an impressive list of artists for this album including Stevie Nicks, Bad Bunny, Tame Impala, and more.