Welcome to Shake City String Band! We are a folk band based in Anchorage, Alaska that specializes in symphonic folk fusion. Our journey began with a shared passion for music and a desire to create something unique. We believe that music has the power to bring people together and transcend cultural and language barriers. We are committed to providing our fans, potential clients, listeners, and concert goers with an unforgettable experience that celebrates the rich history and diversity of folk music, by bending and blending genres, both with our reimagined arrangements and group-written originals.
In 2019 - at a fateful open mic night in Girdwood, Alaska - Kade and Katie performed and wooed a rowdy bar crowd into silence. Subsequently a gig was scored, and they invited Brett to help them fill out the ranks and add depth to the sound, and dubbed themselves The Chamberliners! Over the course of the pandemic, moves, job changes and other spicy life anecdotes, the group shifted and changed and eventually settled as a full cast of five including Kyle and Zach. This quintet had a unique opportunity to "marinate" as it were, during covid. They were able to run full speed ahead with this new project, and produced an EP - Girdwood Gigues - and started to make a bit of a folky ruckus at festivals, fairs, bars and the like, from Homer to McCarthy, Valdez to Talkeetna!
​
The last few years, the group has enjoyed highlights including performing at Salmonfest 2021, Girdwood Forest Fair 2022 & 2023, an Artist in Residency with McCarthy Lodge in 2023.
Shake City String Band has something for everyone. Join us on this musical journey and let's create something magical together!
Our Story
Meet the Crew
Kade Bissell
Raised in Alaska, Kade Bissell is an orchestral percussionist, hammered dulcimer performer and composer. He serves as principal percussionist of the Anchorage Bowl Chamber Orchestra and as a member of the Anchorage Symphony Orchestra. Founder of Shake City String Band (formerly The Chamberliners), Kade is both a composer and arranger, his repertoire consists of classically influenced folk music, with works featuring The Chamberliners’ EP title track, 'The Girdwood Gigues’ (2021) and their compositional rendition of ‘Wayfaring Stranger’. Kade brings a diverse foundation to Shake City String Band, playing the Hammered Dulcimer, general percussion, guitar and vocals. In his free time Kade enjoys skiing, biking, and hiking with his dog, Hildegard.
Katie Wasko
Katie has played the violin since she was a 5 year old girl growing up in the Twin Cities. She graduated in 2018 and has a degree in Music Education from the University of Alaska Anchorage. She has been a tenured violinist at the Anchorage Symphony since 2015. Katie has enjoyed being the concert master of multiple organizations including the Anchorage Bowl Chamber Orchestra, UAA Sinfonia, Anchorage Civic Orchestra, and Kenai Peninsula Orchestra. She also enjoys performing with her folk band, Shake City String Band, as well as many other groups in Alaska and the lower 48. In her spare time, Katie enjoys creating art, cooking, hanging out with her husband and dog, and exploring the Alaskan Wilderness.
Brett Lindsay
Cellist, as well as photographer extraordinaire and general audiophile, Brett brings a special nuance to Shake City String Band in his style of performance. He is also a masterful whistler and who we all turn to with questions about pitch and sound. Brett is also a fabulous thrifter with arguably the best outfits in the band. Katie and Brett got thier ears pierced together - v cute.
Kyle Lindsey
Kyle Lindsey is a conductor, arranger, performer, and teacher from Anchorage, Alaska who enjoys making music with friends, and friends through music. He pursues the art of conducting partially to fulfill his childhood dream of being a wand-waving wizard.
He is the founder and current music director of the Anchorage Bowl Chamber Orchestra and a member of the Shake City String Band. He graduated from the University of Alaska Anchorage, obtaining degrees in music and psychology, and from the University of Alaska Southeast, obtaining a teaching degree. Lindsey’s teachers include Walter Olivares, Dr. Grant Cochran, and Miriam English-Ward; he has studied in master classes with Maestro Murray Sidlin, Dr. Jeffery Meyers, and Maestro Neil Varon, among others.
Notable performances include taking a harmonica solo in front of the Anchorage Symphony Orchestra, as well as conducting the world premiers of James Webb’s Rhapsody in E Minor: Hatcher’s Pass and Brett Lindsay’s Endeavor, for Strings.
Zach Akins
Lover of cold drinks and things to hold - Zach is also known as Papa Bear, the Croc Prophet and Daddy on occasion. He is our resident Trekkie and has Synesthesia. Look out for his bass face and ask him what time it is.
​
He is the most dependable member of the group, by far. Kyle once engaged him in honorable single combat, and in the end he cried. Since, he has taken an axe to his own thumb. He bears the scar to this day.
