Alaska Gets A Dose Of Know-How In Event Production

In 2007, the owner and founder of ADK Events attended the Ultra Music Festival in Miami and experienced the power of an entire crowd vibing on the same wavelength for the first time. As Paul Van Dyk wove two tracks together taking the audience on a musical journey, Michael Mason knew he had to bring this type of energy up north. Once back in Alaska and after attending a local underground event, Michael realized something needed to change. Soon after, ‘A Dose of Know-how’ was established, with the goal of organizing a professionally produced show for 500 Alaskans by the end of the year. After each successful EDM event the level of visual productions grew. Once regular attendance reached over 1,000 attendees, ‘A Dose of Know-how’ was retired to form ADK events, officially licensed by the State of Alaska as a concert promoter.  Last year’s big Halloween event Nocturnal drew crowds to Anchorage from all over Alaska.

http://vimeo.com/78452805

“I have a policy of under promising and over delivering. I set personal expectations for each event to drop jaws and overload senses by creating immersive environments through visuals, special effects and high quality sound.” – Michael Mason

For the past seven years ADK events has experimented through trial and error to change the music scene in Alaska. Combating what booking agents label as a sparse market has created its own set of challenges. While Anchorage does have a university within its city limits, it does not benefit from the same price breaks that other small college towns receive when booking artists. Without any pressure of selling out, most Alaskans wait until the day of to decide if they want to attend shows, causing artists and promoters to bite their nails up until doors open.

Photo Credit: Clearwater Productions

The Alaskan scene is often perceived as lacking in culture which could not be further from the truth. A few weeks ago, Trapper’s Creek at the mouth of the Denali National Park hosted an impressive arts and music festival aptly named ‘Spectrum’. Utilizing a geodesic dome and choreographed 3D projection mapping, ADK instantly transported a select few bassheads and junglists from the deep forest into an acoustically tuned nightclub for a mind bending magical experience. As electronic dance music continues to evolve, more and more Alaskans will demand that bigger names make the trip up from the lower 48. Next week, world renowned drum and bass legend Dieselboy will absolutely destroy the last frontier at the Egan Center, in what is shaping up to be the biggest event of the summer.

You can learn more about ADK Events by following them on Facebook and Twitter.

Plan on staying in the Seattle over the next couple of months? Then check out our guide to the best clubs!