Brother and sister Teagen Schwartz and Robyn Cardenas are sixth-generation Petersburg residents. And it comes through in their music. Their experience growing up in the small fishing town in Southeast Alaska inspires the songs they write.
“Agriculture and everything has such a big voice in country music, and they got representation. But with all the struggles that I see in fishermen growing up in that, that’s kind of where my passion lies,” Schwartz said. “I want to get to the point where I can be kind of a voice for them.”
Both siblings write music separately, but they started performing together with the name K1NFOLK about two years ago. They played their first official show away from Petersburg earlier this month, performing at both nights of the Arts in the Cove: A Festival by the Sea on Prince of Wales Island on Aug. 8-9.
Their musical journey started when they were just kids out on the water. Schwartz asked Cardenas to teach him how to harmonize while fishing one summer.
“How we bonded was, not only growing up together, but fishing together and fighting on the fishing boat,” Cardenas said.
They’re quick to credit their parents, too. Their mom encouraged them to learn music in church and school, while their dad schooled them in music history.
The siblings became better friends as adults and started playing live shows around Petersburg in 2023. They don’t plan on recording any songs together right now, so K1NFOLK is solely a live act.
They write music separately and perform the songs together, singing backup for each other. They also perform covers with lyrics re-written to be more applicable to Southeast Alaska. On the first night of the festival, they played a spin on John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads,” accompanied by their friend Matt Wintersteen on bass.
“Driving up Clarence Strait, I get a feeling that I should’ve been home yesterday,” they sang.
On the second night, Cardenas’ husband Dan joined the group on the drums. During a cover of “Simple Man,” he exploded into a drum solo.
“Off the cuff, he just did it,” Schwartz said. “I was like, ‘Yeah, you got this.’ And he let go. It was awesome.”
Back in Petersburg, Cardenas and Schwartz have hosted over a dozen open mics, starting around when they formed K1NFOLK. At first it was a way to give themselves and their friends a place to get comfortable performing live. They’ve jammed with friends under the soft glow of string lights in Cardenas’ float house and in their parents’ backyard. Now, it’s growing.
“We’re gonna have to start finding venues here soon,” Schwartz said. “The float house, well, there’s only so much room besides the water.”
Both are planning to release solo music soon. Cardenas is working on an album called “Echoes of the Last Frontier” and Schwartz’ upcoming project is titled “Home Soon.”
The future of their live music careers is uncertain. Cardenas said she’ll likely keep performing in Alaska rather than touring in the Lower 48, especially now that she has kids.
“No matter what happens, we’ll always have music in our lives and be hopefully performing one way or another,” she said.
This story has been updated.
