Mairiis Kilcher, better known as Mossy Kilcher, is an Alaskan singer-songwriter,

homesteader Homestead may refer to: *Homestead (buildings), a farmhouse and its adjacent outbuildings; by extension, it can mean any small cluster of houses * Homestead (unit), a unit of measurement equal to 160 acres * Homestead principle, a legal concept ...

, and

ornithologist Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the "methodological study and consequent knowledge of birds with all that relates to them." Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and th ...

Biography

Mairiis Kilcher was born near

Homer, Alaska Homer ( Dena'ina: ''Tuggeght'') is a city in Kenai Peninsula Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. It is southwest of Anchorage. According to the 2020 Census, the population is 5,522, up from 5,003 in 2010. Long known as the "Halibut Fishing Ca ...

. She is the daughter of

Yule F. Kilcher Yule Forenorth Kilcher (born Julius Jacob Kilcher; March 9, 1913 – December 8, 1998) was a Swiss-born American homesteader who was a member of the Alaska state senate from 1963 to 1966. He moved from Switzerland to Alaska in 1936 where he th ...

and sister of

Atz Kilcher Attila Kuno "Atz" Kilcher (born September 2, 1947) is the oldest son of Yule F. Kilcher and Ruth Weber. He is one of the stars on the Discovery show '' Alaska: The Last Frontier'', which focuses on the Kilcher homestead established 80 years ago o ...

. Through Atz, she is the paternal aunt of singer-songwriter Jewel. As a teenager, her family took a trip to Switzerland where she was introduced to the music of

Andrés Segovia Andrés Segovia Torres, 1st Marquis of Salobreña (21 February 1893 – 2 June 1987) was a Spanish virtuoso classical guitarist. Many professional classical guitarists were students of Segovia or their students. Segovia's contribution to the m ...

. This sparked an interest in guitar. She attended

Reed College Reed College is a private liberal arts college in Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1908, Reed is a residential college with a campus in the Eastmoreland neighborhood, with Tudor-Gothic style architecture, and a forested canyon nature preserve at ...

, where she was inspired by Lloyd J. Reynolds. In 1977, she released her only album to date, '' Northwind Calling'', under the married name Mossy Davidson. It was not a commercial success, but earned a cult reputation among folk enthusiasts. ''Northwind Calling'' was reissued under the name Mossy Kilcher by

Tompkins Square Records Tompkins Square Records is an independent record label producing archival releases of gospel, blues, jazz, and country music. History In 2005, Josh Rosenthal launched Tompkins Square Records in New York City after working 15 years in a variety of ...

in 2020.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kilcher, Mairiis Living people Women in Alaska 20th-century American women musicians Reed College alumni Guitarists from Alaska Singers from Alaska Songwriters from Alaska Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American women