Alaska’s musical identity stretches far beyond its spectacular scenery. Its singers have carried intimate folk confessionals, adventurous pop, soaring worship music, and bruising metal into the wider world. Some were born in the state, some grew up there, and others made it the home from which their creative lives unfolded. What connects them is not one recognizable sound, but a willingness to follow an individual path. From Jewel’s extraordinary commercial breakthrough to John Gourl