The Heists

Combine one of the state’s premier mandolin players and tenor bluegrass harmony singers with a rising songwriter, known for her lyrics that get at the heart of what it means to be raised in Alaska, and you’ve got The Heists.

Currently co-writing their first album as The Heists, Erin and Andrew Heist bring to the table decades of experience playing the bars and backrooms of Alaska’s communities, from Bethel to Sitka to Salmonfest to McCarthy to Homer to Fairbanks, and all along the Milk Run.

Andrew Heist cut his teeth with The Great Alaska Bluegrass band and currently plays with Taking Care of Bluegrass, Juneau’s premier bluegrass outfit. Erin Heist got her start playing guitar and singing for the North Country Cajun Club and has held down the rhythm section in the old time bands Sugar Shack and The Stinging Nettles.

In 2021 Erin recorded her first album of original material, featuring Andrew on every track. Erin and Andrew have gone on to provide instrumental and harmonic support to multiple albums, including Annie Bartholomew’s “Sisters of White Chapel”, Josh Fortenbery’s “No Such Thing as Forever”, and most recently Blackwater Railroad Co’s “A Lovely Place to Die”.

Erin is a founding member of the Muskeg Collective a group of songwriters from Juneau who have teamed together to tour their original material across Alaska and the globe. Andrew tours with the collective and has played on all the members’ albums.