Bluegrass is coming to the McNeese State University Banners Series this Friday, April 18, when a young acoustic group from Alaska ­entitled simply Bearfoot ­ performs at 7:30 p.m. in F.G. Bulber Auditorium on the McNeese campus.

Tickets are part of the Banners Series and will also be available at the door. Advance tickets can be purchased online at www.banners.org (click on the event and scroll down) or at the Lake Charles Civic Center box office. Ticket prices are $20 for adults, $5 for children and free to McNeese students with ID.

The Lake Charles concert marks a milestone for Bearfoot ­ it will celebrate the official release of the group's third album, "Follow Me," and will launch a U.S. tour.

Bearfoot arrived in Lake Charles on Monday and has performed school concerts at the Calcasieu Parish Detention Center and College Oaks Elementary, both courtesy of ConocoPhillips; Immaculate Conception Catholic School, courtesy of the Stockwell Sievert Law Firm; John F. Kennedy Elementary, courtesy of the Black Heritage Festival; Reynaud Middle School, courtesy of the Stream family; St. Louis High School, courtesy of Bolton Ford; and in DeRidder, in cooperation with the city of DeRidder.

Bearfoot formed seven years ago when the members were all at Alaskan music camps ­ and the youngest member was only 14 years old. The members chose the name "Bearfoot" to give a nod to the wilds of their native Alaska, conjuring images of rural string-band musicians. Yet the group also wanted to achieve something new. "We wanted to elevate our quintet to the top of a cultural mountain, where we could overlook the past, present and future of Americana music," says member Jason Norris.

A mere two years after that initial meeting, Bearfoot was awarded one of grassroots music's most prestigious awards the Telluride Bluegrass Band Championship ­an honor it shares with artists like Dixie Chicks and Nickel Creek.

At first Bearfoot could only tour during summer break since the members were all students. Even so, the group became a regular crowd favorite at prestigious festivals such as Wintergrass, Grey Fox, Strawberry Festival and six consecutive years at RockyGrass. Bearfoot now tours regularly and has even been chosen to pay on the Millennium stage Oct. 26 at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. That show will be webcast as well as archived (see www.kennedy-center.org ).

Bearfoot plays deeply American music. Airy Northern ballads are tempered by back-alley Southern blues, while jazz "stomp" meets Appalachian "breakdown," the whole fused with a signature bluegrass passion.

Most of the group's music is written by Bearfoot members and combines traditional bluegrass music with something new. As one member puts it, "we set contemporary guitar voicing against melodic purity ( i.e. youthful grit encounters harmonic romance).

Members of Bearfoot are: Kate Hamre, acoustic bass; Mike Mickelson, guitar; Norris, mandolin; Angela Oudean, fiddle; and Annalisa Tornfelt, fiddle. All five have distinctive lead voices and their arrangements of traditional bluegrass are marked by lyricism. Their trademark is a rhythmic bounce and precision of instrumentation with a focus on blend, harmony and tone.

The newest album, "Follow Me," features blues laments, lilting acoustic-pop songs, rollicking Appalachian rhythms -- and old time breakdowns touched with jazz stomps.

Tornfelt wrote seven of the 12 tracks on "Follow Me," and exhibits the same gift as Gillian Welch for combining a vintage feel with timeless themes. She also mixes song structures. Some songs have the one verse repetition pattern, some are longer blues stomps and some would feel at home on a Billie Holiday record.

Everyone shares vocal duties, and naturally, having spent most of their childhood and teen years teaching and performing, their instrumental skills shine. The album will be on sale in the lobby of Bulber at Friday's concert.

For more information contact the Banners Series office at (337) 475-5123 or check the Web site at www.banners.org . For more information on Bearfoot, check www.bearfootband.com or www.myspace.com/bearfootband .