Juneau, Alaska, is known for a lot of things: breathtaking views, wildlife, glaciers, whale watching and summer temperatures much more tame than Alabama’s.
Now there’s a musical item on the list. Juneau is the new residence of Slapout, Alabama’s Jessica Meuse, who in 2014 gained a national TV spotlight as a finalist on season 13 of “American Idol.”
“It’s kind of like being in Alabama,” Meuse said by phone from Juneau.
That includes the music. She recalled a downtown venue recently had someone singing a cover of John Denver’s “Country Road.”
“I think home is where you make it,” said Meuse, a Coast Guard “butter bar” — an ensign — stationed in Juneau at Coast Guard Sector Southeast Alaska, where she works in logistics. Since Meuse’s arrival, she’s been living in an Airbnb while waiting for her apartment to be ready.
“I’m excited. I’m looking forward to it,” Meuse said of her new life in Alaska. “I’m looking forward to how much I’m going to learn. I know it’s going to be a lot, and I know it’s going to be very challenging… I never thought I would live in Alaska, but here I am.”
She also enjoys the stability that comes with working for the Coast Guard, something many full-time musicians don’t have.
“I don’t feel like I have to fight to survive anymore, and I can just play music because I enjoy it,” Meuse said.
Alabama hasn’t seen the last of Meuse, who said she’ll definitely be back to visit family and friends sometime after her life in Juneau settles down. She’s also planning to venture out to find new places to perform.
“I’m still looking at flying around and doing a couple of events, once I figure out what my schedule is,” she said.
The road (and then a boat) to Juneau
Meuse drove around 4,000 miles to get to her new home — a 12-day trip, a good nine of which was driving. Fortunately, she had the “best riding buddy ever” — her dog Crash. He hasn’t wanted to leave Meuse’s side since she got back from three months away at the Coast Guard’s Officer Candidate School.
“I went up through Canada with Crash and we got here July 28,” Meuse said.
While Juneau is Alaska’s state capital and part of the mainland, you can’t just drive into the city. It’s considered a de facto island since it’s surrounded by mountains, glaciers and water. Everyone has to come and go either by boat or airplane. After her long drive, Meuse’s final leg of the journey was by ferry.
Juneau faced flood threat from glacial waters
She arrived at an interesting and potentially dangerous time because of something else Juneau has become known for — the risk of flooding. Water built up to capacity in a glacial lake known as Suicide Basin. As of Aug. 12, Meuse’s second day at work, it began to overflow the Mendenhall Glacier, which acts as an ice dam.
“The Mendenhall River is going to flood from the outburst from the glacial melting,” Meuse said before the overflow started.
“Everything should be fine. I think they’re prepared for it,” Meuse said. “But I’m also glad I’m in a safe area right now.”
Fortunately, two miles of emergency barriers kept the rising river away from neighborhoods on Aug 13. According to USA Today, the Mendenhall River crested at a record-setting 16.65 feet deep, and gradually began to fall after that.
“It was kind of isolated to a flood zone, and if you live in it you definitely knew,” Meuse said in a social media video Aug. 13.
Similar floods have been a problem for Juneau in recent summers. In 2024, more than 100 homes in Juneau were damaged by flooding from glacial waters.
Juneau, Alaska, evacuation alerts ahead of glacial flood threat
Juneau braces for flooding as melting Mendenhall Glacier raises river levels and prompts evacuation alerts.
Keeping active in Juneau’s music scene
Besides Crash, there’s one more faithful companion Meuse brought to Juneau — her guitar. She’s already started putting it to use at open mic events there.
“Nobody knows who I am. It’s really fun,” she said of performing in her new home’s venues. “I just kind of jam, meet new people and network. And hopefully meet with more songwriters and see if they want to co-write some stuff. Just make music on my terms.”
Her pre-Coast Guard life hasn’t completely left Meuse behind, though. Just before she went to OCS, Meuse was signed with MVK Music Group. She’s still going to be working with them.
“They’re really cool with me going at my own pace and doing what I need to do first,” Meuse said.
Back in Alabama, Meuse was also known for live streaming performances on Twitch, and she plans to do that again once she’s in her apartment.
“That’ll kind of be my happy place,” Meuse said.
Before Juneau was a ‘firehose’ of Coast Guard training
Meuse’s OCS experience changed her in ways she didn’t realize at first. Weeks of hard work and challenges have made it difficult to listen to complaints about the outside world.
“I’m not saying that in a bad way,” Meuse said. “I just feel like I see things differently.”
She said OCS involved working with a lot of intelligent people with very strong personalities, and they all joined to save lives.
“Everyone was from a different walk of life,” Meuse said. “But it was like we were all cut from the same cloth.”
She said OCS began with a brutal week full of screams, bangs and whistles from training officers.
“You have to scream back at them,” Meuse said. “Everyone’s losing their voices.”
One of the most difficult parts of three months of OCS was time management for the academics.
“It’s a firehose of information, more than anything,” Meuse said.
On the physical side, survival at sea training was a lot of hardcore swimming while wearing exposure suits. It pushed Meuse to her limits — even though she was already in shape from cross-fit training. But it was also one of her favorite parts of OCS.
At one point, they had to make a human life raft.
“Everyone criss-crosses our arms and legs, and we all hold on to each other,” Meuse said. “Out at sea, that will help with warmth, and it will make a bigger target for the rescue chopper to see.”
Meuse still finds it hard to believe she made it through OCS. Overall, she said the experience was both humbling and cool. Now that she’s an ensign, Meuse is excited about what comes next in Juneau.
“I think it’s really a state of mind,” Meuse said. “You can make a home wherever the things you love and care about are. I think you can have more than one.”
Montgomery Advertiser reporter Shannon Heupel covers things to do in the River Region. Contact him at [email protected]. To support his work please subscribe to the Montgomery Advertiser.
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