The band is now in the midst of its second trip to Alaska since releasing its latest album and adding a new member, lead singer and fiddle player Odessa Jorgensen.

The group still includes a core that formed as a part-time crew of Alaska bluegrass camp members, Kate Hamre (acoustic bass), Mike Mickelson (guitar), Jason Norris (mandolin), Angela Oudean (fiddle).

Bearfoot, which dropped bluegrass from its name years ago, never really was considered as a traditional bluegrass band. Both Mickelson and Jorgensen point out they never had a banjo player and Jorgensen admittedly doesn't even play traditional bluegrass.

Mickelson describes the group more as a modern string band and said it's hard to say exactly what genre Bearfoot falls under.

Since they started playing together full time in 2007, after the last member finished with school, Mickelson said the music has come a long way -- something quite evident in their most recent album. "Doors and Windows" was released on Compass records in the spring, and Mickelson calls it the group's first radio friendly album.

Mickelson, whose mother initially organized the band during Anchorage and Cordova bluegrass camps, said Compass helped shape the album to make it more accessible to a broader audience. Changes included more traditional style choices, such as featuring a lead singer and focusing on the overall sound of the band, rather than fitting in solos.

Both Mickelson and Jorgensen point to a big promotional push as one of the key differences that came with being on a record label.

"Doors and Windows" hit No.1 on Billboard Magazine's Bluegrass charts in May and was well received by fans and critics alike. Not bad for an album put together shortly after the addition of a new lead singer.

Jorgensen, a California native formerly of The Biscuit Burners, joined Bearfoot after the departure of Annalisa Tornfelt just over a year ago. She said she had known Bearfoot on the tour circuit, but the new foundation of the band was basically built in the studio.

Jorgensen wrote most of the new songs and said there was about a month between when she joined the band and when they were set to start on the album.

So with three days off after a tour of Denmark, she rented out a practice space in Ashville, N. C., and went to work.

"I took my recorder up there and finished a lot of tunes and wrote some news ones over the course of those three days and then the band got together and worked on them," Jorgensen said.

Many of the songs came from Jorgensen's life experiences. "My One True Love" is about her father, who passed away two years ago. She said there's not a specific emotion that she draws from and that inspiration can come anywhere.

The album also features the group's first pop-cover, a rendition of The Beatles' "Don't Let Me Down." Mickelson and Jorgensen said they focused on putting their own twist on the song by playing with the tempo and arrangement.

Having recently played in Kodiak and Homer, Bearfoot is set to perform in Anchorage before making stops in Talkeetna and Fairbanks. Mickelson said it's always nice to get back to Alaska and the bluegrass camps that produced Bearfoot nearly 10 years ago, although with the band's schedule it's difficult to fit them in.

As for the band's future, nothing regarding a new album has been made official yet, although new material is in the works. And with an engaging tour schedule already set for most of next year, Bearfoot is looking to keep busy.

Bearfoot Performs Friday at UAA's Wendy Williamson Auditorium, 7:30 p.m., $20-$25. More info at centertix.net. Saturday at the Sheldon Community Arts Hangar in Talkeetna, 7 p.m., $18-$20. Sunday at UAF's Davis Concert Hall, 7 p.m., $8-$25. More info at bearfootband.com