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Parlor in the Round Comes Back to Palmer: A songwriter gameshow with an improv twist!
Parlor in the Round returns to the Glenn Massay Theater November 20th, following an enormously successful first collaboration with the Palmer Arts Council last season. A large and enthusiastic audience welcomed Parlor to the Valley, and the Glenn Massay proved to be an ideal home for the show’s unusual mix of intimate songwriting, storytelling, humor, and spontaneous collaboration.
This year, WellRounded Arts and the Palmer Arts Council are teaming up again to bring a new trio of songwriters, and an entirely new night of music, to the Glenn Massay stage.
This is not your typical songwriter showcase! Part songwriter round, part game show, and part musical improv, Parlor in the Round brings three artists together to trade original songs and stories before host Kevin Worrell leads them through a series of increasingly challenging musical rounds. As the evening unfolds, the familiar songwriter-round format gives way to collaboration, musical curveballs, and songs created in the moment.
And the audience is part of the show. Guests submit short ideas throughout the first half, which the artists use during a rapid co-writing session at intermission to create a brand-new song for the evening’s finale. In Parlor’s lightning round, the musicians draw audience submissions at random and improvise songs on the spot.
This November’s lineup features Grace C. Elliot, Khatumu, and the Valley’s own, Jason Overby.
Half-German and half-Sierra Leonean, first-generation American and recent Yale graduate Khatumu began her musical journey during the COVID-19 lockdown while living in Brazil. At 20, she immersed herself in music production and quickly gained attention with her debut single, “Hunting Days.”
Now based in Los Angeles, Khatumu blends folk and Americana influences with intimate storytelling and emotional depth. Her forthcoming EP, Free Therapy, includes songs such as “Sober” and “Fire Drill” and explores relationships, self-discovery, identity, personal growth, and the complexities of young adulthood with a voice that balances confidence and vulnerability.
Anchorage-born singer-songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist Grace C. Elliot creates a lush blend of dream pop, indie pop and intimate songwriting, pairing delicate vocals and keys with expansive electronic textures. Her 2020 debut brought national attention through NPR’s Tiny Desk Contest and Spotify’s Fresh Finds, and she has continued to develop a sound that moves easily between the organic and the cinematic.
Now based in Los Angeles, Elliot has had a prolific 2026, releasing her Better Light EP along with singles including “Erase It,” “Blue Eyes,” “WDYG (Where Do You Go)” and most recently “Shoreshine.” She also returned to Alaska this summer to open for Vanessa Carlton in Anchorage.
Sutton-based songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Jason Overby has spent his musical life moving between Alaska’s old-time traditions and the wider independent folk world. He was a member of the acclaimed orchestral-folk ensemble Spirits of the Red City, contributing guitar, tenor banjo, accordion, ukulele and vocals to the Minneapolis-based group’s richly arranged, harmony-driven music.
Back home in Alaska, Overby performs with his family’s old-time roots ensemble The Inlaws & the Outlaws (also known as Ode to the Roddes) and with his sister as Jason & Rachel Overby. A gifted fingerstyle and flatpicking guitarist, his music draws on generations of traditional American music while bringing a distinctly Alaskan, and distinctly Overby, voice to the songs he writes and performs.
This unforgettable night begins at 7:00 p.m. at the Glenn Massay Theater on November 20th. Advance general admission tickets are $30, PAC members are $25, and tickets increase to $35 at the door. PAC members, please use code, PACMEMBER when purchasing tickets. Tickets can be purchased through Eventbrite here: