Hope Social Club

Hope Social Club is an Americana and folk-rock band that began in and around Girdwood, Alaska, when singer-songwriters Melissa Mitchell and Sean 'Spiff' Chambers, who lived in the same building, started playing together. Despite the name, the band is rooted in Girdwood and the Anchorage area, not the town of Hope; they originally planned to call themselves 'The Sociables,' but chose 'Hope Social Club' instead after learning that name was already trademarked by a Wisconsin cover band. The pair formed a limited-liability company in 2015 and grew into a full band, with a sound led by two acoustic guitars and built on original songs and tight harmonies.

The lineup expanded to a five-piece drawing on Alaska musicians, including bassist Tony Restivo (of the Girdwood jam band Photonz), drummer Tim Haren, and multi-instrumentalist Aaron Benolkin (also of The Whipsaws), whose pedal steel and electric guitar add texture to Mitchell and Chambers' songwriting. The band played a three-night farewell run at the Sitzmark in Girdwood in December 2018 but continued performing afterward. It has since appeared at Alaska festivals and was featured in the Anchorage Concert Association's 2025 Summer Concert Series.