Owl City, a one-man pop-electronica band, will make its way to Anchorage for a concert on Jan. 23 at the Bear Tooth Theatrepub, part of a tour promoting "All Things Bright and Beatiful," an album released in June of this year. 

Owl City may just be one of the biggest musical acts to ever come to Anchorage. Sure, we've seen the likes of No. 1 hitmakers Coolio and Barenaked Ladies come to Alaska's largest city in the last year, but those acts arrived well after their heydays in the late 1990s or early 2000s.

Owl City's single "Fireflies," from its 2009 release "Ocean Eyes," topped the Billboard singles chart in 2009 and had been downloaded more 4.25 million times by June of this year.

Of course, with all that popularity comes derision. As soon as the show was announced on the Bear Tooth's Facebook page, commenters claimed that a 21-and-over show (as all concerts are at the Bear Tooth) would prevent Owl City's target audience from being able to attend. 

Some commenters noted that their kids would indeed like to attend the show. Of course, any act with worldwide recognition like Owl City stands a chance of filling the relatively small Bear Tooth venue.

Owl City's youthful audience may be the result of its light, poppy sound and the way that Adam Young, the man behind Owl City, parlayed a MySpace page into a record contract through fan engagement and online word-of-mouth.

The fact that Young's voice sounds an awful lot like Ben Gibbard's -- of Death Cab for Cutie fame -- and Owl City's sound is an awful lot like Gibbard side-project The Postal Service probably helps, too.

According to Owl City's official events page, the Anchorage show will be the first official concert following a two-month hiatus from live performance, and will go from Anchorage to a show in Thailand on Jan. 28.

Owl City plays at the Bear Tooth Theatrepub on Jan. 23. Doors open at 8 p.m., and Owl City takes the stage at 10 p.m. Tickets are $35 and go on sale Nov. 11 at the Bear Tooth box office and website. 

Contact Ben Anderson at ben(at)alaskadispatch.com