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The Cactus Blossoms, Sharon Van Etten, and others appear on ‘Twin Peaks’ cast list

by Cecilia Johnson

April 26, 2016

Several artists familiar to The Current's audience showed up on the just-released cast list of Showtime's Twin Peaks revival. Since the revival news broke over a year ago, scanty details have emerged, so this is a welcome look into the episodes to come.

The cast list includes the Cactus Blossoms (Minnesotan brothers Jack Torrey and Page Burkum), Sharon Van Etten, Trent Reznor (Nine Inch Nails; Lost Highway and many other soundtracks), Eddie Vedder (Pearl Jam), Lissie, and many other musicians and actors. It's unclear whether these artists will just appear on-screen or also on the soundtrack of Twin Peaks.

Although he's best-known for his work in television and movies (Twin Peaks; Eraserhead, Blue Velvet, and Mulholland Drive), Lynch has also completed several musical projects. He has two studio albums to his name, including 2013's The Big Dream, which featured a Bob Dylan cover ("The Ballad of Hollis Brown"). Lynch co-wrote and produced singer Chrysta Bell's debut album in 2011; she's also on the new cast list.

Bell, Karen O, and others contributed to a just-released album called The Music of David Lynch, which presents live recordings from the David Lynch Foundation's 10th-anniversary concert in Los Angeles last year. The album is a double-LP, and it features Sky Ferreira (who acted in Elvis & Nixon; she's also on the Twin Peaks cast list) along with Wayne Coyne and Steven Drozd, two members of the Flaming Lips (this year's Rock the Garden headliners) — and, of course, the band Twin Peaks.

Other musicians on the list include Finn Andrews (The Veils), Julee Cruise (the singer of "Falling," Twin Peaks' theme song), Ruth Radalet (lead vocalist of electronic band Chromatics), and all three members of dreampop band Au Revoir Simone (Heather D'Angelo, Annie Hart, and Erika Forster). The crew list is up here.

If you're not familiar with the Cactus Blossoms, hear them perform at the 2015 Minnesota State Fair, read Jack Torrey's Guitar Collection interview, or watch their "Change Your Ways or Die" in-studio performance.

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This activity is made possible in part by the Minnesota Legacy Amendment’s Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund.