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Low, Zoo Animal playing Pioneers and Soldiers Cemetery this summer

by Andrea Swensson

March 14, 2012

In addition for being the inspiration for Jeremy Messersmith's morbid-chic pop album The Reluctant Graveyard back in 2010, the Pioneers and Soldiers Cemetery in South Minneapolis is also one of Minnesota's 10 Most Endangered Places. Messersmith himself performed a benefit concert for the cemetery last summer with Lucy Michelle and the Velvet Lapelles, and the event was such a success that their bringing it back for a second go-round this June. The graveyard has also been featured in music videos like the one Solid Gold created for the latest installment of the Minnesota Beatle Project, making it likely the most famous cemetery in the Minnesota music scene -- a strange concept unto itself. 

This time around, Duluth slowcore trio Low will headline the cemetery with support from Zoo Animal, and the two groups should have no problem setting a morose, dirge-like tone for the afternoon. A press release promises that the setting will provide a "unique and reflective background" for Low's music in particular. Tickets are already on sale at several local record stores and via the organizers' website, friendsofthecemetery.org; proceeds will go toward funding restoration projects that are already in progress at the cemetery.

 

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