There's a new music venue in town where we won't have to worry about local residents complaining about the volume.
It's a music venue where mentions of "the dead" probably aren't references to Jerry Garcia's old band.
And just like First Avenue, it's a music venue where Tiny Tim's name is written somewhere on a facade.
The venue in question is none other than Lakewood Cemetery Memorial Chapel. The historic and ornate mini-cathedral — located on the grounds of Minneapolis' most prestigious graveyard — has announced details of a new monthly series, Music in the Chapel, featuring acts you'd typically see in rock clubs, not among tombstones.
"We simply think it's a good way for people to come in and enjoy this beautiful setting," boasted Lakewood Cemetery president Rob Gjerde, whose grounds include the graves of Vice President Hubert Humphrey, Sen. Paul Wellstone and — yep! — "Tip Toe Through the Tulips" singer Tiny Tim.
The series kicks off April 8 with all-women vocal group the Anonymous Choir, which specializes in reinventing rock, soul and folk tunes from the likes of Leonard Cohen, Neil Young and the Stax Records rosters. Future gigs include David Huckfelt of the cult-loved folk-rock band the Pines on May 6 and the alt-twangy harmony duo Dusty Heart on June 10. More shows will likely follow if all goes well, with jazz and gospel acts also in the mix.
Live music amid burial grounds is not an entirely new idea. Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Hollywood, Calif., has famously become one of the city's most popular concert sites over the past decade after performances by Lana del Rey, the Flaming Lips, Sufjan Stevens and many others.
In Minneapolis, the historic Pioneers & Soldiers Memorial Cemetery has hosted movie screenings and concerts by local indie-rock darlings Low and Jeremy Messersmith. Those events doubled as fundraisers to help preserve the Pioneers & Soldiers grounds.
