Area residents continue to fight like hell to save the old Victoria Theater building in St. Paul, MN.
Once a silent movie house, the building also housed The Victoria Cafe, whose house orchestra recorded the very amusing and very strange record, "Moonshiner's Dance, Part One."
"Moonshiner" was included on Harry Smith's influential Anthology of American Folk Music, where it is essentially the sole northern recording among the Anthology's 84 selections — a single northern star in a vast southern constellation.
To support the effort to save this utterly singular cultural landmark, a benefit will be held on Friday, Dec. 11, at the Paul & Sheila Wellstone Center. (map)
Please attend, and become part of the amazing history of this building.
Just duck in and say hello — or stay for the duration, hear some great music, and meet the many folks involved saving the Victoria. If you can't make it, I think you can go to newvictoriatheatre.org and click "Participate" to donate.
I'll be there. I'd love to meet you, hear your thoughts on Harry Smith's Anthology, historic preservation in St. Paul, and the history of Minnesota music. And let me and the organizers hear your ideas for entertainment at future benefit shows ... personally, I hope this is only the beginning.
I'm thrilled to discover Dakota Dave Hull on the schedule. He's been a true-blue supporter of my research and this blog, not to mention a tireless advocate of the very best in American music. The guy has also invited me to talk about "Moonshiner's Dance" on his brilliant radio show — twice!
Also great is the participation of Lonesome Dan Kase, who I've been seeing perform live for many years now. Truly, seeing Dan Kase perform was a big part of how I learned to stop worrying and love Minnesota.
Many thanks to all the participating artists and to you — I look forward to meeting you!
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