Walker Art Center Presents Summer Music & Movies Series Sultry Nights: The Sounds of the City and the Films of Douglas Sirk

Summer Music & Movies

, the Walker Art Center and the Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board’s popular annual series of free concerts and film screenings in Loring Park, celebrates its 31st year with

Sultry Nights: The Sounds of the City and the Films of Douglas Sirk,

Mondays, July 16–August 20. The lush 1950s Hollywood films of director Douglas Sirk document the public’s growing discontent with the social conventions of the time. He was drawn to stories in which the characters struggle to claim their rights to live as they’d like, often flying in the face of disapproving, nosy neighbors, friends, and family. Sirk illustrated the strength it takes to rise above the harpies who blindly enforce society’s empty morality. The films included in this year’s series include All That Heaven Allows (July 16), There’s Always Tomorrow (July 23), The Tarnished Angels (July 30), Written on the Wind (August 6), Imitation of Life (August 13), and Magnificent Obsession (August 20).

The films will be paired with a diverse selection of international and local bands, highlighted by the electro-pop of London’s Metronomy (August 6), whose distinctive sound fuses melodica, accordion, guitar, and found sounds, and Andy Palacio and the Garifuna Collective (August 20), who bring the gentle, breezy sounds of Belize to Loring Park via a gorgeous swirl of Afropop, pan-Caribbean beats, and reggae. Other musical performers include the trance-inducing vibe of Black Blondie (July 16); the infectious, keenly lyrical rock of The Plastic Constellations (July 23); the country-punk sounds of The Knotwells (July 30); and Robert Skoro (August 13), one of the Twin Cities’ most resonant singer/songwriters. Local notables spin music between the bands and films.

In case of rain, events are canceled unless otherwise noted. For more information, call 612.375.7600.

Summer Music & Movies is copresented by the Walker Art Center and the Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board. Summer Music & Movies is sponsored by Lunds. Promotional partners City Pages and Cities 97.

SUMMER MUSIC & MOVIES

SULTRY NIGHTS: THE SOUNDS OF THE CITY AND THE FILMS OF DOUGLAS SIRK
MONDAYS, JULY 16–AUGUST 20
LORING PARK, FREE
MUSIC BEGINS AT 7 PM; FILMS BEGIN AT DUSK (APPROX. 8:45 PM)

Monday, July 16

Music: Black Blondie
Lay the evening low with the trance-inducing vibe of Black Blondie—a sweet and sultry stew of hip-hop, soul, trip-hop, and dub. Featuring vocalist Samahra Linton, plus instrumentalists Tasha Baron (formerly of Heiruspecs), Liz Draper, and Kahlil Brewington,” a Black Blondie set works like a hunk of resin incense; it heats up, begins to smolder, and then really starts to smoke” (City Pages).

DJ: Sarah Askari

Movie: All That Heaven Allows
Directed by Douglas Sirk
A love that defies age and class differences is central in the Sirk film that inspired Todd Haynes’ Far from Heaven. Trapped in her sterile suburban home, matronly widow Cary (Jane Wyman) falls for her strapping gardener, Ron (Rock Hudson), much to the chagrin of her children and friends. Shocked by her choice of a much younger and poorer companion, they scheme to break up the couple. 1955, color, 89 minutes.

Monday, July 23

Music: The Plastic Constellations
Heavy and heady, fierce and fun—the lads of TPC play infectious, keenly lyrical rock that blazes, squirms, and churns with rhythmic intensity, anthemic melodies, and urgent hooks. Together since Hopkins High, TPC has been compared to Fugazi, the Minutemen, Foo Fighters, Foghat . . . you name it. Their fist-pumping sound orbits bits of all rock: post-hardcore, indie, emo, math, everything rock. Their legendary live shows prompted Slug of Atmosphere to state: “This city is not big enough to hold their energy.”

DJ: Brandt Williams

Movie: There’s Always Tomorrow
Directed by Douglas Sirk
Having sacrificed his dreams to the responsibilities of home and family, Clifford (Fred MacMurray) finds solace in his rekindled friendship with Norma (Barbara Stanwyk), who has just moved back to town. She provides the attention he’s missing from his wife and children, but their unconventional relationship raises eyebrows and suspicion among the local gossips. 1956, BW, 84 minutes.

Monday, July 30

Music: The Knotwells
Country+Punk+Bluegrass+Gypsy. Not enough? Mix it all with sideshow theatrics, frenetic melodies, and chaotic charisma and you have the hoedown throwdown of the summer by these beloved West Bank dance party punks. The Knotwells’ extremely danceable yet satisfyingly dark circus of sounds charges with abandon from old school country to murder ballads to Appalachian folk, all with a touch of mania.

DJ: Holly Day

Movie: The Tarnished Angels
Directed by Douglas Sirk
Based on William Faulkner’s novel Pylon, Sirk’s adaptation stars Rock Hudson as feisty journalist Burke Devlin. While reporting on tough-as-nails barnstorming pilot Roger (Robert Stack), Devlin falls for Roger’s gorgeous wife (Dorothy Malone), who already has her eye on another man. 1958, BW, 91 minutes.

Monday, August 6*

Music: Metronomy
Brilliant! Brit electro-pop hits Loring Park. London’s Justin Mount, aka Metronomy, has been causing a considerable stir. Feted by everyone from Bright Eyes to Franz Ferdinand to Gorillaz (all of whom he has remixed), Metronomy’s live shows feature his band, which “will blow your wig off” (Losingtoday). Citing influences such as Devo, Kraftwerk, and Zappa, Metronomy’s distinctive sound fuses melodica, accordion, guitar, and found sounds into a disarming and charming mash-up of Krautrock, dancehall, polka, pop, and folk.

DJ: Thomas Kwong

Movie: Written on the Wind
Directed by Douglas Sirk
Proving that money doesn’t buy happiness, Sirk’s baroque masterpiece follows the decline of spoiled sibling millionaires Kyle and Marylee (Robert Stack and Dorothy Malone). Kyle’s wife (Lauren Bacall) and his friend Mitch (Rock Hudson) grow closer as they find themselves cleaning up the messes left by the decadent brats. The familial tension becomes unbearable as Stack and Malone slip deeper into a booze-fueled frenzy and embarrassing promiscuity. 1956, color, 99 minutes.

*Please Note: In case of rain, this event will be moved to the Walker Cinema. Seating is first come, first served.

Monday, August 13

Music: Robert Skoro
Robert Skoro first shone as bass player for Mason Jennings and has since become one of the Twin Cities’ most resonant singer/songwriters, whose ingeniously orchestrated pop songs sparkle with a natural sense of melody and pace. “If you’re partial to the idiosyncratically sculpted strains of the Shins and Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy, you may well fall in love with Minneapolis’ troubadour Skoro” (Guitar Magazine). His band features Andy Thompson (Dan Wilson, Mike Doughty), Bill Mike, Adrian Suarez (Vicious Vicious), and James Buckley (Mystery Palace).

DJ: Sean Smuda

Movie: Imitation of Life
Directed by Douglas Sirk
One of Sirk’s biggest hits follows the shallowness of success and emptiness of keeping up appearances. Hungry for success, aspiring actress Lora Meredith (Lana Turner) spends more time on her career than raising her daughter (Sandra Dee). Her devoted African American housekeeper (Juanita Moore) moves in to help, but she has her own troubles with a daughter who is passing as white. 1959, color, 125 minutes.

Monday, August 20*

Music: Andy Palacio and the Garifuna Collective
Find the breezy sounds of Belize in Loring Park. A gentle, gorgeous swirl of Afropop, pan-Caribbean beats, and reggae, the sound bubbles with undulating guitar, polyrhythmic hand-drumming, and the singing of Palacio, who “is blessed like the reggae mystics with the kind of deep, soulful voice that the ancestors select to convey their wisdom” (Boston Globe). This nine-member, multigenerational ensemble preserves the traditional rhythms and culture of their ethnic community, the Garifuna, whose members descend from shipwrecked slaves.

DJ: Bill Kubeczko

Movie: Magnificent Obsession
Directed by Douglas Sirk
In this classic film demonstrating the act of selfless sacrifice, Bob Merrick (Rock Hudson) is a millionaire playboy whose life is saved in the hospital over that of a beloved doctor because the necessary medical equipment is only available to Merrick. While trying to make amends for his arrogance and to assuage his guilt, he alienates the doctor’s widow (Jane Wyman) with his largesse. She teaches him how to gain her respect through her late husband’s philosophy of giving anonymously and often. He takes this lesson to heart as he tries to win her love. 1954, color, 108 minutes.

*Please Note: In case of rain, this event will be moved to the Walker Cinema. Seating is first come, first served.