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Arts & Entertainment

Hot Time in the Old Graveyard

Tunes from the Tombs is a first-time event with 100 musical acts this weekend at Oakland Cemetery

There are so many bands — some 100 musical acts — performing this weekend in Oakland Cemetery that folks have been asking whether the Grateful Dead could be playing on one of the five main stages.

“The grateful dead won’t be playing, but they’ll be here,” said David S. Moore, director of Historic Oakland Foundation, which oversees the famous cemetery.

Moore was just being lighthearted about the 70,000 souls buried in the that borders Cabbagetown and Grant Park.

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“Tunes from the Tombs: A Weekend of Music and Spirits” to benefit the cemetery, is continuous from 11am until dusk both Saturday and Sunday in the cemetery. Adults will pay $10 for a one-day pass, or $15 to attend both days of the festival. Proceeds will go toward ongoing preservation of and restoration to the graveyard that strives to be an “island of tranquility in the heart of the city,” according to the Oakland Foundation’s mission statement.

The music bill befits the restful setting: no heavy metal or raucous rock. But the lineup, with an “Americana” theme, is still eclectic: from light rock to jazz, from classical to folk — and plenty more. Musicians and bands are coming in from as far away as Los Angeles (Kip Boardman), Pittsburgh (Nik and the Central Plains as well as Boca Chica), and New Orleans (several groups from The Big Easy, including Morella and the Wheels of If).

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Whether you prefer the twangs of bluegrass, the natural tones of acoustic, or something else, there should be a live-music area where you can plop down your blanket or low-set lawn chair and enjoy. Patrons may bring in their own picnic foods, but no coolers or outside alcohol is allowed. Beer, wine and soft drinks will be sold on the premises. There also will be food and treats sold by a few select vendors including Six Feet Under, Hottie Hawgs Smokin’ BBQ and Pallookaville  gourmet corn dogs. (Learn all about Jim Stacy’s handmade Pallookaville corn dogs here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1f2wIAVDFEA).

Musical high points should include Inman Park’s own Blacktop Rockets; the Cabbagetown-based Slim Chance and the Convicts; The Husseins (Reynoldstown);  Tiger! Tiger! (Grant Park); The Clap (Old Fourth Ward); Grape Soda (Athens); and Nashville singer Julie Gribble (a rising star with Atlanta local roots). Just some of the Atlanta groups performing amid the graves this weekend: Predator; The Dark Owls; The Drexlers; The Coathangers; and Alick Gerard and the Dixie Ltd. (shades of Hank Williams).

Heads up, everyone: A super secret special guest is slated for 1:20pm Saturday on the Lower 40/Pretty Ambitious stage. (Now sing: Who can it be, now?!) The chart-climbing Black Lillies (Knoxville) will play at 3:30pm Saturday on the Georgia Music Magazine Stage in the cemetery’s “Lion Square.”

There’ll be a trip down Memory Lane for fans of Smoke, the old Southern-gothic band out of Cabbagetown that disbanded years ago after the death of lead singer Robert Dickerson, known to fans as “Benjamin.” Bill Taft and other original Smoke members now appear only occasionally under the name Smoke That City; they play at 5pm Saturday on the 1690am “The Voice of the Arts” stage. Dickerson will surely “be with them in spirit,” said Pete Knapp, the local music promoter hired by the cemetery to book the talent for Tunes from the Tombs.

If you opt to head over to Oakland Cemetery straight from church, here’s something apropos: the Atlanta Sacred Harp Singers will perform at 2:30pm Sunday on the CMC Atlanta Stage at “Out in the Rain” Fountain.

The full musical schedule for the weekend can be found at http://oaklandcemetery.com/tunes.html.

Music man Knapp calls Tunes from the Tombs “the music festival Atlanta has been waiting for. It’s a celebration of a beloved landmark, a celebration of local music, and it's the only event I can think of that encapsulates the diversity and spirit of Atlanta — just as Oakland Cemetery does. I can think of no other festival that better embodies Atlanta's symbol, the phoenix.  We’ll honor those who have gone before us in song, and venerate their memory as we pay homage to the cycle of life. We'll create new memories for ourselves as we pay reverence to those Atlantans who have gone before us.”

Founded in 1850, Oakland Cemetery is the burial site of many luminaries, including “Gone With the Wind” author Margaret Mitchell and Georgia golf legend Bobby Jones (fans continue to leave golf tees and balls at his grave). Former Atlanta mayor Maynard Jackson is buried here. And this is also the final resting place of 6,900 Civil War soldiers; about 3,900 of them are in marked graves and the others are unknown.

In addition to shows on the five main “natural” stage areas this weekend, buskers will set up near tombstones and mausoleums throughout the grounds to entertain patrons (think of street musicians or those who play in the New York subways). These will be the likes of The Banjo Ninja (Philip Roebuck from Norfolk, Va.), and locals such as Cabbagetown guitarist Blake Rainey (Young Antiques’ frontman); The Gentlemen Broncos (Atlanta); Larkin Taylor-Parker on his tuba (Decatur); and bagpiper Henry Frantz with drummer-wife Fran Frantz (Decatur).

Parking around the cemetery is extremely limited — only found on some side streets in surrounding neighborhoods. Organizers urge attendees to take MARTA; the cemetery is just a five-minute walk from the Martin Luther King Jr., station on the east-west line (two stops eastbound from downtown’s central Five Points station).  Another great way to reach this fest is on your bike. Mary Woodlan, director of special events for Oakland Cemetery, has helped line up the services of the Atlanta Bicycle Coalition which will offer “free valet service for all bikes."

Oakland Cemetery’s popular old-fashioned “Sunday in the Park” event every October draws up to 6,000 and director Moore hopes to match that figure during the course of the two-day music festival. But this is a first-time event, so Moore said they are not yet ready to set monetary goals for the fundraiser. The hope is that this first fest will prove a smash success and “Tunes from the Tombs” will become an annual event we look forward to every spring henceforth.

One thing we can be pretty sure of this weekend: A whole lot of spirits are gonna be tapping their bony little toes.

If you go: Tunes from the Tombs: A Weekend of Music and Spirits Benefiting Historic Oakland Cemetery, 11am until dusk, Saturday and Sunday on the cemetery grounds, 248 Oakland Ave., Atlanta, GA 30312. Tickets purchased at the gates: $10 for one day or $15 for a two-day pass. Children 12 and under will be charged $5, or $10 for a two- day pass. For more information about donations, tours, events, and other ways to support Oakland, visit www.oaklandcemetery.com.

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