The Forbidden Fruit: Fundraiser for Sacred Heart Music Center in Duluth originally aired on January 30, 2021. We got a chance to talk to Nick Muska about the event, about the Sacred Heart and about the big news with his band One Less Guest.
The story of the fundraiser sounds like a Little House on the Prairie plot line – in the best way. Sacred Heart is a gorgeous church in Duluth built in 1896; it’s now a music center. It is a place of community. Ursa Minor is a newish brewery in Duluth. The morning One Less Guest was set to play at the brewery, but there was a fire. So local bands rallied and had a fundraiser. Ursa Minor approached Nick about creating a beer with the band. They created Forbidden Fruit and wanted to make it a fundraiser – but weren’t sure who would be a good recipient. They heard about a second(!) break in at Sacred Heart and knew immediately they had a beneficiary.
The beer spurred the idea for the fundraising event and it snowballed into something really big and successful. They got sponsorship from 17 local establishments – during a pandemic! They got several local performers: Salty Dogs, Laura Velvet, One Less Guest and emcee Mark Nicklawske. They selected full bands over soloist and couples because it’s been harder for bigger bands to play during the pandemic. Local tech crews helped and it all came together. They wanted to raise $20,000; today the have almost $21,000 – but a big church building like Sacred Heart, which lost it’s revenue stream due to pandemic, can use more. You can help keep the doors open with a donation or buying a t-shirt in red of green or buying the Forbidden Fruit beer. (I’ll paste a list of shops at the bottom of this page.)
Here’s the event:
The bonus conversation about One Less Guest is like a Little House mini version. The band has been playing together for 6 years. Many members are from Minnesota. The drummer is from California. Sadly he lost his mother just over a year ago. A month ago he came to practice and told his bandmates that he had to go home. But instead of quitting, he invited them to come along. The had a think on it and just today announced that, yes indeed, the whole band is moving to California in May. We wish them luck. They have some online (Feb 20) and live shows in the hopper before they go!
Places to get Forbidden Fruit beer:
- 27 Liquor – Duluth, MN
- Mount Royal Bottle Shoppe – Duluth, MN
- Super One Liquor West Duluth – Duluth, MN
- Super One Liquor Pike Lake – Duluth, MN
- Super One Liquor Cloquet – Cloquet, MN
- George’s Liquor – Duluth, MN
- Lake Aire Bottle Shoppe – Duluth, MN
- Cold One Liquors – Cloquet, MN
- Lakeside Liquors – Duluth, MN
- Big Bottle Liquor Store – Duluth, MN
- Boondocks Saloon and Grill – Duluth, MN
- Island Lake Inn – Duluth, MN
- Mike’s Drive-In Liquor – Ely, MN
- Lakeshore Liquor – Ely, MN
- Super One Liquor Hibbing – Hibbing, MN
- Super One Liquor Grand Rapids – Grand Rapids, MN
- Two Harbors Municipal Liquor Store – Two Harbors, MN
- Elevated Beer Wine & Spirits – White Bear Lake, MN
- Top Ten Liquors – Andover, MN
Mostly Minnesota 