Six weeks after hearing local bands wanted to raise money for a mutual aid fund supporting Columbia Heights residents affected by Operation Metro Surge, Rail Werks Brewing owner Denise Roberts helped organize a benefit concert at the brewery.
The April 4 event, dubbed Heights Aid, featured performances by Purgatory Creek, Dean, Mick and Carla, TW and the Dustbowl Daisies, and Plumstar.
Proceeds were set to benefit the GoFundMe campaign “Support Local Columbia Heights Families.”
As of April 3, the GoFundMe had raised $552,739 toward a $750,000 goal. Organizer Brenna Zeimet wrote on the page that the fund had helped more than 400 families with rent and provided more than 1,000 grocery trips for neighbors in the area.
Operation Metro Surge was a federal immigration-enforcement operation in Minnesota. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said the effort targeted undocumented immigrants, including people it identified as violent offenders, and described it as a public-safety operation. Local officials in Columbia Heights and other cities, meanwhile, said the operation disrupted businesses, strained city resources and undermined trust in law enforcement.
“When we opened our business, the whole point was to create a space for the community,” Roberts said. “And we have discovered that that is exactly what we are for Columbia Heights. They have come to know us as a safe space.”
Rail Werks has been in Columbia Heights for two years, with the Roberts family having been in the city for 30 years, and has hosted other fundraisers in the wake of the operation, including one for Columbia Academy. Roberts said the effort was meant to give back as people slowly began returning to local businesses.
Roberts said the atmosphere in Columbia Heights had been frightening, with people being taken from their vehicles and others who were usually active in the community staying inside their homes. She said one sign of change came when a restaurant at the south end of a nearby strip mall with a nightclub scene had a full parking lot for the first time since early January.
“We’ve even had people coming into our business that said, I haven’t been out of my house in three months,” Roberts said. “And this has all happened within the last three weeks.”
“It’s nice that people can kind of let loose a little bit and have some fun again,” Roberts said.
C Balta, drummer for Plumstar, described the band’s sound as psychedelic country rock, with influences including MJ Lenderman. Balta, who moved to Columbia Heights eight years ago, said the event gave local musicians a chance to support neighbors affected by the operation.
“We had a few shows that we were really excited about in January and February,” Balta said. “But just due to everything, I couldn’t play a show. I just wasn’t in a place, and other bands as well were just like … there’s other really important things we need to be doing right now.”
Plumstar’s first show after the operation was a February mutual aid benefit at the North Minneapolis Pet Resource Center after the band canceled three shows, Balta said. Balta added that many local bands spent January through March raising money for the cause at shows, while others canceled performances outright as priorities shifted.
“I also feel like at this point, playing music, I just want all the proceeds and everything to just go to our neighbors who have had their lives impacted,” Balta said. “It feels like the only thing to really be doing right now.”