Low cofounder Mimi Parker has died
by Reed Fischer
November 06, 2022
Mimi Parker of Low has died, according to social media updates by the band. She was 55. Parker, who co-founded the Duluth-based rock group with husband Alan Sparhawk, was diagnosed with ovarian cancer two years ago. Since then, Low had cut back on live performances and Parker received treatment.
An update posted Sunday morning reads: “Friends, it’s hard to put the universe into language and into a short message, but She passed away last night, surrounded by family and love, including yours. Keep her name close and sacred. Share this moment with someone who needs you. Love is indeed the most important thing.”
In June, Low performed at Rock the Garden in Minneapolis, and curated the event’s second stage. In early September, their final listed performance was taking part in the Water Is Life concert in Duluth. These shows brought out highlights from the band’s acclaimed 13th album, HEY WHAT, which was released in 2021.
Parker and Sparhawk were the constant, essential elements of Low’s magic throughout the band’s entire run. They gained an early reputation for slow, meditative songs that evoked the peace and stillness of winter, but continued to evolve creatively.
They gradually turned up the volume and embraced a rock sound on 2005’s The Great Destroyer, and Led Zeppelin vocalist Robert Plant covered “Silver Rider” from that album on his Band of Joy release. Low teamed up with Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy for The Invisible Way in 2013, and leaned into Americana sounds on that collection.
The melodies created by their vocal harmonies could be calming at times, but menacing in others. While Parker is featured as lead vocalist on fewer songs in the band’s catalog, she owned every note, every phrase, every tiny detail. A magical cover of the Rihanna hit “Stay” showed their willingness and ability to take on any song that moved them.
Low’s omnipresent artistic verve entered yet another new phase with 2018’s Double Negative and HEY WHAT. Both albums found beauty in jagged, manipulated sounds, and hold as high watermarks in a career of embracing possibility.
As drummer, Parker was also the rhythmic pulse of Low, and applied a wide spectrum of percussive expression to the band’s ever-changing identity. Her judicious playing holds together the softest and roughest moments of the band’s work.
Parker spoke in-depth about her journey with ovarian cancer in January 2021 on Sheroes Radio: “Our time can be cut short, and what do we do with that time that we have? We try to make each day mean something, or you try to accomplish something, you try to make a connection with your kids, with your family. And the fact that [HEY WHAT] came out during the middle of this was so affirming and so positive for me. It was something that we worked really hard on. It was Alan and myself for the first time. We were a duo at this point. … It’s been a hell of a journey. I don’t know if I have any words of wisdom at this point, but this life is crazy.”
Update (11/7/22):
Low has announced a memorial service in Mimi Parker’s honor, “All are welcome and we indeed invite you.” It will take place Thursday, November 10, at 1 p.m. at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 521 Upham Road, Duluth. (218) 722-0092
