“This combines cemeteries, summer solstice and music: my three favorite things!” It’s not a sentiment many would share, but it was apparently right up the alley of musician and comedian Jessica Delfino. She organized yesterday’s Third Annual Haunted Picnic at the New York Marble Cemetery as part of Make Music New York.

There’s a Secret Garden meets Psycho vibe at the cemetery, which was built in 1831. The marble tombs are underground, leaving an acre of grassy open space (which Board of Trustee member Caroline DuBois said is sometimes used for cocktail parties and even weddings.) Delfino requested that attendees wear white out of respect for the dead, but most hadn’t had the forethought to follow the rule. Instead, older men in khakis, pairs of teens and wizened hippies sprawled on the blankets to enjoy live music. Musicians only played acoustic instruments because the cemetery walls were too fragile for amps. (Attendees, Delfino included, learned the traditional picnic activity of playing catch wasn’t allowed either, for fear a stray ball would hit the surrounding wall.)

Tibbie X and Kenny Young of X-Possibles performed, as did Delfino, who played a rendition of Joni Mitchell’s "Carey." "It has a bit of a hippie feel, but it’s not supposed to be just about that,” Delfino said. “It’s also a cultural event.”