Last weekend, the Minnesota Yacht Club brought in roughly 60,000 people for the first music festival at Harriet Island in St. Paul since 2012.
The festival had a stacked lineup featuring big-name headliners Gwen Stefani, Alanis Morissette and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. The inaugural festival also booked big local acts Soul Asylum and Hippo Campus, along with up-and-coming Minnesota bands Durry, Gully Boys and Bugsy.
With festivals like Rock the Garden and Soundset ceasing operations in recent years, there has been a drought of large music festivals in the Twin Cities. But it appears the demand is finally being met by the Minnesota Yacht Club, with plans already in place to hold the festival again next year.
With a wonderful view of the Mississippi River and the Wabasha Street Bridge, Harriet Island feels like a no-brainer location choice for a music festival of this size. The scenic view provided a relaxed summer atmosphere as the performances went on into the night.
On the festival’s opening day, Harriet Island was packed to the brim with thousands of concertgoers before sundown. Gwen Stefani put on a remarkably high-energy, hour-plus-long performance featuring her solo hits, iconic songs by No Doubt and even an on-stage duet with her husband Blake Shelton. The night ended with headliner Alanis Morissette, who performed nearly the entirety of her classic 1995 album “Jagged Little Pill.”
Anna Adamson, 19, attended the festival with her mom specifically to see Alanis Morrissette’s appearance, as they were able to get tickets the day of the festival.
“She’s a big Alanis Morissette fan, and so that’s her favorite,” Adamson said. “I grew up listening to that with her and we were there for her for sure.”
Adamson said while the festival line-up felt like it was catered towards Generation X, the festival brought out a multi-generational crowd.
“It was definitely like a family event,” Adamson said. “You could just see a lot of different generations there, which is really cool to see.”
Sam Lee and Olivia Kanzler, both 23, attended the first day of the festival together to catch performances from The Head and The Heart, Gwen Stefani and Alanis Morisette.
“The setup was well thought-out, the music was great and the atmosphere was amazing,” Lee said. “The only thing we thought could use improvement was the food and refreshment lines. They were very long for a good portion of the day.”
The festival had a plethora of local vendors including Bennett’s Chop and Railhouse, Roon’s Savory Cones, Surly Brewing Company and more.
Unfortunately, by the time the headliners took to the stage, the food and drink lines were very long, moving at a snail’s pace. With a large festival like this, it is to be expected that lines for concessions will be long, but it appears Minnesota Yacht Club underestimated how many vendors they needed for the weekend.
Adamson said the wait for food and drinks was a drawback of the festival experience.
“I did have a really good night because the music was great, but the food situation was definitely frustrating,” Adamson said. “They needed almost double the amount of food vendors they had.”
Aside from the food and drink lines, Minnesota Yacht Club went smoothly over its two-day run. With the festival’s debut weekend behind them, the organizers will hopefully figure out how to make the festival even better next year.
While the festival was not quite perfect, it was still fun. Any Twin Cities residents who enjoy huge, outdoor music festivals should keep an eye out for details for next year’s Minnesota Yacht Club festival.