Well guys, the first festival of festival season is in the books and I can honestly say it was a shining success. The first year of a festival always has some bumps and bruises along the way, and the inaugural Minnesota Yacht Club was no exception, but other than slight bumps and minor scratches, this festival was perfectly curated and so beautifully run. Instead of being a Debbie-Downer and telling you about those bumps, bruises, and scratches, I have ten amazing acts to tell you about, so let’s hop into it.
The day started off with Nico Vega. Unfortunately, technical difficulties plagued the beginning of this opener’s set to the point where they only spent about fifteen minutes playing for the audience. This was a bummer because I really liked their unique indie-rock sound when they finally got things together and started. Vocalist Aja Volkman has a super cool and distinct voice that definitely caught my attention, but with only a handful of songs and a long day to come, I mentally did not give this band the attention they probably deserved from me.
Bugsy, one of the four local (or local-adjacent) acts to perform on Saturday, was the first band to take the larger ‘Skipper Stage.’ Bugsy’s unique sound definitely caught the audience. I was smiling from ear to ear as I saw people literally gravitate towards this stage purely because of the powerful and unique sound that Bugsy has. All of the local bands to take the stage throughout the weekend did a great job of ensuring people know that the Twin Cities has a killer local music scene and Bugsy is no exception.
Tulsa, Oklahoma-based Wilderado was up next and treated the growing audience to their chill yet lively folk-rock sounds. Their sound fit the atmosphere of the day perfectly. It was music that made you want to dance but also gave you a chance to just sit and bake in the relentless sun.
Who doesn’t love Soul Asylum? I mean, come on. Although I have seen this legendary band multiple times, it never gets old, and they kept me feeling excited about their sound and performance as I watched them for the umpteenth time on Saturday. I loved how, even after all of these years, it was clear that this band has had some lasting power with their fans as everyone around me sang along to every word of their set.
What happened next was easily one of my favorite sets of the weekend. I have never seen Trombone Shorty, but after his bombastic performance on Saturday with this truly flawless band, all I want to do is see him perform again. Even though we were hitting peak sun and heat levels for the day, Trombone Shorty and his band paraded around the stage carrying their horns like they weren’t about to melt into the stage. Add his celebratory New Orleans feeling style, and you were left with a set that had literally thousands of people with their jaws on the ground and a pep in their step.
The final local[adjacent] act was The Hold Steady. I know that this band has roots in the local scene and that you aren’t truly in the local scene unless you worship vocalist Craig Finn, but the band actually got their start in Brooklyn, NY, so it’s not fair to call this a super local band. That said, The Hold Steady had their devout cult-like following in tow on Saturday, which made the energy radiating from the stage infectious. Hold Steady’s good old-fashioned rock sound was the perfect lead-up for what was to come next.
Oh, The Offspring. Where do I start with this band? We all have our Offspring story of when we first heard this band or when we first saw them perform. All of those stories came together as they took the stage on Saturday night and acted a bit like the great equalizer of the festival. At festivals, you start to see the same people over and over again. It’s weird, but people have patterns when at a musical festival, and because of this, I started to notice what certain people were into and what they weren’t getting super hooked by. When The Offspring started, everyone was singing along to their iconic skate-punk songs with passion and fury. Although I knew The Offspring would kill it (which they did), I didn’t see this being the band that brought the entire audience together in some strange but beautiful way.
Gary Clark Jr. absolutely killed his set with a sense of passion and beauty but, unfortunately, I feel like his placement on this festival gave him an uphill battle to keep everyone’s attention. After the angsty set from The Offspring and before the closing and explosive set from Red Hot Chili Peppers, Gary Clark Jr. just felt a bit too light and a bit too chill. That being said, Gary and his band had me hanging on their every word, every note, and it was a truly shining set of the day.
The almighty Red Hot Chili Peppers was the final act to grace the stage at the Minnesota Yacht Club Festival. Obviously, they killed it, but you didn’t need to come to this blog to know that. This band has been at the top of their game for decades, and their performance on Saturday showed that they aren’t going anywhere. From jammy moments where the band seemed to be genuinely loving their time on stage to a few jokes here and there that both landed and didn’t, Red Hot Chili Peppers did a great job of giving us a larger-then-life performance while also somehow making it feel like an intimate evening.
No festival is without its fault. I felt that there could have been more water-filling stations, the bathrooms could have been spread out a wee bit throughout the grounds, and that food should have been more scattered rather than all corralled into a space that was less than easy to get to as the crowds grew. I think that parking was a bit of a pain and that maybe the space needed to be a bit bigger in general, but overall, this first year of the Minnesota Yacht Club Festival was a huge success, and I truly hope to see if I come back next year. If it does, I hope to see you there!
