Except for a big band that jumped ship at the last minute, it was smooth sailing Friday on the first day of the new Minnesota Yacht Club Festival at Harriet Island Regional Park in St. Paul.
The Yacht Club Festival, which runs Saturday, is the first major rock and pop festival on Harriet Island since Live Nation’s River’s Edge Music Festival in 2012. Despite the St. Paul concert promoter’s promise of a five-year commitment, the giant lost enough money to convince it to pull out after one year.
Live Nation owns 51% of the yacht club organizer C3 Presents, an Austin, Texas-based company that also runs the Austin City Limits music festival, the Voodoo Music + Arts Experience festival, and the contemporary Lollapalooza festival. But Live Nation appears to be letting C3 follow its own path.
Some concertgoers complained about the food and drink prices and the long lines, but in terms of access, infrastructure and overall atmosphere, C3’s expertise in putting on festivals became clear by late Friday afternoon, when Joan Jett and the Blackhearts performed an hour-long set to a large crowd of smiling, dancing people. (Organizers haven’t announced attendance figures, but say they expect more than 30,000 people on both days.)
On Thursday, the Yacht Club’s social media announced that reunited Southern rock band the Black Crowes had pulled out of their scheduled 8 p.m. Friday night gig due to a “band illness.” (The Crowes did not address their absence online, however.) Rather than draft in a last-minute replacement, the festival rescheduled the schedule, giving several bands more stage time. Local band Durry was pushed back nearly two hours to a set that started at 5:40, while Seattle indie-folk band Head and the Heart moved to their planned 8 p.m. slot.
Local favourites Gully Boys opened the festival at 1pm on the main stage, followed by local act Harbor and Home on the smaller stage. From that point on, the acts alternated between the two stages, with only minutes between bands.
Country stalwarts Morgan Weed and Michigan indie rockers paved the way for Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, who earned cheers for their hits “Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah),” “I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll,” “Crimson and Clover” and “Everyday People” as well as the band’s originals “I Hate Myself for Loving You” and “Bad Reputation.” They also covered the Replacements’ “Androgynous,” with Jett paying tribute to the late Minneapolis band and their frontman Paul Westerberg.
St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter took the stage before Gwen Stefani’s performance and asked the audience to applaud the police and other city workers who helped put on the festival. He also suggested the festival return for a second year in 2025.
Stefani — who was promoted to headline the show alongside Friday’s finale act Alanis Morissette and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, who were Saturday’s main draw — performed with dancers and a video that sounded like it was louder than previous bands. She told the audience that her brother-in-law is from Minnesota, so that makes her a bit of a local. She then called on her husband, former “The Voice” coach Blake Shelton, to sing their current hit, “Purple Irises.”
It’s been nearly 18 years since her last hit single, but Stefani has remained in the spotlight thanks to her high-profile husband and the semi-regular duet of singles they’ve released over the past eight years. Stefani and her band No Doubt reunited in April to headline Coachella to much acclaim, but they have yet to announce any future plans together. Whatever happens, Friday’s crowd — which was heavy on older millennials and Gen Xers with a smattering of baby boomers — gave Stefani a warm welcome, fitting for the perfect summer weather that graced the festival on Friday.
The Minnesota Yacht Club Festival wraps up Saturday with a concert featuring Soul Asylum, Hippo Campus, Trombone Shorty, Orleans Avenue, Hold Steady, Gary Clark Jr., Offspring and Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Originally published:
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