Rock the Garden, Soundset, Outdoor Music Festivals, etc.

[Didier]

I don't think that RTG aspires to be anything more than what it currently is, so I'm not sure what the concern about "momentum" would be.

It would be interesting to see the finances for a festival like this -- to know how much cash The Current & The Walker end up pocketing from it after all the vendors et al. get paid out.

Well it expanded twofold last year. Isn't that momentum?

The show was popular enough that it added an extra day, but it seemed to lose some of its quality.

Obviously this being music people will disagree about the lineup, but the consensus seems to be that last year was underwhelming.

[twincitizen]

Volunteer info:

Unfortunately, we can't tell you who the bands are just yet, but we wanted to give you a heads up regarding the 2015 volunteer recruitment timeline. We will begin general volunteer recruitment early this year on March 11, 2015. This corresponds with the bands being announced on MPR's The Current. With two days of rock on Saturday June 20 and Sunday June 21, we are looking for volunteers to assist at entrances, beer tents, information booths, Eureka green team (and more!) Volunteering both days is welcome and encouraged, but be prepared to volunteer for at least one late shift on either day of the festival.

Orientation is mandatory for this event. We will be hosting two orientations for you to choose from on either Tuesday, June 9 or 16 at 6:30pm. This is a one hour commitment prior to the event.

If you are not available to attend one of the orientations, you are not eligible to volunteer.

On the day you volunteer, you receive free admission into the event (for when you are not volunteering), a free RTG t-shirt, free transportation or parking.

Rock the Garden
Saturday and Sunday June 20 and 21
Walker Art Center
Volunteer Shift Times 1-4:30, 4-7:30, 7-10:30

March 11 is a day to look forward to! We look forward to welcoming you to another year of summer rock.

If you would like to be removed from this list, please email Crystal at [email protected].

[EOst]

What's the best venue though for a larger, centrally located outdoor festival? Harriet Island? (I'd certainly have no issue with that).

The Chipotle festival (whatever it was called) did alright in Loring Park, and they had several stages.

[grant1simons2]

Cultivate. Hoping that comes back this year. It was amazing.

[acs]

It is:

http://chipotlecultivate.com/

If you can get past the fact it's one large advertisement for a food company, its a fantastic day of free music.

[QuietBlue]

They must be pretty happy in Shakopee and/or have a great deal on the site, because I can't understand for the life of me why they haven't relocated Soundset to Harriet Island.

Given how successful Soundset has been where it is now, I'm not sure what they would gain from moving. I think they originally scheduled it there out of necessity, but over the past several years it seems to have found a good home for itself at Canterbury. Plus Harriet Island has its own issues when it comes to hosting things like music festivals.

[seanrichardryan]

It is:

http://chipotlecultivate.com/

If you can get past the fact it's one large advertisement for a food company, its a fantastic day of free music.

Did someone say Tour de Fat?

[billhelm]

I wondering how Eaux Claires fits into the music scene. It's obviously not in MN, but it's pretty damn close. And it got a lot of attention. Probably a little too indie, but it should be an exciting festival.

Not in Minnesota but a short drive away. A lot of people attending from the Twin Cities. Speculation that festivals like it are why MPR/The Walker have pushed up the announcement date for Rock the Garden from previous years. They're competing with more festivals that have already announced lineups so they need to get the info out there sooner.

[twincitizen]

^Yeah that Eaux Claire lineup is pretty Minneapolis-y.

With RTG, I do think they have done a p. good job (most years) of bringing a national act that may have otherwise skipped the Twin Cities or just doesn't get here very often. Without a major outdoor venue a la Red Rocks or Alpine Valley or The Gorge, we do routinely get passed by. From 2010-2012, I thought MGMT, My Morning Jacket, and Hold Steady were good headliners. MMJ is an amazing band that hadn't been here in a while, but they were definitely ill-suited for RTG specifically due to the need to shut it all down at 10pm. MMJ is known for playing hours-long shows, not <90 standard headliner sets. For the Saturday show, they really ought to get permission from the neighborhood and City to go a lil later in the evening. I think the neighbors can put up with it for 1 day. It's not like there are loud amplified concerts there all summer long. This is pretty much the one HUGE outdoor event at the Walker, right?

[Didier]

Any predictions?

[twincitizen]

I'll hazard a few guesses for the national acts: Panda Bear (or full Animal Collective). More likely the former since he just released an album. He's about the right scale for RTG.

Modest Mouse - they sure are playing that new track a lot. It's been more than 10 years since "Float On" so these guys aren't quite the draw they once were. I'd say they're about the right level of popularity for a RTG headliner.

I have no guesses whatsoever on the local acts. It could go anywhere.

We'll find out starting at 9am.

[Didier]

I was actually going to guess Modest Mouse too, but didn't want to say anything in case there was some obvious reason they wouldn't be a good fit. But I was trying to think of bands this weekend and noticed they had a new album and were featured on NPR and, like you said, they are a "name" that is is kind of "old" at this point. So maybe they'd fit.

Then I was listening to the Current for a few minutes this weekend and they played Weezer, and I thought that would be great. But maybe Weezer is too big. But really, Weezer was at its biggest more than a decade ago and has some new music, so maybe they'd be the right fit?

[twincitizen]

Hot Chip would be another "perfect fit" headliner. Just sayin' cuz they've got a new album and The Current is playing 'em right now.

EDIT: At this point I'm just naming bands I'm hearing today, but also bands I like:

Alt-J and Tame Impala would also fit the bill for that headliner, though I suppose either could be "too big" at this point. Also, both are from overseas, so I don't know if that prices them out of RTG or what. Both are veterans of the major festival circuit in recent years.

Built to Spill is like RTG's wheelhouse, but they've already announced a date at Varsity Theater on May 24. Shame.

[Realstreets]

Hot Chip or Panda Bear/Animal Collective would've been awesome.

So far the lineup is looking pretty terrible. Conor Oberst and Lucius.
http://www.thecurrent.org/feature/2015/ ... e-the-date

The Current is playing to their demographic (30-45 yo, Gen X-ers, young parents, Subaru drivers) which unfortunately I don't identify with.

[Didier]

The Current is playing to their demographic (30-45 yo, Gen X-ers, young parents, Subaru drivers) which unfortunately I don't identify with.

Which is funny because the crowd seemed to be more 20-somethings at the three RTGs I've been to.

[Realstreets]

The Current is playing to their demographic (30-45 yo, Gen X-ers, young parents, Subaru drivers) which unfortunately I don't identify with.

Which is funny because the crowd seemed to be more 20-somethings at the three RTGs I've been to.

Yeah I think while younger people are more likely to go to a cheap festival which includes local artists. The more frequent radio listeners as well as financial contributors are the older demographic.

[grant1simons2]

The average listener to public radio in my radio is anyone living in the Wedge or Kenwood. Then again I listen to the current, but I've slowly been switching over to Radio K. I like Conor Oberst though, so he'll be exciting.

[mplsjaromir]

Courtney Barnett is really good. But overall I'm underwhelmed.

[twincitizen]

I used to listen to The Current religiously in my mid-to-late 20s (2008-2012, had free XM radio during the first few yrs of Current's existence) and was vaguely aware of Radio K, but mostly found it too weird / amateur DJs terrible / etc.

As the Current has grown "safer" over the past few years, I've found myself switching to Radio K a whole lot more (or even MPR News, ew!). I may actually terminate my MPR contribution soon ($5/month since maybe '09).

That said, I also have a ~9 minute car commute, so I'm listening for less than 20 minutes total most days. I forget that I can stream music on my PC at work...I don't do that often enough.

Let's not get too crazy with the "underwhelmed" comments yet...we haven't heard either headliner yet!! That said, so far I have the same exact thought as last year - this would be a great lineup for a single day event with multiple stages where you can pick-and-choose. The single-stage thing spread over a whole day kinda blows in general...lots of downtime!

[mattaudio]

I now listen to (and give money to) KBEM, KFAI, etc more than MPR. And I think they need the $ more.