Minnesota Yacht Club, Harriet Island (July 20, 2025)

The final day of the Minnesota Yacht Club Festival, at Harriet Island, in St Paul, was looking to be nearly perfect weather and was certainly the heaviest attended crowd of the festival early in the day.

Landon Conrath

The local Twin Cities artist came out as a quartet (vocals/guitar, guitar, bass, and drums). A speedy opener for the alternative rock band was bright and fun, partly due to Conrath’s pleasant singing. A quick intro (“I live in St. Paul, so my commute was like seven minutes.”), they jumped back in with Debbie Downer, which had a compelling guitar & bass line supporting Conrath’s vocals. Edging toward a punk rock sound on the intro of the next song, the band continued to impress with a pretty mature sound.

The backing band was tight (and included Caleb Dee, who we last saw opening for Krooked Kings in November, 2024), with very solid work, particularly the drummer, who held a good beat while having a slightly unique rhythm he was playing. Conrath described getting his songwriting start during the pandemic and wanting to play festivals, and here he and the band finally were. I loved the sense of awe and gratitude, as the band went into that early song he wrote, Acetone. Good backing vocals and some looped ones (good use of their pedal boards throughout) on the next number. Hollywood was the end of the set, getting going after a bit of a pep talk and intro of the rest of the band. A bit of mis-timing meant they had to cut their final song, but Conrath had done well with his limited time.

Winona Fighter

You Look Like a Drunk Phoebe Bridgers was a blast for an opener, and the band was not messing around. This is the kind of band where a mosh pit or fight might break out at a smaller venue, and the quartet (vocals/guitar, guitar, bass, and drums) might be happy about it. Singer Coco Kinnon was aggressively all over, and the stage set up on day 3 included a new walkway jutting out of the front center, which she took full advantage of. A screamed “Minnesooooota!” was the front end of the band’s intro, where Kinnon mentioned this was the last stop on a tour that started in February. (Given how dull the audience already was, this must have been a great feeling to end the tour on.) That harder punk sound in both music and singing continued shine through. I loved a moment when she pulled enough cord length out for the guitarist to come out on the stage extension and get that adulatory moment with his solo. With the dual backing vocals at times, the band packed a punch. Don’t Get Close was a brand new song, with bassist Austin Luther, a local Minnesotan, getting his back-up vocal moment in front of the home crowd. A Beastie Boys cover of Sabotage was appropriately rowdy and Luther lost his shirt. Kinnon’s commentary was foul and hilarious throughout; “This next song is about a disrespectful b*tch who can’t keep her mouth shut”.

Grace Bowers & The Hodge Podge

The sextet (guitar/backing vocals, vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards, and drums) got started with Bowers impressing with her guitar skills just on the warmup, and a little like Cory Wong from Day 2, the focus was definitely on the music, not lyrics. Bowers went straight into a slashing electric guitar solo mid first song and it was a great mid or technical skill and subtle showmanship. A short intro (unfortunately on reverb mic) stated it was her first time playing here, and then moving into the next song. There was an interesting approach here on the vocals, Bowers either largely had more spoken or narrow vocal range sung moments or was co-singing with the other vocalist. But again, that was all secondary to the guitar work. And the guitar was pretty exquisite, whether more rock & roll or bluesier R&B. The backing band was all super solid, creating a sonic space for Bowers to shine. I did love a moment where the drummer repeatedly flipped his stick on each beat for a while, and you could see all that talent.

A long dual guitar solo mid-set was a real treat, ending with a huge round of applause. Bowers did a nice job leading things during the songs, and did nice with various solos, including a great keyboards one late in the set. Back to the funk, it was a great collaboration between Bowers and the keyboardist. As the set finished up, it was clear that we were witnessing a star on the rise.

Blind Melon

As the band got started, it was nice to hear vocalist Travis Warren sound similar to the late Shannon Hoon, but also singing his own way and not just an imitation. That was a nice intro and it was great to see the band (the first of two to deal with the untimely death of their original lead singer) clearly having a ton of fun in this venue. The quintet (vocals, two guitars, bass, and drums) leaned into that indie 90’s rock sound, but buttressed by life experience. Warren’s vocals over the dual guitars is the whole deal here, and it was a pretty good psych alt rock feel. 2 x 4 gave Warren more opportunities to play into that singing/screamed vocal styling, and that worked for him and the older songs. Guitar work from Stevens and Thorn was super tight and these guys knew how to keep things moving. It was fun to watch them get an extended instrumental together, though a call and response with the crowd didn’t go as well as planned (the crowd mostly got there by the end). Warren got on acoustic for a song in the latter half, and the song had a more Americana rock feel, with a long jam feel to end it. The set ended the only way it could, with No Rain blasting the band to the finish line.

Beach Bunny

The band came out with a melodic rock sound on Cloud 9, and the quintet (vocals/guitar, guitar, bass, and drums). This is a great alt rock sound, with all those guitars creating a great, layered sound. A throw in of Minnesota for one those lyrics in California was an easy and well appreciated one. The newer songs were equally excellent, with Mr. Predictable a real banger. Lili Trifilo was engaging and had the audience in her palm pretty quickly. A hand waving request was taken up and sustained, and Trifilio gave a quick thanks to the crowd. Oxygen had a stellar bass line and the set was flying along. Have I mentioned these guys were fun? They were fun. Tunnel Vision, the title track off the new album, had a stronger guitar focus, and let Trifilo dive some guitar and lyrics. Beach Bunny was a real highlight of the front half of Day 3. Vertigo was a crowd favorite, and a late song, Clueless, included a song along. If it wasn’t obvious from the sheer number of titles, Beach Bunny specializes in shorter alt rock songs and those bite size pieces were all pretty sweet. Finishing on Painkiller, this was a full set from Beach Bunny and an absolute delight.

The Beaches

This pop rock band (vocals, guitar, bass, and drums) came out flying with a Cars like feel and a pretty 80’s reminiscent sound. Lead singer Jordan Miller had a great alto range and used the stage extension well. This was a highly dynamic group and although we got a few too many “How you doing Minnesota?”, it was coming from a good place. There was also a sense of approachable cool that was enjoyable, while still projecting “rock star” vibes. A countdown (from 8!) for a newer song got us Last Girls at the Party, and it was all big energy. Taking a guitar for the first time, there was a more emotional tone to Miller’s vocals. Ginning up the crowd, she got left and right sides to respond before putting the whole audience together in their cheering. The Beaches had a certain energy going, all centered on Miller’s give and take with the crowd. A late number felt like the most pop radio ready song, with a plaintive set of lyrics and a resounding bass lick. The band was in close out mode, with all three guitars back in action. As they closed out, The Beaches had multiple singers ran things out and perhaps had a new set of fans looking for their music.

Garbage

Entering to some Twin Peaks music, the band started with There’s No Future for Optimism which sounded great. The quintet (vocals, two guitars, bass, and drums) was delivering blistering beats right away. With a wildly colored and patterned outfit and her hair pulled severely back, Shirley Manson was imposing right from the start. There was a rock star / elder stateswoman vibe here and the band was right there with it. Those hard edged sounds came with even tougher lyrics, as they played The Men Who Rule the World, ripping on the upper elite. A great intro from Manson about how much they were happy to be here and all of the great artists they got to share the day with, she noted it was the 30th anniversary of the first single the band ever released, and how important music and especially live music is to the world. A snippet cover of Your Own Personal Jesus was a superb and thumping version. Manson was part soul singer, part alternative goddess. The rest of the band was also fire, with drummer Butch Vig the musical center for much of the set. It was followed by some outstanding bass from touring musician Nicole Fiorentino and really, the whole band was ripping. I Think I’m Paranoid had a little brighter tone, but still had that industrial rock feel. When I Grow Up was all energy and and probably the closest Garbage ever gets to pop rock. To prove the point, they went directly into that more garage sound with the classic Stupid Girl and that notable electronic keys riff, and even had Manson down in the pit. Only Happy When It Rains followed and the crowd anywhere near the stage was fully into it. Manson shared how she suddenly was way too hot, being in the plastic outfit she had (“I don’t know what I was f’ing thinking”), but thankfully Garbage only had a little time left. The weather was also starting to cool down, so hopefully Manson was starting to feel a little less overheated. In any case, Garbage finished their set strong and left the stage to thankful fans.

Sublime

Ska punk band Sublime hit the stage with a pair of gigantic dogs flanking them. With five members including a DJ, Jacob Nowell (son of the late original vocalist) was singing and on guitar, and with original band members Eric Wilson on bass and Bud Gaugh on drums. Nowell got a serious audience reaction after the first song just by raising his hands. That ska sound was evident on the next song, 40oz. to Freedom. They continued the lively paced songs, with the rock guitar solos over the ska/reggae base beat. He joked about the runway, saying “What is this, a Sabrina Carpenter show?”. A bit of banter and Nowell said that timing was tight and got back to singing. While most of the attention was on Nowell, the rest of the band was doing their part to keep the music lively. The DJ kept a number of songs on track with opening transitions, and I got the feeling that Nowell knew pretty well where things in the set actually were. A slower song dedicated to “those no longer with us”, Ensenada was really a ballad and well delivered with a rapidly delivered set of lyrics and a late guitar solo. What I Got was a late entry and a real delight for the crowd. Closing (as they had to) on Santeria, Sublime finished their set with Nowell running through the front of the crowd for high fives before heading out.

311

Hard rock edged straight from the front, the five performers (vocals/guotar, guitar, bass, vocals/electronic music, and drums) came out with the dual singers and driving guitars. A brief bit of banter and a tossed guitar pick later, that rapped-sung style of Nick Hexum with the super rapid delivery was in full gear, countered by the rap delivery from Doug “SA” Martinez. With Aaron Wills (bass) and Tim Mahoney (guitar) on each edge of the stage, the pair barely ever stopped moving and provided the solid musical base. A brief delay (due to a fan passing out in the audience) taken care of, Sunset in July, as perfectly title a song as there could have been. You’re Gonna Get It, off the new album, had seriously metal giutars, and was a good headbanger. We were then nearly in reggae territory with All Mixed Up and the fastest lyrics of the evening. Hexum has an interesting gravitas as a performer, and combined with a voice that is resonating at the front of his face, he’s pretty compelling to watch as an audience member. A slower ballad and cover of The Cure’s Love Song was a good reset, and made the jump back to one from their first album all the larger contrast. Noting they had just celebrated their 35th anniversary as a band, the next song had aabb driving most of the rapped vocals before clearing the stage for a major drum solo from Chad Sexton. As he started a whole array of drums were lined up across the front of the stage and after an impressive run, he played some pre-recorded electronic music, then when it ended, the rest of the band came back on and each took over one of the percussion set ups. A bit of an odd segment, they finally moved back to their music and moved towards the end. Amber was the most radio friendly (and indeed a big hit for the band) and was a perfect way to play as the sun set. Creatures was excellent and Down finished up the set and 311 had certainly done their part for the Minnesota Yacht Club Festival.

Green Day

Green Day’s set started a little later, due to a delay from 311’s set, when a fan passed out and forced the band to play passed their allotted set time. Then after a long, long, long intro (three intros!) including a full playback of Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody, then Drunk Bunny shows up to ramp up excitement with The Ramones’ Blitzkrieg Bop. And finally the band walk on music featuring a medley of The Imperial March, Blitzkrieg Bop, We Will Rock You and I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll, the band launched into fan favorite American Idiot with some choice lyrics change (like I’m not a part of a MAGA agenda). We suspect the reasons for the long intro is to make up the time the band has to fill, over an hour and 30 minutes (and many of their songs are quick 2-3 minute songs). Green Day was recently in Minneapolis last August, 2024 (alongside Smashing Pumpkins and Rancid), but their fanbase still showed up in force to see their favorite band close out the Minnesota Yacht Club. It’s clear that their music spans over generations, from fans in the 90s to teenagers, just discovering their music. One of those young fans, Rowan, got a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be on stage with her favorite band and help sing the chorus of Know Your Enemy. It may look daunting, but it went without a hitch (we’ve seen guest singers who couldn’t sing the song because of fear or their mind drew a blank). Otherwise, a very good set from the band, playing all their hits like Longview (their first single), Welcome to Paradise, Basket Case (their big hit), When I Come Around, and, of course Good Riddance (Time of Your Life) which ends their set to a massive singalong. Although the song is somewhat of a sad song, the audience certainly had the time of their lives:

What an unforgettable music festival, and with that said, we’re looking forward to next year’s event. Black out those mid-July dates for Minnesota Yacht Club 2026 now!