Rockin' the Garden

The high mark of summer in Minneapolis is checking out the line-up at Rock the Garden, a festival sponsored by The Currect radio station and the Walker "Arts" Center. This year they stretched the one day fest into a two-dayer, June 21-22. Sadly, even with two days chalked full of diverse music, none of the bands really appealed to me. I would've chosen Sunday for Spoon and Guided by Voices, but John and I wanted to spend the annual event with our co-Garden groupies, Rachel, Jenna, and Sarah. Saturday was when they wanted to go, so be it!

Rock the Garden is nestled on the hilly green next the arts center. In case it's not obvious, the fest is all about spending hours lounging on a picnic blanket, drinking beer and listening to music. We had a perfect spot on the lawn that was graced by the shade first.

John and I used our earned adulthood to have not just one but TWO Talenti ice creams as our main meal. Sarah B. devoured an extra-long corn dog. I also enjoyed Nitch's Kitchen's New Zealand meat pie. Yum! We were in luck this year since a friend of a friend was in the VIP tent where the Summit beer flows free.

The only band I though I might like to see was Best Coast, a surfer rock band that reminds me a bit of The Breeders. Sadly, I wasn't really impressed. They played fine but it was nothing to get excited about. Jeremy Messersmith put on a good performance but it's not my thing. Lizzo and De La Soul were respectable acts that I probably would have never seen if it hadn't been for Rock the Garden. The band that did rock my socks off was Matt and Kim. Holy Mother. They were amazing! They owned that audience. Kim stood on her drums to play them. They gave out balloons to the audience to heighten the visual stimulation. They had people crowd surf backwards. Cats and dogs were living together. Mass hysteria. 

I, of course, was impressed with the recycling and composting managed by Eureka Recycling with a zero-waste goal. They work with the vendors before hand to make sure the only things served are recyclable or compostable. There were a few surprises like the Talenti ice cream wrappers and balloons that Matt&Kim threw out to the crowd.

Things to Do #10 done! 

Sarah B and her 'dog

Can't beat the view

Girls with Post-It mustaches

Matt and Kim rocking out

Free water from City of Mpls

17. Rock out at Rock the Garden

Bob Mould Band

What an eventful two days! Volunteering for Bike to Work Week, watching a movie in a park, and then all of Saturday was packed. John and I had a very Minneapolis (i.e. liberal) day: 1) go to the Midtown Farmers Market; 2) check out The Hub's Used Bike Extravaganza; 3) work in the community garden; 4) take the bus to Rock the Garden. Whew!

John surprised me with tickets to Rock the Garden last month and we've been looking forward to it ever since. Rock the Garden is an annual concert coordinated by The Current and Walker Arts Center. This year's line-up: Dan Deacon, Low, The Bob Mould Band, Silversun Pickups, and Metric. John just happens to love Metric which is why he forked out the money for us.

Metric performing

An afternoon rain threatened to ruin the event, but it passed in time for Low. We waited out the rain since we were taking the bus and walking so we missed Dan Deacon. He was nice enough to move his music to the parking garage where concert goers were avoiding the rain. That would have been cool to see!

We met our friends and staked out a spot on the grass to drink beer and eat bratwurst. Six hours flew by! Low wasn't great to see although I was assured they're usually much better than what we witnessed. Bob Mould was excellent! I didn't realize he was the lead singer for Husker Dü who just so happen to be from the Twin Cities. Silversun Pickups had a good set and got the crowd ready for Metric. I didn't realize how many Metric songs I knew. They did wonderfully and John thoroughly enjoyed his favorite band.

Rock the Garden is a zero-waste event with help from Eureka Recycling. The cups and food dishes used by vendors were all compostable which made tossing them in the right bin so much easier. Every waste station has 2 volunteers to make sure you threw your item in the right container. It was very well organized and successful. The Walker Arts Center says it reduces waste to a mere 1 ounce per attendee by recycling and composting. Bravo!




Rock the Garden was #17 on my Things To-Do list for this summer and it will most definitely be on my list next year!

John showcasing our blanket

Thousands of concert goers

Scarfing down delicious food