Is a major music festival finally coming to the Twin Cities? Lollapalooza backers say yes

The concert company behind Lollapalooza, Austin City Limits and some of America's other biggest music festivals has announced plans for a new two-day event in St. Paul next July — one that could be Minnesota's long-awaited answer to these popular music bashes.

C3 Presents has begun advertising a new festival called the Minnesota Yacht Club, which is scheduled for July 19-20, 2024, on Harriet Island along the Mississippi riverfront across from downtown St. Paul.

Minnesota Yacht Club organizers aim to draw 30,000-35,000 fans per day in its inaugural year. About 20 acts are promised over two days on two big stages in the initial promo for the festival, the lineup for which is under wraps along with ticket info until at least mid-January.

Tim Sweetwood, the Atlanta-based C3 promoter leading the new festival, confirmed what Twin Cities music lovers have been saying for years: We deserve a big music fest like this.

"When you consider that the Twin Cities is a big enough market to support five major-league sports teams," Sweetwood said, "I don't see why it can't support one major music festival, too."

C3 is not the first big concert company to try to launch a fest of this ilk — and not even the first to choose Harriet Island to try to host such an event.

C3's corporate partner Live Nation tried to put on its own big music fest, River's Edge, in the same location in 2012. Live Nation executives promised St. Paul a five-year commitment to produce River's Edge there but then canceled the event after just one year with a rather disjointed lineup that included Tool and the Dave Matthews Band as headliners.

C3 is pledging a different approach with the Minnesota Yacht Club.

"From a musical perspective we're just going to try to produce a lineup that just jibes a little bit better [than River's Edge] and offers more synergy from day to day," Sweetwood said.

"And we'll try to give it a little more color and better branding, the kind of things we have a good feel for at C3 being primarily a festival producer."

That branding includes an image of a historic riverboat à la St. Paul's Jonathan Padelford on the Minnesota Yacht Club's social media pages and other signage. The riverboat theme apparently is not just for show.

"We are going to put the Padelford and some other boats to work as part of the festival experience," Sweetwood said.

St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter welcomed C3's plans in a statement issued with the new festival's announcement.

"We are thrilled to host this exciting music festival presented by C3, a top-tier festival promoter, at Harriet Island Regional Park," Carter said.

"With the breathtaking Mississippi River as its backdrop, this two-day event promises stellar performances, delicious local cuisine, and an opportunity for both residents and visitors to relish our nationally-acclaimed park facilities."

Sweetwood said the location was chosen for the same reason Live Nation tried to produce River's Edge there — the scenery and workability of Harriet Island.

"With the arena [Xcel Energy Center] and downtown right there, there are tons of areas to park over there," he said. "We'll make sure we work with the city getting people to and from the festival easily.

"We've been talking to the city well over a year now and working with them on the logistical plans. Those are the kinds of things C3 specializes in handling, I think, being primarily in the festival business."

Also a producer for festivals in Arizona, New Jersey and Florida, Sweetwood is credited for launching Atlanta's successful Shaky Knees Festival, now in its 11th year. He held up Shaky Knees as a good comparison for the size and type of lineup to expect from Minnesota Yacht Club.

"We'll just have the two stages in the first year, and so you can only do so many genres," he said, "but we'll cover adult-contemporary, rock, pop, some blues, a cool mix like that."

Next year's Shaky Knees lineup has already been announced, with top names including the Foo Fighters, Noah Kahan, Queens of the Stone Age, Weezer and Arcade Fire. Passes for Shaky Knees in 2023 started at $199 for three days or $119 for a single day ticket. VIP options — nowadays a trademark of the major festivals — ranged from $699 on up to $4,500 for the "ultimate" pass.

C3 Presents was founded in Austin, Texas, and quickly became a major industry player after its first Austin City Limits Festival in 2002. The company took over Lollapalooza in 2005 and successfully remade it into an annual festival that draws more than 100,000 attendees daily in downtown Chicago.

Live Nation bought a 51% ownership stake in C3 in 2014, but C3 still operates with some autonomy inside the megacorporation that also owns Ticketmaster. Locally based Live Nation representatives have also been involved in the planning for Minnesota Yacht Club.

News of the new fest — maybe "MYC" will stick as a nickname, much like "ACL" for Austin City Limits — has already been widely welcomed on social media by Twin Cities music lovers, who've seen several other, smaller-scale summer festivals in town become sidelined in recent years. Those have included the Basilica Block Party, Soundset, Rock the Garden and Canterbury Park's TC Summer Jam. Only the Basilica bash is said to be making a possible return with changes next summer.