5 takeaways as Minnesota Yacht Club fest cruises away with Green Day

The biggest music festival in the Twin Cities ended Sunday with one of the biggest rock bands in the country on one of the prettiest days of summer.

By those measures and many others, the second annual Minnesota Yacht Club Festival on St. Paul’s Harriet Island was as smashing a success story as its Sunday headliner Green Day was a crushing finale. The California punk trio rode the fun, summery vibes that flowed through the sold-out crowd of 35,000 — a sweet scene even the cynical and snarky singer Billie Joe Armstrong clearly appreciated.

“Look at all the beautiful bands and people who came here to sing and dance together,” the Green Day frontman cheered, adding, “I’m so sick of politics.”

Regardless of this festival’s ‘90s-nostalgia leanings, Green Day proved once again they are simply a timeless GOAT headliner.

Toward that end — and looking toward many, many more years of Yacht Club summers — here are five takeaways from this year’s three-day, 30-band voyage.

This year’s lineup showed appreciation for everyone from veterans whose voices still resonate to local newcomers on the rise. Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Sheryl Crow, 63, was bold enough to sing a song, “New Normal,” that she released that very day. Garbage’s Shirley Manson, 58, bragged of her age to fans who weren’t born when her band played its first-ever live gig at Minneapolis’ 7th St. Entry — but who nonetheless sang along to “Only Happy When It Rains.”

“Getting old is awesome because you stop” caring, Manson yelled to cheers.

Yacht Club II also showcased new powerhouse national talents Remi Wolf with her big voice and “Big Ideas,” and Gigi Perez, whose sing-along hit “Sailor Song” brought a pseudo nautical moment to Yacht Club. Two younger bands with yacht-y monikers, the Beaches from Toronto and Beach Bunny from Chicago, offered fresh spins on Go-Go’s-style pop-rock behind songs about body-positivity and fighting sexism.

And the festival spotlighted local women, too (see below).

In the same way MYC’s Texas-based organizers have tapped into our good Minnesota summer vibes, they’ve also made our rich pool of music talent a cornerstone of each day’s lineup — to great effect and response. Emo-y rockers Motion City Soundtrack impressively responded to their singer Justin Pierre’s sudden ailment with a team of guest vocalists, including Ber, members of Gully Boys and Patrick Stump (whose band Fall Out Boy headlined that day). What a fun turnaround. Fridley guitarist Cory Wong also brought instrumental Prince-flavored jazz-funk to the stage and generated some of the fest’s heaviest dancing. Other homegrown acts to make their case included Laamar, Landon Conrath, Maygen & the Birdwatcher, Raffaella and Mike Kota.

Whether or not Minneapolis’ sidelined Basilica bash returns for a fourth decade — we hope it does — we’ve already seen enough middle-of-the-road, middle-aged, radio-friendly dude-rock bands at that event for one lifetime. MYC bookers leaned into the same oversaturated vanilla flavors this year with Train, O.A.R., Weezer and 311. Younger, edgier and more diverse acts on this year’s lineup were better received and way more interesting, including Wolf, Perez, the Beaches and, of course, Alabama Shakes. If they booked the Shakes every year, we would never complain again.

We marvel at the efficiency of MYC stage performances. In a mere minute the action swings from the Skipper Stage to the Crow’s Nest Stage and vice versa. This is a smart setup. But — and it’s a big “but” — MYC is not as successful when it comes to the fan experience. For the second consecutive year, cellphone service was intermittent at best, nonexistent at worst.

Oh, we’re not done. The fan flow between the stages could be better. Designating a blanket area this year was a welcomed improvement. Next year, how about creating a couple more paths for festgoers to pass through the grounds between the stages?

Finally, the weather emergency during Hozier’s Friday set was handled poorly. A recorded voice broadcast on the PA system told festgoers to leave the area. The video screens on the Crow’s Nest vaguely warned of incoming weather. If a festival official had taken the microphone and explained that lightning was possibly approaching the area and folks needed to evacuate, that would have been more effective. Maybe that’s too Woodstockian and not social media enough, but then if cellphone service isn’t working …

Plus, Hozier didn’t understand the gravity of the moment. If he had, maybe he would have eschewed his usual long-winded monologue before “Nina Cried Power” and sung “Take Me to Church.” A Hozier show without his big breakthrough hit left fans frustrated.

As we marveled over how scenic the downtown St. Paul riverfront looked, how cozy the grassy Harriet Island felt, how many people showed up early and stayed for 10 hours, and how gosh-darn nice the mid-July Minnesota weather was — even Friday was pristine until the late rain — we couldn’t help but think the Twin Cities and their abundance of avid music fans deserved a festival like this long ago. Live Nation should not have cut-and-run from its River’s Edge festival after just one $2 million-losing year (2012). MYC’s promoter C3 Presents hopefully is in the Yacht Club business for the long haul. Surely the company made enough just off the $20 beers this year (with tax) to expect many more boom years.