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Jul 24, 2025 By Josh Darr Photography by Josh Darr Web Exclusive

In its sophomore year of existence, Minnesota Yacht Club Festival took a giant leap this year in establishing themselves as one of the new go to music festival destinations in mid July. The St Paul based festival takes place in the Harriet Island Regional Park along the Mississippi River which along with the skylines and summer sunsets painted the perfect backdrops for the headliners.

A big change for the fest in its second year was extending its length from two to three days. The weekend’s lineup was a beautiful fusion of a variety of artists from the 90s along with current artists who have clearly drawn their own inspiration from acts of that era of music.

This year’s headliners included, Hozier, Alabama Shakes, Fall Out Boy and Green Day as well as marquee acts Weezer, Garbage, Sheryl Crow and to my surprise Train. I guess we should never underestimate the power of singalong rock ballads. There were a lot of hidden gems throughout the weekend either for local fans who were unaware of the artists or some of the up and coming artists who just are making really exciting music.

A new generation of guitar rock gods and goddesses with Cory Wong and Grace Bowers. Personal favorites from the weekend were Father John Misty, Rafaella and Remi Wolf. The Beaches had a killer set as they excited their fans for their upcoming sophomore album, No Hard Feelings due out at the end of August.

It’s exciting to see a festival this young establish itself so seamlessly and both embrace the city’s musical history as well as create a unique experience that has this music fan looking forward to seeing what they have in store for us next year.