As the birthplace of Prince and many other popular musicians, there’s no doubt that Minneapolis is a true player in the Midwest music scene. Not to mention the countless music festivals that happen around the city throughout the warmer months! Just over the weekend, over sixteen thousand Indie and alternative music lovers swarmed Boom Island in Minneapolis for the 2016 Rock The Garden music festival. Presented by The Current radio station and the Walker Art Center, the festival featured electrifying sets by top music acts like Chance The Rapper, The Flaming Lips, and Hippo Campus.
Rock The Garden also promoted social responsibility, as it was proud to be a zero-waste event in partnership with Eureka Recycling and the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board. The moment you walked through the front gate, you were well aware of the festival’s inspirational efforts to promote sustainability and the need to recycle. Everywhere you looked, there were composting and recycling areas with workers letting you know about the various ways to maintain zero waste at the festival. Rock The Garden was highly successful in marketing and promoting the “Zero Waste” initiative, as there was literally no trash to be seen anywhere around the grounds.
Rock The Garden was also a marketing powerhouse for all of the companies in attendance. The thousands of attendees loved learning about The University of Minnesota (a lead sponsor), as well as Polaroid cameras and Chipotle’s new sustainability efforts. Guests also enjoyed sipping on brews from Summit Brewing Co., the official beer sponsor, as well as Prairie Organic Spirits. Other on-site sponsors were 1893 (from the makers of Pepsi-Cola), as well as the Twin Cities’ very own Minnesota United FC professional soccer team. Also making their mark at the festival were supporting sponsor eTix, media partner Star Tribune, and special VIP Sponsor Thompson Reuters (which provides professionals with the intelligence and human expertise they need to find answers).
The festival attendees went totally gaga over the exhilarating music sets that performed at the two giant stages throughout the day. First off, Plague Vendor amped up the crowd with their energetic and unique California “voodoo punk” sounds. Then the uber-talented Minneapolis all-girl hip hop group GRRRL PRTY slayed the stage with their spunky and clever lyrics that promoted women empowerment and strength. The crowd also went nuts for M. Ward, a popular bluesy singer-songwriter based in Portland, as well as the spellbinding synthpop tunes of Poliça (another native Minneapolis band). A true favorite in the Twin Cities local music scene, Poliça has already rocked the stages of music festival phenomenons Coachella and Lollapalooza.
Everyone also raved about the critically-acclaimed soulful folk tunes of Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats, as well as Minneapolis native Indie band Hippo Campus (who have already performed alongside world-renowned music acts like Walk the Moon). Headliner Chance The Rapper (known for his powerful lyricism) also got the whole crowd singing along to his chart-topping hit songs like “Blessings”.
The Flaming Lips then shut down the whole festival with an enthralling psychedelic-rock set chockful of enormous balloons, confetti-galore, costumed characters, and mesmerizing light fixtures. The band’s lead singer, Wayne Coyne, even sang atop the shoulders of a costumed Chewbacca and then surprised the crowd by performing in a giant clear bubble. It was an enchanting feast for both the ears and eyes.
Rock The Garden truly solidified Minneapolis’s place as one of the top music festival scenes in the Midwest. Not only did it successfully promote the imperative need for “zero-waste” and sustainable living, but it also was the perfect venue to market The University of Minnesota and other sponsors to the many millennial consumers in attendance. For other Twin Cities companies looking for a way to get the word out about their products and services, sponsoring next year’s Rock The Garden is a surefire way to connect with Minnesota’s massive consumer base and dynamic music scene.
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