Local Newswire Harriet Island to finally host a good music festival this summer, or so they say

There’s no name for it yet, and not a single artist has been added to the roster, but St. Paul city officials and Live Nation are so certain about the success of their two-day music festival (planned for June 23 and 24, 2012) that they’re estimating a crowd of 40,000 people to show up. Pretty bold, guys, pretty bold. Live Nation, one of Earth’s most powerful concert promoters, is responsible for Seattle’s Sasquatch fest, among others.

The new mystery festival is an attempt to replace Taste Of Minnesota, a horrible event at which attendees were asked to pay exorbitant prices for deep-fried chunks of batter, and then to listen to the musical equivalent of deep-fried chunks of batter. But while the bar is pretty low, maybe we oughta keep our expectations low until, you know, they tell us who’s playing at the festival. Joe Spencer, the director of arts and culture down at the St. Paul mayor’s office, does offer one bit of insight: The event will “have plenty of local flavor,” which is either a sick joke about Taste Of Minnesota coming back or a hint that local artists will be playing alongside the bigger national acts. If it’s the latter, great, because lord knows the only other times we’ll get to see local artists this summer will be at Soundset, the Basilica Block Party, Rock The Garden, Summer Music & Movies, First Avenue’s new festival in July, and every other day of the goddamned season. [Star Tribune]