It’s lights out for the Rock the Garden music festival.
Co-sponsors the Walker Art Center and Minnesota Public Radio’s 89.3 The Current announced Wednesday that the fest was retired and that it would not return next summer, but added that the two nonprofits would work together in the future.
“We are grateful to go out on a high note as a team. This is now a fresh opportunity to conjure up new ways to serve ambitions that drive each institution in new ways,” said Walker executive director Mary Ceruti and MPR president Duchesne Drew in a joint statement.
Initially launched by the Walker in 1998, RTG’s first run featured two or three acts performing outside the downtown Minneapolis museum. Headliners included the Jayhawks, Sonic Youth, Wilco and, in its final year in 2004, David Byrne.
The Current jumped on board when RTG returned to action in 2008 with a bill that featured…
