Hold Steady, Doomtree, Trampled by Turtles will Rock the Garden

This year's Rock the Garden will flip the concert's usual lineup formula on end: Instead of one token Twin Cities band to warm things up for a bunch of out-of-towners, there will be four locally rooted groups and only from points beyond – and the outsider is going on early in the show.

Announced this afternoon in an on-air roll-out from the Fitzgerald Theater, the June 16 party outside Walker Art Center will feature (in order of appearance): Howler, tUnE-yArDs, Doomtree, Trampled by Turtles and the Hold Steady. This is the first year the event has expanded to five acts, and the first time it has featured a bona-fide hip-hop act. But the localness of it is really what's surprising.

Sure, the Hold Steady's New York zip code technically disqualifies it from being a Twin Cities band, but four of its five members put in time here, two of them grew up here, and one has more Minnesotan lyrical references on his new solo album than on the records he made when he lived here a decade-plus ago.

Speaking of Craig Finn, he actually attended last year's RTG concert as a fan and told us later that he had a blast (seed planted?). He and the band have been finishing off their next album, which they will undoubtedly preview in June, if not yet celebrating its release). This RTG booking continues the trend of the Hold Steady finding a new and fun way of playing an outdoor summer gig here, following past shows at the Cabooze Plaza in 2010 and the Basilica Block Party in '09. I'm thinking they gotta do the State Fair next year.

As for the rest of the locals on RTG 2012, both Doomtree and Trampled by Turtles were sort of no-brainers this year, especially for anyone who caught the fanatical excitement of their very sold-out First Ave gigs in recent months. Seriously, few other groups that have played the club in recent years – sort of RTG's incubator -- created as much electricity there, so why not? Both bands are also not so coincidentally on the lineup for Lollapalooza in Chicago this summer.

The party planners from the Walker and 89.3 the Current probably would have liked to have had this year's third Lolla entrant from MN, too, Poliça -- who would've increased the presence of female musicians by a third -- but the Current just had them at its seventh birthday bash in January. Howler is the other obvious option as the brand-spanking-new local band to pick, and the young lads' spitfiery 30-minute set will be a better way to kick off the day.

That leaves Merrill Garbus and her madcap sonic-collage of a group, tUnE-yArDs, as the odd band out. Of all the acts whose singles the Current has been incessantly spinning over the past year, the "Gangsta" makers make for a wise choice. Their two live shows (one with Howler as the opener) were rapturously received. And they sure beat the Wombats, Gotye, Sharon Van Etten and other station favorites.

As usual, tickets for Rock the Garden go on sale first to Walker Art Center and Minnesota Public Radio members starting today (members should've received an email with a code). They're up to $49 this year, with profits going toward both nonprofit organizations. Last year's 10,000 or so tickets for the My Morning Jacket-headlined lineup sold out in one day, before they could go on sale to the general public. It sure would be impressive for the local scene if that happens again this year.