Some of you 23-year-old indie-rock hipsters might have trouble believing this, but there actually were cool things in the Twin Cities before the Current came around six years ago -- including the concert that has become the radio station's crowning event of the year. Rock the Garden, the Twin Cities' hottest annual outdoor concert in terms of ticket demand, lands again Saturday outside Walker Art Center. This year's nearly 10,000 tickets sold out in one day. They probably would have sold out even without the newly rock-godly My Morning Jacket as headliner. The event's popularity can be traced directly to the rise of the Current, which helped rescue Rock the Garden from a four-year hiatus in 2008 and became its co-curator. However, back when 89.3 FM was still a classical music station, the Walker staff found a way to draw big crowds and Current-cool bands for five previous garden parties. "People seemed to get it right away," recalled Walker associate curator Doug Benidt, a former First Avenue staffer who has overseen the Garden bookings since the first one in 1998. "It's always been about finding bands that fit the Walker aesthetic, and using them to get younger folks interested in coming here and hopefully even becoming members." It was a success from the get-go, too. First-year headliners the Jayhawks drew a sell-out crowd of 4,000 and managed to escape a bad storm, which ruined the middle band's set and sent attendees running inside (mission accomplished!). Almost 7,000 fans showed up two years later for those mavens of arty indie-rock, Sonic Youth, who played under very different conditions: sweltering, mid-90s temperatures. With help from Benidt and other Walker staffers who have long been involved, here's a look back on the previous eight RTGs -- all of which seem to have at least one especially killer set to remember, plus a quirky memory or two.

Lineup: The Jayhawks, Steve Miller Band, Hot Head Swing Band.

The best: This was at the tail end of the Jayhawks' first go-round without co-leader Mark Olson, and Gary Louris proved his chops as the sole frontman. Between that, the rainstorm and typical inaugural-year jitters, Benidt remembered, "There was a lot of nervousness, but it all worked out well in the end."

The weirdest: Those other two acts seem like pretty peculiar choices at this point. That, and photos showing Louris playing a Flying V guitar.

Lineup: Sonic Youth, Stereolab, Sunship Sextet.

The best: Walker Art Center senior curator Philip Bither vividly remembers the sheer joy of seeing Sonic Youth performing outside the Walker: "Thurston Moore totally shredding it, creating layers of beautiful distortion with Kim Gordon, hair blowing in the wind, keeping the pulse with huge bass in hand. The epitome of cool."

The weirdest: Up until 2009, RTG was always held on the street between the museum and the Sculpture Garden, where the pavement only amplified the heat. Benidt remembers Moore's greeting to the sweaty crowd: "Hello, Minneapolis ... you freaks!" Said Benidt, "It was like he was saying, 'Why are you here?'"

The best: Guitar ace Ribot joined his pals in MM&W for much of their set.

The weirdest: The mere fact that the "rock" in the garden this year meant Iffy's bouncy dance music (greatly missed), Ribot's Latin ensemble and Medeski, Martin, & Wood's freakish jazz. Also, MM&W's Deadhead-ish fans also seemed oddly mesmerized by Shirin Neshat's multimedia installment inside the Walker, showing stark black-and-white footage of Iranian women.

Lineup: Wilco, the Bad Plus, Fog.

The best: Wilco was still touring behind its most-heralded album, "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot," but debuted two songs off the next album that became immediate live staples: "At Least That's What You Said" and "Handshake Drugs." Benidt also remembers Wilco's members -- bemused by the idea of a jazz band opening for them -- watching the Bad Plus and "showing total reverence."

The weirdest: Andrew Broder and his Fog crew (which essentially became Andrew Bird's backing band) made music out of smacking gum in the song "Girl From the Gum Commercial."

The best: Accompanied by Tosca Strings, Byrne was spectacular. Blither remembers him "wailing into the setting sun his own very moving version of Verdi's 'Un Di, Felice, Eterea,' and soon afterward, kicking it with a blistering version of 'Burning Down the House.'" Walker publicist Rachel Joyce's all-time favorite RTG memory is the bittersweet set by Cohen (ex-Farm Accident), who had just moved to Los Angeles: "Even though only about half the crowd knew her music, they were all rapturous by the end."

The weirdest: Many people laughingly recall seeing urban-bicycling advocate Byrne riding to the show from his hotel in red-and-white striped overalls. He, too, had something to say about the old concert site: "They should have called it Rock the Parking Lot."

Lineup: Andrew Bird, New Pornographers, Cloud Cult, Bon Iver.

The best: Bon Iver had blown up just a few months before, and he probably could've headlined. Said Benidt, "Most people didn't know what to expect, and everyone was just blown away."

The weirdest: Once again a bad storm came and went fast enough for the headliner to go on. Bither marveled at how Bird and his band "were able to play a completely magical set as the sun burst through the sky." Also, Benidt recalls two sound guys looking at the grassy hillside where the Guthrie Theater had stood until 2007: "That's where the idea came from to move the stage," so it would face the hill. "Obviously, it worked."

The best: Solid Gold played in the hot sun under a long shadow of hype, and did not disappoint. Bither and many others are still raving about the Decemberists' cover of Heart's "Crazy on You" with guest singers Shara Worden and Becky Stark nailing the vocals.

The weirdest: Seeing audience members dance like munchkins around Spinal Tap's Stonehenge while Stark danced around on stage in a willowy princess dress, all during the Decemberists' fairy-tale rock-opera "The Hazards of Love." Benidt also remembers Solid Gold's members stealing a golf cart backstage.

Lineup: MGMT, Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings, OK Go, Retribution Gospel Choir.

The best: Jones' crew electrified the young crowd of indie-rock fans, many of whom previously thought the Beastie Boys were the funkiest thing on the planet.

The weirdest: MGMT's set was a bit of a head-scratcher, but who could forget OK Go performing their song "What to Do" as a handbell choir?