The Beach Boys – Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center – Mankato MN – July 9th 2024

The Beach Boys Live in Mankato Minnesota.

Presented by Live Entertainment

The first time I saw the Beach Boys in concert was at the legendary Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa. There are a lot of bands that play that venue because of the tragedy that happened there and its infamous history. Gene Simmons played there and Robert Plant played there too. I had heard that Robert Plant was a big fan of Buddy Holly when he was a kid and that is why he wanted to play there. I even personally witnessed him take a picture of the Surf Ballroom marquee with Robert’s name on it which shows how much he revered the venue.

While the Mankato Civic Center isn’t a well known venue, it is a great venue for Mankato. Although I guess it was originally supposed to be held at the Mankato Amphitheater, it got flooded so they reverted back to the Mankato Clinic Health System Event Center (a name that doesn’t exactly roll of the tongue.) This one was a special one for me since when I saw the Beach Boys last time they didn’t have John Stamos at that concert (although Mike Love and Bruce Johnston were absolutely, positively amazing and I was lucky enough to talk to Bruce for awhile. He is a very nice man and kind of a wild man in the best way possible.)

The band played wall to wall hits all night in the very packed venue. The tickets were reasonably price and it was a lot of fun! It kinda makes me want to see the Beach Boys in a warmer climate or even literally a beach! That would be epic!! Stamos sang a song or two, but also alternated between playing guitar and playing drums. Mike Love’s son, Christian Love, did an amazing job and even sang one of his own songs called “Sum Sum Summer” which was a very fun, catchy summery song. John Stamos sang “Forever” which was dedicated to Bob Saget and Scott Grimes.

It was a great night and everyone had a great time that they will never forget. By the way, the Beach Boys played a total of 38 songs! That is getting your money’s worth!

Review and photos by Todd Johnson