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Penny Peaches at Wussow’s during Homegrown. Photo by Jill Fisher.

I wonder how many of the 27 annual Homegrown Music Festivals folks have attended. This is only my fourth one; I moved back to Duluth in 2020, so I’ve missed quite a few! But one thing I’ve noticed is that the venues appear to be more crowded than in the past. 

At any rate, here are the highlights of my seven-day marathon of Homegrown music:

Day 1, Sunday, April 27: Well, I’ve already written briefly about the music I heard on this day in the May 1 issue of the Reader, so I will only elaborate to the extent that I will be watching for another opportunity to see the group Hardaybra. (Because I speak some Norwegian, I recognized the group’s name as the phonetic spelling of a common phrase in that language: “Have it good!” I think they should add the exclamation mark to their name.) I’ve seen drummer Tyler Dubla with other groups, but never Mark Blom (guitar, vocals) or Jeremy Craig (bass). According to the Homegrown Field Guide, the group released an EP way back in 2018. Where have they been since?

Father Hennepin

Day 2, Monday, April 28: I got out to Lincoln Park to see five performances at four venues. Only one of these had I ever experienced before – Father Hennepin – and what a great end to this exciting, cool and somewhat rainy and foggy evening. Bent Paddle was packed, as was to be expected, for the group that personifies the origins of Homegrown with its leader Scott “Starfire” Lunt celebrating his 57th birthday. It’s always great to hear their original songs as well as that cherished chestnut of a ditty that celebrates our locale, “I Like It In Duluth.” Many happy returns and long live Starfire! 

I was happily surprised when I heard Adam Herman & the Dynamite Club for the first time at Duluth Cider. Loved its rendition of Dylan’s “I Shall Be Released.”

Spin Collective

Fortunately, the rain let up in time for me to see another exciting performance on this evening: The Spin Collective. With its pyrotechnic display set to some very uptempo feminist songs, the daredevil fire twirlers and eaters had the onlookers bopping to the beats and synchronized dancing. If I had been exposed to this kind of entertainment 50 years ago, I believe I would have been dancing with fire myself. Don’t think I’ll take it up at this point in life though!

Lindula Brothers

Day 3, Tuesday, April 29: How could I not get out to see The Lindula Brothers at Vikre? They gave us some lively bluegrass and folk numbers that are always fun to hear and dance to. I’m sorry I cut short my time with them in order to get over to the DECC’s Amsoil Arena for four performances. I guess I am just not of the generation that enjoys loud, heavy metal music in which the lyrics get lost. I really meant to stay to hear the hip hop of BOOG3YM3N, but since they joined Gnarwals for a couple songs during their set, I had heard enough. I can only imagine what a band called Torment might have sounded like.

To rescue the rest of the evening I scooted over to Sir Ben’s to catch Sugar on the Roof, a band I’ve heard on several occasions, but there was something different this time – Megan Orwig Reynolds singing lead vocals. Together with Jefferson Reynolds on banjo and trombone (now there’s a combination), Clancy Ward on fiddle and vocals and Jen Krussow on upright bass, they were well received by die-hard Sir Benners. The place was packed like sardines, so the only place to stand without being crushed was on the upper level behind the band. Not so good for picture taking, but the sound was good.

Day 4, Wednesday, April 30:  What used to be “Western Wednesday” gave some of us the chance to show off our cowboy attire. I spoke to some people new to Homegrown who wondered why folks were dressed up like that; I could only explain that a few of us were behind the curve, since that Western Wednesday label was retired a couple years ago, possibly because it’s no longer considered “PC”? 

It was another evening of packed-in crowds beginning at Wussow’s with Lacuda, a trio new to me, followed by Janie and the Spokes. The latter were in good form playing mostly new material.
Then it was over to the West Theatre to see Emily Haavik & the 35s and Big Wave Dave and the Ripples. Well, all I can say is that the crowds were beginning to feel very claustrophobic. The main reason I won’t miss a Big Wave Dave concert is because this is music that absolutely impels one to dance, but there was no room to dance! So I got the hell out of there before I was crushed to death. 

Big Wave Dave and the Ripples

Before leaving though, I heard Dave introduce “Lady Madonna” as “the only “religious number in our set.” What was special was his wonderful skat at the end of the song. 

Fortunately, all the venues in West Duluth are within a two-block radius, so it was over to the Gopher Lounge to see Brothers Burn Mountain. Those two always put on an amazing show. Having a drink at the bar helped calm my nerves that had become a bit frazzled by this point. 

Brothers Burn Mountain

Day 5, Thursday, May 1: Again, the moniker for Superior — Souptown — had been dropped, which is too bad, I’ve always liked soup! At any rate, I definitely wanted to get over to see SonofMel at Earth Rider’s Cedar Lounge, who I have seen fewer than a handful of times these past few years. This guy is a genuine poet and really worth a close listen, with his fine voice and universal messages. I only wish I could see him in a quieter environment without the usual conversations and bar noise. 

Sonofmel

The Curmudgeon and I took ourselves over to the Anchor Bar for a burger (one apiece, though we actually could share just one of its legendary burgers). It wasn’t as crowded as expected, but we didn’t get finished in time to see Lovehouse at Havanna’s as hoped. Because I’d seen quite a few acts that were new to me thus far (several of them disappointing) during Homegrown over the previous few days, I opted to take in a couple of shows by bands I knew I liked. These were Blu Volta and Black River Review, which played back-to-back at Average Joe’s Pub. 

This was the first time we’ve been to this place and I’m wondering how long it’s been around. I actually got in some dancing on this evening before the crowd pressed in, so all was not lost. However, we decided an early evening was needed, especially as we contemplated being out late the next couple of nights.

Day 6, Friday, May 2: This evening, termed “Rawk Night,” started out at Wussow’s in order for me to see The Penny Peaches, a family group who sounded quite nice. Hattie Peach produces good solid vocals on original songs. Her sister, Grace Peach, played bass guitar and also sang; their father, John Peach, backed them up on drums, together with long-time family friend John Colter on lead guitar. PP performed nine original tunes (two composed by Grace). I had missed this group when it played on Glensheen’s pier last summer. I will try not to miss them again. I’m thinking they’d be a good fit for Sir Ben’s. 

After a quick break for a home-cooked dinner, the Curmudgeon joined me to head to the Sacred Heart Music Center to hear Saltydog. As this is one of my favorite local groups, I was supremely disappointed by this performance. It wasn’t the band’s fault, and probably not due to any shortcoming by Eric Swanson who runs sound at SHMC. Rather, it was the volume of human chatter reverberating in this spacious venue that muffled Saltydog’s music. 

Given that SHMC was packed fuller than I’ve ever seen (alarmingly so), it wasn’t surprising that conversations amongst attendees overwhelmed the music. Following Saltydog’s set, the place cleared out significantly. The reduced audience settled in much more quietly for Willem Defoe Fan Club, which allowed me to enjoy this performance. The trio consists of Hollis Sparhawk, (drums, Omnichord, vocals), Noah Ruona (guitar, vocals) and Jon Marshal (bass). Their music was clearly in the “slowcore” mode created by Hollis’s parents, Alan Sparhawk and the late Mimi Parker with Low. I will certainly look forward to hearing more from them in the future.

The next stop on this full Friday evening the C and I got downtown to Dubh Linn Irish Pub in order to see Tin Can Gin and got to hear a little bit of Big Science, the group that preceded them. They projected visuals of strange scientific paraphernalia. Very interesting! 

However, the venue filled to such an extent that us old timers had to call it quits before Tin Can Gin began its set. I imagine the young 20-somethings who were there had  fun.

Day 7, Saturday, May 3: Joining in the celebrations got curtailed but I wasn’t going to miss Boku Frequency’s gig at Blacklist Brewing Co. (nor Laurie BoeDee’s at Carmody) on this pleasant Saturday night. It was so great with 60-degree weather, Blacklist’s garage-door window was up to let in the first real warmth of the incoming season. 

The crowd was as packed as everywhere else. Fortunately the C and I got there early to get seats near the band. I didn’t really need one since I was up front grooving to Boku’s funky sounds along with an appreciative capacity crowd. Note: anyone who missed this band on Saturday has the opportunity to see them perform at Sacred Heart Music Center on Saturday, May 17.

Then we ventured up the block, to Carmody where Laurie BoeDee and bandmates played into the wee hours, well nearly midnight which is really late for us Midwesterners. A smaller, more select crowd congregated to hear her Texas-twinged guitar stylings. She was backed up nicely by her regular bassist, Sean Zarn, and Matt Groom who substituted for regular drummer Todd Garland. We got a good display of her guitar mastery.

Day 8, Sunday, May 4: Sorry to say I was unable to attend the music scheduled at Canal Park Brewing for this last day of Homegrown, which I would have liked to experience. 

Here’s my main take-away from this year’s Homegrown: It’s a great party and get-together for our Twin Ports music community, including folks from other places far and wide. That said, the crowds have gotten too big for listening to or enjoying music, despite the increase in the number of venues from 35 in 2024 to this year’s 38. And this number doesn’t include those  non-official Homegrown performances that have proliferated during the week. 

My past three years of following the music scene here makes me think that, with all the music options available every week throughout the year, perhaps the party needs to be scaled back a bit. Not sure how this can be accomplished, but it’s something I trust will be considered.