Homegrown Music Festival

The "Homegrown Music Festival" is Duluth, Minnesota's annual showcase of local bands. The event has grown from featuring 10 acts in 1999 to over 150 in 2008. It happens every year during the first week of May.

Notable acts that have performed in the festival include: Low, Trampled By Turtles, Charlie Parr, the Dames, the Alrights, the Black Labels, the Keep Aways, Giljunko, Bone Appetit, the Black-eyed Snakes and Haley Bonar.

The event was originally a for-profit venture, but became a nonprofit in 2006 and is now run by a steering committee. The Bridge Syndicate is its fiscal agent. Paul Connolly is the festival director.

Pre-history

Duluthian Scott Lunt, known as "DJ Starfire" or simply "Starfire," became a prominent figure in the Duluth music scene in 1997 when he founded Random Radio, an unlicensed low-power station. With about 40 friends volunteering to broadcast shows from his basement in Duluth's East Hillside neighborhood, Lunt became well acquainted with Duluth musicians and traveling musicians, who would perform live on random broadcasts.

For Lunt's 30th birthday, he invited five acts to play at a private party at Lafayette Square in Duluth's Park Point neighborhood. One of those bands was his own, Father Hennepin, performing for the first time. That event is considered the precursor of the Homegrown Music Festival.

1999

In February 1999, Lunt was playing cribbage with friends and reminiscing about his 30th birthday party. During the conversation, he decided to hold another party, this time open to the general public, called the Homegrown Music Festival.

The first Homegrown was held at the NorShor Theater's Mezzanine Lounge over two nights, attracting about 1,000 people. Ten bands performed: Father Hennepen, Giljunko, Max Dakota, the Black Labels, Amy Abts, Gild, Crazy Betty, Ballyhoo, 2 Sleepy People and the First Ladies.

2000

The second annual Homegrown expanded to include 23 acts. The NorShor's main theater opened as a second stage, and acoustic acts played the Fitger's Brewhouse. A third night was added to the festival for the now-traditional Thursday night Starfire Lounge at the Brewhouse, during which DJ Starfire spins music by local bands and brewer Dave Hoops unleashes a batch of Homegrown Hempen Ale.

This was the first year a kickball game was played between the bands that played on Friday and the bands the played on Saturday. The Saturday Rollers defeated the Friday Rawkers by a score of 7-6.

2001

In its third year, Homegrown featured 38 acts at four locations over three nights. Beaner's Central and the Red Lion Lounge were added as venues. This was the first year Bon Appetit, Charlie Parr and Low played the festival (though Low performed as a two-piece, without bassist Zak Sally). Mayor Gary Doty signed a proclamation declaring Homegrown Music Festival Weekend in the city of Duluth.

2002

The fourth Homegrown expanded to include over 60 acts playing four nights at eight venues. A change in city law prior to the festival allowed clubs with cabaret licenses to obtain extended hours permits for dancing and live music. This led to a raucous performance by the Black-eyed Snakes at Pizza Lucé during the wee hours of the night/morning featuring what may be the first documented case of crowd surfing at a pizza restaurant.

2003

Homegrown expanded to five days in its fifth year, and included over 70 acts. Notable moments included Scott Lunt shaving his hair into a mohawk, foul-mouthed country singer Brad Nailer playing on the sidewalk in front of the NorShor Theater, Geek Prom Queen AnnMarie O'Malley crowd-surfing with her crown on, and scene designer Doug Odlevak creating a giant replica of the Ariel Lift Bridge over the NorShor's main stage.

The Homegrown Kickball Classic was played on a softball field outside Wade Municipal Stadium after the city's parks and recreation director put a stop to plans for the game to be held inside the stadium.

2004

The only year the number of bands in Homegrown has not grown substantially was 2004, when the roster stayed at roughly 70 acts. It was also a year that saw the Twin Ports Music and Arts Collective open, providing an all-ages venue. This sixth Homegrown was the last one organized by Lunt.

2005

Brothers Tim and Brad Nelson, then publishers of the Ripsaw newspaper, purchased Homegrown from Lunt in 2005 and expanded the festival to include over 90 acts.

2006

In late 2005, the Nelsons donated Homegrown to the nonprofit Bridge Syndicate, which organized a steering committee to run the festival. Al Sparhawk and Amy Abts were co-chairs of the committee.

Homegrown 2006 featured 115 acts over eight days, including the farewell performance of Bone Appetit. For the first time, a free trolley bus shuttled attendees from venue to venue.

In a controversial kickball game, the Saturday bands won for the seventh consecutive year.

2007

Duluth City Councilor Don Ness assumed the role of festival director in 2007. The roster of bands grew to 130.

For the first time in Homegrown history, the Friday bands finally defeated the Saturday bands at kickball, winning 4-3.

References

"Starfire: The Man Behind the Event," by Paul Lundgren. May 3, 2000 Ripsaw.

"Anatomy of a Music Scene," by Paul Lundgren. May 2, 2001 Ripsaw.

"Homegrown Music Festival 4," by Paul Lundgren. May 1, 2002 Ripsaw.

"Pieces fall into place for annual music showcase with 10 new bands lined up," by V. Paul Virtucio. April 25, 2003 Duluth News Tribune.

"Homegrown," by Mark Oberg. April 30, 2003 Ripsaw.

"Chicken with a Mission," by Brandy Hoffman. May 2004 Ripsaw.

"Duluth Rocks!!" May 2005 Ripsaw.

"Moans aside, it's game on for Homegrown VII," by Sarah Henning. May 5, 2005 Duluth News Tribune.

"2006 Homegrown Music Festival Field Guide."

"The Chicken Lives! Homegrown in Duluth," by Christine Dean. April 15, 2006 www.mnartists.org.

"Homegrown gets down to business," by Sarah Henning. April 27, 2006 Duluth News Tribune.

"Homegrown expands, adds art for the eye," by Anna Kurth. April 30, 2006 Duluth Budgeteer News.

"2007 Homegrown Music Festival Field Guide."