Day 3 of the 2023 Duluth Homegrown Music Festival started with a couple of unofficial events. Jacob and Owen Mahon of New Salty Dog continued their Mahon Monday series at Duluth Coffee Company, with special guest Teague and the Paddy Wagon, complete with a clogger. In the evening, the DECC's Syphony Hall mezzanine hosted a reception for local photographer Aaron Reichow's exhibit Dispatches from Homegrown 2022, with the Clancy Ward String Collective providing the soundtrack.
Musically, day 3 both started and ended with some unexpected collaborations. The Trash Cats brought up rapper C-silence (who has his own Homegrown slot Wednesday, May 3 at Mr. D’s) to guest on their first song. “We just sent him the track four hours ago,” they said. They followed that up with a cover of Frightened Rabbit’s “Old Old Fashioned.” Matt Sjelin of the band was celebrating his birthday, and remarked that there’s nothing better than to “get to do what you love on your birthday.”
It was Tacky Tuesday, and many folks were spotted in the crowd getting into the spirit of the theme.
Sir Ben's was already bustling when the night's first act, singer/songwriter Adam Moe, took the stage for a solo set that included a couple of trucking songs. “Truckers and musicians have a lot in common,” said Moe, “but truckers get paid better and it’s easier for musicians to back up.”
The DECC arena was christened by the brash country tunes of Brianne Marie and the Front Porch Sinners who used all their gears. Their set ranged from raucous foot stompers to serpentine ballads and wrapped with a fully-realized cover of "Zombie" by the Cranberries.
Water Cat’s first-ever Homegrown performance was well-received back at an ever-more crowded Sir Ben’s. “This time last year we were in France,” remarked Henry Bullard, who skillfully played an array of guitars and a banjo during the duo’s set. Singer Emma Musto sang songs in French and Spanish as well as covers in English ranging from Gillian Welch’s “My First Lover” to Nirvana’s “Come as You Are.” The eclectic set was a fun introduction to these recent arrivals to Duluth.
Back at the DECC, it was an emotional moment as The Gemstones Honoring AfroGeode took the stage next, leaving an empty space front and center in remembrance of their frontwoman, AfroGeode, aka Diona Johnson, who died unexpectedly just weeks before. Although her absence was palpable, the band wasted no time getting funky with an inspired, passionate, and uplifting set to an audience that included Johnson’s husband and other family members. Of Johnson, the band said, "she would be very pissed if we decided not to play anymore." Before easing into their final song, they made it clear; "She's here tonight."
At Sir Ben’s, Tres Osos, dressed in matching track suits, kicked off their set with a version of the song made famous by David Allan Coe "You Never Even Call Me by My Name," peppering in local references: "You don't have to call me Al Sparhawk...you don't have to call me Charlie Parr..." It set the tone for the rest of their fun and engaging bluegrass and country-flavored set.
At Dubh Linn, Hollow Profit was the first act, rapping to a backing track that smoothly segued from one song to the next in front of yet another good-sized crowd for the night. Meanwhile, Boss Mama and the Jebberhooch took over the stage set up on the floor of the DECC Arena; they and Fenestra Funk were the perfect, crowd-pleasing acts to keep people grooving along all the way to the end of the night on that big stage.
As mentioned earlier, the evening ended with another unexpected collaboration, one of the highlights of any Homegrown Music Festival. Mumblin' Drew assembled a trio for his enjoyable old-time string-band set at Dubh Linn. At the end, instead of leaving the stage to make way for the next act, free-form jazz duo Anderson Twuo, that act joined them onstage, backing up Mumblin' Drew's trio on drums and saxophone for a version of "If You Don't Want Me Please Don't Dog Me 'Round." Everyone stayed onstage, but the end of Mumblin' Drew's set turned into the beginning of the Anderson Twuo's set, with the duo taking the lead and the string trio joining in on some improvisational jazz before surrendering the stage to the new act.
Coming up on Day 4, keep your ears open for some rumored secret shows. One not-so-secret show is happening at the new Northerly School of Music on 2nd Avenue East in downtown Duluth, featuring a performance by The Mr. So & So Ceremonial Crud Band at 8pm. We're not quite sure who's exactly in that band, but we're betting Kyle Orla will be involved. It's a long way from the main action happening in West Duluth, but might be worth a detour. Tonight's dress-up theme is Western Wednesday so dig out your cowboy hats and Wranglers if you want to take part.
Coverage of the Duluth Homegrown Music Festival on the North 103.3 is made possible by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.
