Music

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Homegrown Music Festival on The North 103.3

Tune in as we celebrate the Duluth Homegrown Music Festival, happening April 28-May 5. We have you covered with daily Live From Studio A sessions featuring Homegrown rawk and/or rollers, festival highlights from local music experts, and daily photo and blog posts.Like and follow our Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to be in the know for Homegrown.This Homegrown Week on The North 103.3 is made possible by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.

Homegrown Music Festival 2024 Day 6

The North 103.3 | By Christine Dean,

Katelyn Brinza, Luke Moravec, Jeff Carmack

Published May 4, 2024 at 5:36 PM CDT

A man plays guitar in the foreground while a person with long hair plays drums in the background. They are in a wood-paneled room with pictures of owls on the walls.

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Nevins perform at Owls Club

Stevie Twining

A closely-packed audience bathed in blue light and smaller spotlights of green and red light with yellow lights in a string behind them. One young woman has her eyes closed and looks like she is getting into the music. Another young woman is wearing a hat and has one hand raised in front of her.

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The audience at Duluth Flame for The Crunchy Bunch

Lexi Hausmann

A chalk image on a sidewalk of a man in a yellow superhero costume that says DAD on it. To his upper left it says Discord at Dawn in Red and below him it says May 3, Friday 9:45

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Discord at Dawn commissioned local chalk artist Annmarie Geniuz to put an ad for their show outside of venues, including this one at Carmody.

Christine Dean

Day 6 of the 2024 Duluth Homegrown Music Festival sprawled from Sir Benedict's on 8th Avenue East to Wussow's in West Duluth. Local music fans mapped out their strategies; some chose to stick it out at one venue, others took advantage of the trolley or hoofed it up and down Superior Street to catch their favorite acts. It was another occasionally rainy night, but that didn't deter music fans, and venues were bustling all over town.

A woman sings into a microphone while playing guitar — Skarlett Woods performs at Owls Club

The music downtown began at the Owl’s Club (as did many Homegrowners). Upstairs, Skarlett Woods performed before an audience wrapped up in the full sound of the singer/songwriter and the spirit that comes with the start of an eventful Friday night.

A seated man playing an accordian and wearing a helmet with a cymbal on it sings into a microphone. — Steve's Overpopulated One-Man Band performs at Teatro Zuccone

The crowd at Zeitgeist was similar in its near unnavigability as Steve Solkela filled the stage with various sounds anchored by his typical trade tool, the accordion. Breaking the “one-man” moniker, Solkela was joined for a time by Shane Nelson, then by fellow Berserk Blond Kaylee Matuszak.

A poster on a green wall reads "(un)OFFICIAL 'SCOTUM' AUTOGRAPH $20" and has a small white card at the bottom that says "SCOTUM Autograph Blowout Sale $3" — Scotum shenanigans at Owl's Club

The "Scotum" shenanigans continued (see Day 3 and Day 4), with a sign posted at the Owls Club (where Tyler Scouton, who's at the center of the joke, is a member) offering discount Scotum autographs.

A rock band on stage performing bathed in blue light — Dead End Friends perform at Duluth Flame

A band performs on a stage in an old church with an altar and stained-glass windows behind them. — Edri Snow and the Wintry Mix perform at Sacred Heart

At Sacred Heart, Eldri Snow's tender Americana set with her band Wintry Mix drew a standing ovation at the end.

Black-and-white photo of a man in a suit playing guitar — Nevins perform at Owls Club

A man on he left playing guitar and singing into a microphone and a man on the right playing drums — Big Into perform at Teatro Zuccone

Up next at Zeitgeist was the two-man band Big Into. The crowd had been all-but razed after Solkela’s departure, but within two songs of Big Into’s indie/prog rock set, butts were back in seats and the audience was spilling into the aisles.

A woman talking into a hand-held microphone stands on a stage. — Comedian Danielle Thralow performs at the Variety Showcase at Studio 4

Over at Studio 4, a new Homegrown addition, the Variety Showcase, got started at 7:30 with shorter sets that required very little transition time. For those seeking rapid-fire samples of comedy (as well as poetry and storytelling) this was a comfy setting away from the elements and the rowdier, more tightly packed crowds. Included in the line-up was local comedian Danielle Thralow who took jabs at dating, TSA agents, and the depressing state of North Dakota.

A man in a t-shirt that says "Monkey Business" on the front with a picture of a monkey plays a guitar and sings into a microphone. — The Elements perform at Duluth Flame

Two musicians sit on the floor of a stage. The one on the left is a man playing guitar, the one in the cener is a woman leaning forward to manipulate an electronic device. — Anatomy of Ruminants perform at Wussows

Improvisational electronic duo Anatomy or Ruminants was one of three acts at Wussow's Concert Cafe in West Duluth. Although the venue was far from the main action of the night, there was a respectable crowd on hand for their set.

A man plays guitar and sings into a microphone on the stage of an old church. Behind him to the left is a man playing pedal steel. To the right is a drum kit. — Ross Thorn performs at Sacred Heart Music Center

Ross Thorn made his Homegrown debut at Sacred Heart to a full house.

A person in an owl mask plays an electronic device, seen from their right side. — Raw Space performs at Owls Club

A man performs holding one electronic device and pushing a button on another device in front of him. — Zeta Carinae performs at Teatro Zuccone

A DJ wearing headphones twists a knob on the device in front of him. He is bathed in blue light. — The Crunchy Bunch perform at Duluth Flame

At the Duluth Flame, long-running DJ collective the Crunchy Bunch kept the dance floor full and moving for their set.

A man bends over an electronic instrument with lots of knobs and wires — Nate J Mattson performs at Carmondy Irish Pub

At Carmody, Nate J. Mattson performed his set using a modular synthesizer.

A band performs on the stage of an old church with an altar behind them with flameless candles on it. — #theindianheadband performs at Sacred Heart

Back at Sacred Heart, family (and friends) band #theindianheadband went all in on the superhero theme for the night with everyone in costume. The Native American band specializing in re-imagining songs derogatory to Indians; one example was their version of The Sweet's "Wig Wam Bam," which they turned into a song about "Minnesota's favorite meat," according to frontwoman Lyz Jakkola, spam.

Black-and-white photo of a band clustered together singing a capella into two microphones — Cyr and the Cosmonauts perform at the Moorish Room

A man wearing a yellow superhero costume and mask plays guitar and sings into a microphone on a stage. Audience members are seen from behind watching the show. — Discord at Dawn performs at Carmody

A woman wearing headphones bends over her DJ gear while an audience looks on — Youms performs at Blacklis Brewing

A smiling man playing an electric guitar leans towards a microphone — Boku Frequency performing at Pizza Luce

A band onstage performing bathed in green light as seen from behind and above the audience. — Wilbur performs at R.T. Quinlan's

A man in front of a stage holds a microphone and raps while a DJ plays beats at the back of the stage — C-silence at Dubh Linn

A band performs in a dark room as seen from stage left — Bark Point performs at Blacklist Brewing

A smiling sweaty man holding a guitar tips the bill of his cap with one hand while standing in front of a microphone — Lovehouse perform at Pizza Luce

A bluegrass band performs on a stage as seen from the side. The front of the audience can be seen in front of them. — Black River Revue perform at Blacklist Brewing

A man on stage playing guitar. A drummer is behind him at the back of the stage. — Rick McLean performing at Pizza Luce

The night ended at Pizza Luce with Rick McLean, who cut to the chase at the beginning of his set. "I'm Rick, that's Mike, that's Pete, let's go!" he said before immediately launching into a song. Some moshing started in the back, eventually rippling its way to the front.

Coming up:

The same venues as Friday will host music, with the DTA Trolley running between the downtown ones.

The official dress-up theme for the night is Seventies Saturday. If Star Wars is more your style, the unofficial theme is May the 4th be with you.

There's a Homegrown adjacent event, a Sensible Shoes Queer Dance Party, happening at the Jade Fountain from 8-midnight.

Duluth Homegrown Music Festival coverage is supported by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage fund.