For Day 3 of the 2026 Duluth Homegrown Music Festival, It was a jungle out there, with the animal-print dress-up theme in full force.
Forty-five minutes before the music started at Vikre, there was already a line of dozens waiting outside. After the doors opened, it didn’t take long to pack the distillery. For the first set of the night, Water Cat took the audience on a globetrotting journey with songs in English, Spanish, and French. The duo also covered a song by an artist from Senegal and concluded with an anti-fascism song from Italy. The casual question of “Are there any fascists here tonight?” was followed immediately by a brief and colorful directive to locate the exit.
Gavin Glen played his yukele for a crammed Sir Benedict's Tavern, with food runners sliding between patrons to bring folks their sandwiches. He was also selling CD’s and poetry books. He announced, “I’m Gavin Glen, here are my songs” before opening with a cheeky parody of Zac Brown Band’s “Chicken Fried” substituting fried tofu and a seltzer on a Tuesday night for the original's fried chicken and a cold beer on a Friday. Glen also played an original that he had never played before, “even at an open mic” about TMI (to much information) moments. After a couple of songs Glen switched to an acoustic guitar and told some jokes during the transition. He played a song he wrote with Breanne Marie of Breanne Marie and the Front Porch Sinners about Grandma's Marathon.
Hip hop artist Dre AKA Jamaican, backed by DJ Jesse Jaze, was the opening act at Amsoil Arena, getting lots of appreciation from a crowd that included plenty of friends and family. He brought his young daughter onstage for a song and didn't seem to mind at all that she stole the show.
Back at Vikre, Water Cat gave way to Idle Rose, who leaned into the night’s animal theme. Not only were they decked out in animal print, but they played no less than three songs about dogs and cats. They ended their cozy-cabin of a set with a darling cover of “You Sexy Thing” by Hot Chocolate.
Ashe Berton opened her set at Sir Ben's with a cover of "Valerie" from Amy Winehouse. Berton has been releasing music this spring leading up to an album release in June; she performed the title track from that album that will be titled Fill My Soul. Her set also included her latest release, "Yampa Valley", a cover of "Brand New Key" from Melanie (she used to sing this on the playground with her best friend), and a song so new it doesn't have a name about what it might be like to plant roots somewhere, Berton, who has been traveling for the last 10 years, shared stories about her sailing career and mentioned she recently returned from the Arctic.
Vikre was full to the brim for Lu Starr’s performance, making it hard for folks in the back to see or hear her above the noise of the crowd chatter. The solo singer -songwriter was able to tune it all out to play a riveting set for those fortunate enough to get a spot up front.
Berserk Blondes, the second act at Amsoil Arena, took the stage with much fanfare , all dressed to match the night’s animal print theme. With a full-band sound and a synthesized accordion, they launched into “The Berserk Blawndz Theme” followed by a set of goofy, high energy tunes about road rage, getting thrown out of the Radisson, and beer money. They goofballs also teased their “Write a Song About Me” winner for 2026, and closed with their song for 2025 winner Jenny Armstrong. Steve Solkela kept the snappy one-liners coming throughout, advising the audience, “You’re gonna need some knee surgery after some of these knee slappers.” In the three years since their Homegrown debut, Solkela and bandmate Kaylee Matuszak have refined their music and comedy routine, playing off each other seamlessly, and the audience ate it up.
Up next at Sir Ben's, Dirtbike Boyfriend took the stage decked out in an animal-print shirt, announcing, “My birthday was a week and a day ago, so this is my birthday show.” His raw singer/songwriter set included the anti-capitalist song "$20?! " and a song lamenting the demise of former gathering space and Homegrown venue Blush. Although he mentioned he only planned for a 30-minute set, he managed to fill the entire 45 minute slot allotted each Homegrown artist.
Back at Amsoil Arena, alternative garage rockers The Leave Alones took the stage. Frontman Cole Holstrom mentioned they were nervous about playing for a crowd so much bigger than usual, joking that he’d tried to get some stage performance tips by watching videos of G.G. Alllin (a performer notorious for his deliberately shocking antics, like defecating onstage). The band didn’t need antics to keep the crowd entertained; they delivered a solid rocking set that included songs from their recently-released live EP, Wild Stories, including “I’m Going into the Woods (And I’m Never Coming Back), which Holstrom said was inspired by the current political climate.
Meanwhile, music got started with John Agacki, who stated that when he is playing his own music, he is John Agacki. But, when he plays Irish tunes, he is John O'gacki.
He opened his show as the latter, playing a song called "Hawk and the Crow" before bringing Linda Crumpton onstage to play concertina for the second song. Reverting back to John Agacki , he played some originals, including a song he wrote for his mom titled "Mother's Mother Day Song." John’s music was cute, clever,and deeply disturbing, as many folk tunes are. There was an instrumental based on the idea of bootleggers outrunning the law, "Moonshine Road." He ended the show with some sea shanties that were both sad and festive; they included a masterpiece of a song about a tugboat moored in Two Harbors, the Edna G, and Agacki steered listeners to the Friends of Edna G, a group dedicated to preserving the tug.
Baharat, playing their first show in a long time, ended the night at Amsoil Arena with a set that included their songs "Not Deep: and "Never Trusted." By the end the crowd was yelling for one more song.
Over at Dubh Linn, Mitchell Kane made his Homegrown debut, opening his set with, he said, “the first country song I ever learned. ” He admitted he heard the song, “The Simple Things,” on a favorite Nickelodean kids show, Hey Arnold, adding that the show also “soft launched my love for trains.” He slipped a few train songs and history tidbits into his set while drawing hoots and hollers from the crowd in appreciation for his guitar skills. He shouted out local musician Kyle Orla as someone who helped him learn flatpicking, and played a song that references Jacob Mahon and Salty Dog while Mahon himself nodded along appreciatively in the front row.
The party was still going strong at 11pm for porb, another DJ from UMD's Techno Club, as Dubh Linn turned into a dance club, with balloons being batted around in the gyrating crowd. "This is the coolest vibe!" said one audience member. The party kept going past midnight.
Coming up:
It's Westside Wednesday, with the action happening in West Duluth and the dress-up theme Western Wear
Today's Homegrown Live from Studio A at 3pm features Lee Clark Allen.
Coverage of the Homegrown Music Festival on the North is made possible by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and Music Go Round.
