For one night this week,all of the Homegrown action was across state lines. Superior night started out with the “Mayor’s Proclamation” delivered by Council Vice President of the City of Superior Garner Moffat. After a quick quip about taking his requisite 45-minute Homegrown time slot to regale the audience with political accomplishments, Moffat was quick to read Mayor Paine’s prepared words and welcome festival goers to Wisconsin. A trolley was running through the night to connect fans with the numerous venues.
Music started with the easy groove sounds of the Gavin St. Clair Quartet at Superior Tavern. The chill sounds kept the audience engaged and got a few dancing as well. He closed his set with "Sidewalk Chalk," drawing whoops and hollers of approval from the crowd.
Over at Ritual Marketplace, a schedule change didn’t disrupt the vibe. KBAR kept the EDM beats going as audience members immediately bought into the club vibe at the salad restaurant. Also worth noting that during the “I Have No Reason to Wear That” theme night, the specially-made Homegrown shirts that Ritual Marketplace was selling seemed to be a hit. Other popular clothing items in step were the theme were caftans, ill-fitting suits, and even a couple of wedding dresses.
Average Joe’s was packed when the music got underway. Although a couple dozen barflies were invested in the Minnesota Wild game on the big screens, hundreds were trained on the sounds of Nikkie Lemire. The enchanting sounds of the harp might very well mark the first time that instrument has graced the stage at the venue.
Back at Superior Tavern, Tanner Classon’s solo project Casualty Company was underway with energetic guitar and vocal tunes. Partway through, the performer introduced a loop device and drum machine to the mix, happily announcing that the new tech was a birthday gift from just two weeks earlier.
Israel Malachi Orchestra performed at Havana's, the music ringing throughout the venue. Guitarist Eric Bong remarked of Homegrown, "this is the huggiest season." Their set included a cover of Bob Dylan's "One More Cup of Coffee."
C-Silence was next up at Ritual Marketplace with an entertaining set of rap songs. The downstairs space was working with a one-in-one out policyt hroughout the set.
Outside, some magic smelt dancers were looking to crash the party ahead of the performance by Four Mile Portage. Dancers strapped swaths of jingle bells to their shins in preparation for some Morris dancing (typically seen at the head of the annual smelt parade which happens on May 17th this year).
Teague Alexy, who performed with Woodblind the previous night, performed a set with his own band, The Common Thread, at Average Joe's Pub. The venue was tightly packed, and random cheers would erupt from the back of the venue where some folks were still focused on the hockey game.
Cedar Lounge was not a Homegrown venue this year, but it did host a show from local musician Alan Sparhawk and his solo band. He gave a shoutout to Homegrown at the beginning of his set.
At Tower Avenue Tavern, the venue’s first act, Rory Van James, played a set to an appreciative audience. He introduced a song called “The Jester,” with a tongue-in-cheek comment that it was about how comedy can save the world, one offensive joke at a time.
Closing out the night at the Superior Tavern were the powerful words of Darren Sipity. Over the sounds of low-fi beats, the rapper leaned into social and political topics that pertained to his Native American heritage.
Meanwhile, in a performance that might be best described as “DJs pretending to be DJs” the Crunchy Bunch had the dance floor at Havana’s packed. The only stoppage in the music was when Dan Branovan took the mic to deliver a faux drunk wedding speech – a tactic apparently utilized to buy time while a crashed computer rebooted. None in attendance seemed to mind. The music and dancing soon seamlessly resumed.
- They had a little bit of a late start, butit seemed that the crowddidn’tmind because there were still so many people there. The crowd “coziedup” (pushed to the frontto pack more people in)
- I think thiswas their first time performing in a couple of years
- Really easy to fall into the groove of the music (it seemed like the crowd was moving in the same rhythm)
- Guest appearance from Teague, he played the harmonica and there was a percussion instrument (that Idon’tknow whatit’scalled)
Next up was Joy and Melancholy, a charming young indie pop/punk band. Their set included original songs “Platypus” and “Bird House;” they joked, “there's a theme going on,” referencing their penchant for songs about animals. Their tip jar for Homegrown was a chicken-shaped wicker basket.
Brinn Major, in their Octavia Forté drag persona, performed for a packed Main Club, sharing songs about being unapologetically black and queer and embracing self-empowerment in general. Someone in the crowd was wearing a Beaker (from the Muppets) costume, definitely falling under the “I Have no Reason to Wear That” theme.
Over at Tower Avenue Tavern, Mr. Kickass delivered a high energy punk set that inspired intense moshing and a little crowd surfing.
The Brothers Burn Mountain closed the night at the Main Club with their swirling combination of bluesy guitar and hypnotic drums. The still-sizeable audience was drawn in by the rhythms, which culminated in a final percussion frenzy, bringing the evening to a sweaty, satisfying conclusion.
Coming up:
Friday is Rawk Night, with music venues stretching from downtown out to Lakeside.
Friday's dress-up theme: Freaky Friday, which is left open to the wearer's interpretation,
Friday's Homegrown Live from Studio A is at 3pm and features Mid Dream.
