Day 6 of the Duluth Homegrown Music Festival, "Rawk" Night, fell on a full moon, appropriate for the dress-up theme of Freaky Friday. Plenty of folks were letting their freak flag fly in big and small ways. One man dressed as a leprauchaun, some people wore horror masks, and one woman, in a skimpy outfit topped by a furry coat to ward off the chilly April air, was being led around by a chain around her neck. She was also carrying an angle grinder, which she used it to generate sparks that showered down on her similarly-dressed friend for the entertainment of passers by on the sidewalk. Just another Freaky Friday night at Homegrown.
By 7pm, venues were overflowing, with strict one-in-one out enforcement of legal capacity. That led to long lines outside many locations, a situation that ebbed and flowed throughout the night.
With a few hours of daylight left, the music started at the Flame nightclub with Foosball Ruckus. With a Harmon trumpet often cascading over fully-realized songs the flirted with island sounds, the band played all of their “favorite songs” – each was introduced as such by the lead singer.
At Prøve, it was an early night of headbanging as Homegrown newbies BRAINWASHED filled the gallery space with mosh-worthy tunes and plenty of enthusiastic metalheads. The line was out the door and down the street for Peat Boggs who followed.
The Bill Berguson Band got the Owl’s Club moving with a set of classic rock sounds infused with a dash of psychedelic and a splash of prog.
Former church Sacred Heart Music Center was a perfect fit for Taylor James Donskey's set, with fellow Homegrown performer Nikki Lemire joining him to play harp and Dave Mehling playing the space's grand piano. Donskey joked about how quiet the audience was, saying, “by the end of this night the windows are blowing out.” For his first time playing Homegrown, Donskey played a mix of originals and a few covers, including Paramore's "Only Exception." He advised the audience that, if they took anything away from his set, it should be to go listen to Ella Fitzerald's live album recorded in Berlin.
At Duluth Flame, the rap outfit Boog3ym3n scratched the itch for fest-goers looking for a healthy dose of spooky hip-hop.
Back at Owls Club, Tony Petersen's project Ditchbird leaned more into the Duluth sound with a country-folk acoustic set.
Mae and Justine made their Homegrown debut at Sir Benedict's Tavern, with Mae on guitar and Justine on keyboards and flute. They had some new originals to share and some unexpected covers, like System of a Down's "Aerials." Mae introduced the first song as a drinking song, with amusing lyrics about needing a steady hand, then played the cover, then introduced the third song as yet another drinking song, to the amusement of the crowd packed into the venue.
First-time Homegrown artist Lee Clark Allen was next at Sacred Heart, playing songs from his 2025 album My World is Yours. He also did a fun mashup of songs by Adele, Daniel Caesar, and Radiohead that worked seamlessly. During his set Allen hinted at a new album in the works called Sugar Rush.
And as daylight began to fade, Underground Til Sundown turned up the volume for a full house at Duluth Flame.
Carmody was at capacity for Hardaybra and their new-wave-meets-'90s-alternative sound. They threw a cover of Slade's "Run Runaway" into the mix, which revved up the audience packed around the stage.
Taking the audience by surprise, Ross Thorn began his set while patrons were still in conversation during the set change at Sacred Heart. A three-part harmony rang out with lyrics about the last nazi dying, earning a partial standing ovation before Thorn even picked up an instrument, a reception usually reserved for the end of a show, which led Thorn to joke that his set was done and wish the audience good night. The actual end of the show was Ross playing "Midwestern Goodbye," a song about the endless niceties Midwesterners engage in before actually leaving, solo. The audience ate it up, laughing as the song kept going on and on. By the last act of the night, Sacred heart was 1-in-1-out.
Music started at R.T. Quinlan’s with Dog Talk, a four-piece old school rock band that felt very comfortable on that bar stage.They had a series of rock-ballads and a Bad Bad Hats cover that very much pleased the middle-to-large sized crowd, many of whom had been loyal to this band for years but also maybehadn’tseen them in years. The sense of community was deeply felt.
Dubh Linn regulars made the most of the free venue, packing the backroom for the blue grass sounds of the Squid City Slingers.
At the same time, The Old Smugglers pressed the gas pedal in their unique sound of salty-sailor rock at Blacklist. Their rhythm section was borrowed from Twin Cities band the Tim Malloys, filling in for regular band members who weren't available. The venue had videos of chickens playing around the walls of the bar in honor of Homegrown, a surreal backdrop to the band's traditional singalong closer "We All Walk the Plank Alone."
At Carmody, Jen West admitted to being a little nervous as she was trying out some new things, joking "For freaky Friday I thought I’d dress as a cool calm collected person." Known for playing ukelele, West also had a bass and electronic looping gear for this set. She created soundscapes for herself to sing over, her emotive lyrics and warm voice meshing beautifully with the electronic beats, giving Portishead vibes. It was a fun new direction for an artist who's been on the scene for many years.
Irreverent rocker Rick McLean and his band were next at Norway Hall Event Center. When introducing the song "Turkey Sub," McLean fessed up that, in the post he made on Instagram using the song to promote his set, in the photo he was actually eating...a ham sandwich.
Dubh Linn took a dark turn for the nightmare-inducing sounds and sights of Polari. Tyler Scouton’s solo electronic music project incorporated disturbing visuals of laughing children, ghostly black and white film, and unsettling stop-motion scenes from claustrophobic and gothic interiors. For those familiar with Scouton's work, it was completely expected, but the college kids lingering about after the Squid City Slingers were not prepared for what descended upon their reality. The performance was the opposite of low-brow, easily accessible entertainment, and those who ventured into the weird were not left wanting.
At the Moorish Room, Climes played a set of lovely, atmospheric folk rock for a large audience.
Al Blacklist Brewing, rockers Discord at Dawn turned up the volume and got the crowd cheering. Frontman Joel Conley's uncle, longtime Duluth musician Greg Cougar Conley, joined the band on vocals for a song.
Next up at the Moorish Room was singer/songwriter Grant Glad.
Just before hard rockers Shadows of Me closed out the night at Pizza Luce, DJ ADUB had a party vibe in full effect during the final set of the night at Blacklist Brewing. The crowd was wildly dancing and waving multi-colored glowsticks to the beat, and someone made a pass through the room with the bubble guns that have been popping up throughout the week.
Coming up:
The Spin Collective, whose performance was rained out earlier in the week, will perform in the main library plaza at 9pm on Saturday night.
Coverage of the Duluth Homegrown Music Festival on the North is supported by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and by Music Go Round.
