Day 7 of the 2026 Duluth Homegrown Music Festival began with the annual kickball game, happening at West Duluth's Wheeler Field for the first time, with Friday bands taking on Saturday bands.
A brand new Homegrown event, the Artists Merch Fair, gave Homegrown musicians a chance to sling their merch at the Depot's Great Hall during the afternoon.
Saturday, aka Roll Night, started in Lakeside with the Rocking Rodents playing at Spirit of the Lake Community Arts. The dress-up theme of the night was Sweatsuit Saturday, with many patrons and bands in their best sporty apparel. While there didn't seem to be as many lines to get into venues as there were on Friday, venues were one-in-one-out for popular artists like Jumpsuit , Bratwurst, and the Duluth Dolls throughout the night.
At Studio 4, the Zenith City Dance Collective opened the 4-act Movement Showcase. With a variety of song and dance, improvisation and choreography, (and an opening number by the appropriately introduced “Cluckin’ Cloggers”) the group charmed the audience and ultimately invited everyone willing to come to the stage for a soothing finale that allowed anyone to join in and be Homegrown performer.
At Spirit of the Lake Community Arts, young band Mud Puppies were performing in the same space they use to practice. They were dressed in suits for their indie-rock set; it turns out the high schoolers were headed to prom directly after the show. They had lots of support from the crowd on their home turf on the eastern side of Duluth.
The second band up at The Flame was All Sea Monsters Are Girls. A hefty crowd forced audience members into the far recesses of the venue as the jubilant sounds of a modern-day Go-Gos rang through the space and into the street below.
At the Owl’s Club, P.B&J wound down their raucous set with a cover of The Pixies’ “Where is My Mind” and ultimately brought the show to a close in front of a capacity crowd with a cover of “Kiss Me” by Six Pence None the Richers – a surprising choice, and surprising when they cut it off after about a minute (apparently having reached their 45-minute designated Homegrown set length).
At Sir Benedit's Tavern, country performer Isa Morin, originally from Quebec, did a set of mostly country covers, including a version of "City of New Orleans" in both French and English. She teased a new album in the works, and played an original about being a hockey mom, mentioning that it was the first time she's performed it in Englisth. She ended with a version of John Denver's "Country Roads" that got the audience singing along.
Back at the Owl’s Club, jam band Kroma was next up.
Death Valley Yacht Club took the stage at Sir Ben's to an audience full of supporters. The duo plays modern folk with intricate guitars and close harmonies. They also have a sense of humor, introducing "Our theme song," and inviting the audience to sing along, saying "you’ll get it by the end;" the primary lyrics of the song were the band's name. They joked that they're known for their short song titles before playing "Worm Song" from their 2025 album Dead Flowers.
The Spin Collective (rescheduled due to the rain on Monday) brought the heat to a Saturday Night crowd outside the Main Duluth Public Library. Onlookers were treated to the precise choreography of twirling flames and spinning fireballs.
Greatly anticipated by Homegrown OGs, Witchfarm closed the night at Sacred Heart. Jerree Small’s flawless and impassioned vocals soared above ethereal instrumentation, casting a spell on a captivated audience. It was an emotional performance that recalled Southwire, a band that Witchfarm's Small and Sean Elmquist were in with Ben Larson, who unexpectedly passed away in 2024.
At the Moorish Room, Greg Cougar Conley and his band played a set of classic country with a modern sensibility, wearing matching shirts decorated with piping and glitter.
Emily Haavik and the 35s' set at the Norway Hall Event Center was unusual in that frontwoman Haavik had lost her voice. Fortunately back-up singer Lisa Wentworth, was able to ably fill in, while a smiling Haavik played guitar throughout the set. Several members of the band, including Wentworth, are also members of Mid Dream, who were playing later the same night.
Over at the Moorish Room, Eldri Snow played a set of unaffected Americana, accompanied by her cousin on guitar as more of her family looked on from the audience.
It's not surprise that Portrait of a Drowned Man have had their music included in movies; their instrumentals are cinematic, taking listeners on a journey with shifting dynamics and urgent rhythms. Many in the crowd at Blacklist Brewing closed their eyes and swayed along to the soundscapes from the longtime Duluth band.
Shane Nelson was track-suited up for his set at the Moorish Room, accompanied by his niece and nephew Rokkyn and Traxx from the band Born Too Late and his brother Jessie. He started the set playing some of his songs on guitar, then moved to the keyboards as he invited Kristy Marie onstage to play one of her songs, followed by a lovely duet on a song he said he wrote after a breakup.
Mid Dream was the last band at Blacklist Brewing, also dressed for the night's sporty theme . They were clearly having a ball and taking the audience along with them for their soulful set that had the still-sizeable crowd grooving past midnight.
Coverage of the Duluth Homegrown Music Festival on the North is made possible by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and by Music Go Round.
