Homegrown Music Festival veterans share memories – Duluth News Tribune

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DULUTH — Jen West began her Homegrown career in a big way.
„Jason Wussow was playing at Clyde (Iron Works), and he invited me up to play one of my songs,“ remembered the singer-songwriter. „That was my very first Homegrown.“
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The 2011 Hermantown High School grad has since played „eight or nine“ times at Homegrown. „I’m not too sure,“ West admitted.
„This will be our ninth year playing Homegrown,“ said Sean Moria of Gnarwals.
„We did a good 10 or 15 of them,“ estimated Tony Bennett of Cars & Trucks.
Since its 1999 launch, the Duluth Homegrown Music Festival has struck a balance between veteran local artists and newer acts. For artists with a lot of Homegrown experience, the festival is like a family reunion.
„You can go to any business (or) restaurant in Duluth, and there’s an artist in that building,“ said Moria. „Homegrown loops them all together in a seven-day stretch.“
„There’s people that you recognize and people that you don’t,“ said Bennett about Homegrown audiences. „It’s great to see people that you recognize getting into what you’re doing, but also it feels great to see people that you don’t know at all.“
„It’s just so cool to go around to every venue and it’s just flooded with people, and everybody’s just eager to hear people play,“ said West.
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The first time Cars & Trucks played Homegrown, in 2005, the then-new trio did so under the name Olive Drab.
„I checked to make sure that no one had the name,“ remembered Bennett, „and then somehow another band popped up right after that. So we changed the name pretty quick.“
That show was at the Red Lion, one of numerous past Homegrown venues that have since closed. The Red Lion closed in 2007, its space now home to the Zeitgeist Restaurant & Bar.
Moria mourns the inclusive venue Blush (2017-22), its space now part of Life House. „I miss that place so much,“ said Moria. „I loved Blush.“
„Grandma’s (Sports Garden) was really cool,“ said West, mentioning a venue that has since become The Garden Wedding and Event Center. „It could just hold so many people. Epic shows were going on there.“
West played the Sports Garden with her former band Space Carpet. At first, she remembered, the band members thought they would be playing to an empty house.
„Every Homegrown show we played,“ West said, „we’re setting up and there’s nobody in the room. We’re like, ‚Oh, man, we’re going to be playing to nobody,‘ and then out of the blue, we’re messing with our amps, and turn around and the room is packed.“
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This year, West will be playing a solo set at the Owls Club (May 3). It will be her first time performing at the one-time mortuary, though she is a former member of the fraternal organization.
„The (other members) were just super nice and super welcoming, really friendly. My problem is that I just had a lot going on, so I didn’t make it to any of the meetings. I ended up getting booted,“ West admitted with a laugh. „Fair enough!“
Last year, West took the stage at Duluth’s largest indoor venue. Singing with the band Woodblind, she performed at Amsoil Arena.
„It’s really crazy,“ said West about playing Amsoil. „I can’t shake this feeling like I’m a poser or something, you know, like imposter syndrome.“
This year, Gnarwals will be at Amsoil on April 29. In light of that, Moria remembered going with a former bandmate about 20 years ago to see a concert at the College of St. Scholastica’s Mitchell Auditorium, capacity 580.
„He pointed at the stage, and he was like, ‚Do you know that you’re going to be playing on one of those someday?‘ I was like, ‚What do you mean?‘ He’s like, ‚A big stage like that, (if) you keep doing what you’re doing.'“
Now, Moria’s band is playing the UMD Bulldogs hockey arena, with a Homegrown capacity of 1,500 to 2,000. „It’s wild,“ said Moria. „‚Gobsmacked‘ is the best way I could put it.“
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For Homegrown 2022, Cars & Trucks played a very different, but even more distinctive, DECC show. In a „secret show“ (the secret was, intentionally, poorly kept), Cars & Trucks played at Symphony Hall, with both band and audience onstage.
That show was „pretty good,“ allowed the understated Bennett. The show was particularly meaningful, he said, coming out of the COVID hiatus.
Music, said Bennett, has „been my life’s entire focus, and so sitting around and feeling useless for a couple of years during the pandemic was not good for my mental health.“
Bennett also has fond memories of the very first Homegrown festivals, which were much more compact.
„I just remember being super into that,“ Bennett remembered. „Everyone was in the NorShor for two days … the entire community was there. That, to me, was really special.“
Homegrown now encompasses both Twin Ports, and despite his nostalgia for the festival’s early days, Bennett is looking forward to bringing his band to The Main Club in Superior (May 1).
„I remember that being a great room,“ said Bennett, who previously played the club at Homegrown in the early 2010s. „It’s a great little stage and location and vibe.“
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To make the most of Homegrown, which now encompasses eight days (including the May 4 „recovery beer lunch“ at Canal Park Brewing) and 38 venues, Moria advises planning ahead.
„Pace yourself, listen to your friends‘ recommendations, and … put on your running shoes,“ said Moria. „If it’s Friday or Saturday and you want to see a specific band, make sure you get there early, because it’s going to be packed.“
„Hydration is key,“ said West. „Keep in mind, you don’t have to have a drink every place you go to. It’s good to just have a water once in a while.“
Also, West advised, „It’s totally fine to have a day where you don’t go out. You will feel like you’re missing out, and you probably are, but sometimes you need to rest up before you can party it up again.“
A little exhaustion, though, is part of the Homegrown aura.
„If you feel like, ‚Ah, should I go out?‘ Just do it,“ said West. „There (were) many times where I was struggling the next day and I (was nonetheless) like, ‚OK, I’ll go out.‘ And I never regretted going to see shows.“
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