A&E FYI: Homegrown 10 to feature 150 bands

Featuring 150 acts, Duluth’s 10th annual Homegrown Music Festival will be the largest showcase of local bands in the city’s history. The eight-day festival runs from April 27 to May 4, with events taking place at 23 venues.

Homegrown’s organizers released a 60-page guide to the event in early April, available at various locations in Duluth and Superior. Schedule information is also available online at www.duluthhomegrown.com.

Returning to the festival are such longtime favorites as the Alrights, Retribution Gospel Choir, the Keep Aways, Bone Appetit, Father Hennepin, Charlie Parr, Giljunko, Mary Bue, Jamie Ness, Lookdown Moon, Eeriearq, Teague Alexy, Crew Jones and Trampled By Turtles. Among the bands reuniting for the show is the Mighty Shock Tower, a group that hasn’t performed together in 17 years.

It will be rookies that start the festival off, however, with a Sunday new-band showcase at Pizza Luce on April 27. The week continues with a photo exhibit, film festival and night of poetry on Monday, an all-ages showcase and lineup of experimental music on Tuesday, and an acoustic showcase and DJ showcase on Wednesday.

The traditional Thursday night Starfire Lounge will go on opposite a hip-hop showcase in Duluth, while 14 acts cross the bay to perform at four locations in Superior.

The weekend climaxes with 51 bands on Friday, May 2, and 48 bands on Saturday, May 3, at 15 venues in Duluth. The festival concludes with an acoustic Sunday Brunch at Pizza Luce on May 4.

Founded in 1999 by Scott “Starfire” Lunt, the Homegrown Music Festival is in its third year as a nonprofit. The Bridge Syndicate, an organization committed to increasing cultural opportunities in the Twin Ports, serves as the event’s fiscal agent.

~Information courtesy of Homegrown Music Festival

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IMAGE INFORMATION: I took this picture of Taconite's Jamie Ness and Jake Willis after I interviewed them for my "Diorama-rama 3: Bigger, Better, Shinier" article back in January. Taconite will perform at 9:30 p.m. May 3 at R.T. Quinlan's Saloon for Homegrown. Later that night, Ness will also take the stage at the Kozy Bar for a solo set.