Homegrown’s Superior night offers walkable venues for Twin Ports biggest concert event of the year 

Homegrown is the Twin Ports’ biggest musical festival of the year. On Thursday, May 1, it’s Superior’s turn to play host.

The entire event is eight days and features dozens of acts — making it nearly impossible to see them all. Someone who has kept tabs on them is Kala Moria of Homegrown’s steering committee, though she said even she’s losing count.

“This year, we have 177 acts and the number of venues is — I think — in the mid- to high-30s. I can’t remember exactly,” she said.

Moria and Hayward singer-songwriter John Sonofmel spoke with WPR’s Robin Washington on “Morning Edition” about the festival and the logic behind which bands play in Superior and which in Duluth.

This conversation has been edited for clarity and brevity.

Robin Washington: John, you’re one of Thursday’s opening acts at Earth Rider Brewery at 6:30 p.m., following a mayor’s reception at the Superior Tavern at 5:45 p.m. What will you be performing?

John Sonofmel: I’ll probably showcase some new songs to go with some traditional ones for May 1, which is International Workers Day. Homegrown is really special for me because I was out of the country for several years, and when I came back, I noticed American society was much more stratified than I was used to overseas. Then a friend of mine said, “Hey, John — you should check out Homegrown.” And I did, and I saw three and four generations of people just hanging out together, listening to music. I was like, “I’m home. No wonder they call it Homegrown!”

RW: Kala, how do you decide who plays in Superior and who in Duluth?

Kala Moria: Every year we get tons of applications from bands. We have to navigate getting in new acts and older acts, as well as making sure that there’s a good mix of genres. When the time comes for scheduling, we try to get bands in at places where they may not perform during the rest of the year. Also, there are certain venues that can only fit certain styles, like some that can’t accommodate bands with drum sets. 

RW: Is there any particular reason for holding the acts in Superior all on one day instead of spread out throughout the week?

KM: We try to schedule it so that everything is centralized each evening. That allows people to take the trolley or just walk around between venues. There’s also a West Duluth night. There’s a Canal Park night, and the first Sunday night is usually downtown Duluth. 

JS: That’s another great aspect of Homegrown. You get to meet new people, because everybody is walking around between venues. You hear the jocularity. You hear “Happy Homegrown!” which is the official greeting. 

If you have an idea about something in northern Wisconsin you think we should talk about on “Morning Edition,” send it to us at northern@wpr.org.