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Duluth Homegrown Music Festival steps into DECC Arena

On Tuesday, Homegrown's "big venue" night featured the Gemstones paying tribute to AfroGeode, and a concluding Fenestra Funk set that inspired dozens to dance.

musical artist performing at music festival
The Gemstones Honoring AfroGeode command the stage during the 2023 Homegrown Music Festival at the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center Arena on Tuesday.
Clint Austin / Duluth News Tribune

DULUTH — In attempting to communicate the significance of Tuesday's showcase of local music at the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center Arena, attendees milling on the open floor compiled their own lists of artists who've played the big room over its half-century history.

Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison and Johnny Cash! The Supremes, The Beach Boys and The Who! Van Halen, Sammy Hagar and David Lee Roth! If there's anything Diamond Dave and the Red Rocker agree on, it's that the DECC Arena is a hot spot to swing by.

musical artist performing at music festival
Fenestra Funk fans dance during the 2023 Homegrown Music Festival on Tuesday.
Clint Austin / Duluth News Tribune

Taking the stage at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Breanne Tepler was able to say something arena audiences never heard from Cher, Tom Petty or MC Hammer, though they might have heard it from Bob Dylan if he was one for stage banter.

"I am homegrown, born and raised in Central Hillside," said Tepler, fronting Breanne Marie and the Front Porch Sinners. "Are there any Hillsiders out there?"

In its 25th year, the Duluth Homegrown Music Festival finally reached Duluth's most storied concert venue — storied in the sense that it's spawned many stories, some of which best remain untold. Four local acts are now officially certified arena attractions, although the vibe Tuesday night was more like a rock club with a really high ceiling.

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"It's an intimate arena show!" said Emma Deaner, the DECC's entertainment curator. With the venue's seats left empty, attendees clustered around a stage erected at one end of the arena floor. Oscillating LED spotlights added a colorful flourish to sets by bands more commonly seen in breweries and bars.

musical artist performing at music festival
Breath emits from the bell of Fenestra Funk band member Jessica Hodge’s trumpet.
Clint Austin / Duluth News Tribune
musical artist performing at music festival
A Fenestra Funk fan uses her hands to form a heart during the 2023 Homegrown Music Festival on Tuesday.
Clint Austin / Duluth News Tribune

The DECC first became a Homegrown venue last year, hosting sets in the Harbor Side Ballroom and adding a "secret" show with both band (Cars and Trucks) and audience on the Symphony Hall stage. A photo of that set was among a series of prints displayed at a free pre-party that took place Tuesday evening on the Symphony Hall mezzanine before the arena doors opened.

Aaron Reichow's photos set the stage for the evening, with a triptych of images hung in memory of Diona Johnson. The singer, songwriter, social worker and activist died suddenly last month, leaving the local music community in deep sorrow. She had a series of gigs booked with her band the Gemstones, which she fronted under the name AfroGeode.

The Gemstones decided to continue their collaboration, playing the previously planned shows as "the Gemstones honoring AfroGeode" with an expectation to ultimately carry on as simply the Gemstones. Tuesday marked their first time performing publicly together since the loss of Johnson.

"As you all know, we lost Di," said guitarist Josh Nickila during a break between songs. "She was a crucial figure to this band. She made us what we are now, and she would be very, very pissed if we did not decide to play anymore. I feel like we're pretty good, I feel like we'll get better, but that's all thanks to Di. She taught us the way we are, she made us a family, she was our family."

The band respectfully left Johnson's originals on the table, instead building their set around numbers that showcased the vocal talents of Nickila, keyboardist Courtney Ellian, and bassist Emanuel Eisele. After Ellian's sultry cover of Britney Spears' "Toxic," the band closed with an epic jam on Bill Withers' "Use Me." It was the last song, they said, they played for Johnson.

musical artist performing at music festival
Guitarist Josh Nickila plays with the Gemstones Honoring AfroGeode during the 2023 Homegrown Music Festival at the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center Arena on Tuesday, May 2, 2023.
Clint Austin / Duluth News Tribune

The set ended to audience cries for more, but the Gemstones stepped off the stage early enough to allow Boss Mama and the Jebberhooch to get an early start on their 9 p.m. set time. Singer Colleen Myhre (wearing a pair of tinted specs that would make the King himself proud) and her band laid down a shuddering series of blues grooves that made it easy to imagine they were warming up for a past arena attraction like B.B. King or Creedence Clearwater Revival.

musical artist performing at music festival
Colleen Myhre with Boss Mama and the Jebberhooch performs.
Clint Austin / Duluth News Tribune
musical artist performing at music festival
Audience members react to Boss Mama and the Jebberhooch.
Clint Austin / Duluth News Tribune

"Music is my life," read the shirt worn by Fenestra Funk front-sax-man Michael Schell, whose luxurious ponytail made Kenny G look like Florence Pugh at the Met Gala. The band describes its sound as "doom-funk yacht rock," but the quintet (including Jessica Hodge alternating in the roles of trumpeter, photographer and front-row fan) was more fun than foreboding, with a set that seemed to pull energy straight out of the arena walls.

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musical artist performing at music festival
A fan raises their hands in the air as Fenestra Funk performs “Mid-Day Crisis” during the 2023 Homegrown Music Festival on Tuesday.
Clint Austin / Duluth News Tribune
musical artist performing at music festival
Adam Wambeke plays the guitar with Fenestra Funk on Tuesday.
Clint Austin / Duluth News Tribune

By the time the band built to a number Schell described as "a John Williams cover" (a ska-flavored rearrangement of the theme from "Jurassic Park") and a take on the Alan Parsons Project's absolute banger "I Wouldn't Want to Be Like You" (originally from a robot-themed concept album, continuing the sci-fi theme), Fenestra Funk had not one but two dance parties going simultaneously.

The area in front of the stage became something like a Minnesota Nice mosh pit, while fans at stage right found room to roam on the spacious arena floor and let fly with legs akimbo. Smoke rose, a spotlight finally found the mirrorball that had been revolving patiently all night, and Homegrown's "Tacky Tuesday" became another entry in the DECC's voluminous history books.

The Duluth Homegrown Music Festival continues through Sunday. For information, see duluthhomegrown.org.

musical artist performing at music festival
Framed by dancing fans, Kyle Sullivan of Fenestra Funk performs.
Clint Austin / Duluth News Tribune
musical artist performing at music festival
Nathan Fowler, right, of Fenestra Funk, plays the drums with help from Michael Schell.
Clint Austin / Duluth News Tribune
musical artist performing at music festival
Kyle Sullivan of Fenestra Funk plays the bass.
Clint Austin / Duluth News Tribune
musical artist performing at music festival
Fans surround the stage as Fenestra Funk performs.
Clint Austin / Duluth News Tribune
musical artist performing at music festival
Michael Schell plays the saxophone with Fenestra Funk.
Clint Austin / Duluth News Tribune
musical artist performing at music festival
The scoreboard in the arena displays a message welcoming music fans during the 2023 Homegrown Music Festival on Tuesday.
Clint Austin / Duluth News Tribune
musical artist performing at music festival
Jacob Mahon plays the guitar with Boss Mama and the Jebberhooch.
Clint Austin / Duluth News Tribune
musical artist performing at music festival
Keyboardist Courtney Ellian performs with the Gemstones Honoring AfroGeode.
Clint Austin / Duluth News Tribune

Arts and entertainment reporter Jay Gabler joined the Duluth News Tribune in 2022. His previous experience includes eight years as a digital producer at The Current (Minnesota Public Radio), four years as theater critic at Minneapolis alt-weekly City Pages, and six years as arts editor at the Twin Cities Daily Planet. He's a co-founder of pop culture and creative writing blog The Tangential; he's also a member of the National Book Critics Circle and the Minnesota Film Critics Alliance. You can reach him at jgabler@duluthnews.com or 218-279-5536.

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