God’s Holy Blood guitarist Andrew Lipke brings a steer horn to his mouth and blasts out a call to arms in R.T. Quinlan’s Saloon: the stoner-metal quartet is about to shred some eardrums. The 2024 performance, posted on YouTube, captures the quartet in all its dark, roaring, fog-filled greatness. Frontwoman Starr Brainerd head-bangs, stomps and takes off her dress as she rages over blistering original songs like “Mystery of the Sphinx,” “Fool’s Gold” and “What’s the Point.” Hooded warlock Kyle Gondik-Anderson provides support on bass and Ryan Nelson sits in on drums.

Narwhals inhabit arctic waters. The trio known as Gnarwals reside in the slightly less frigid climate of Duluth. Like their namesake “unicorns of the sea,” these local rockers hold a somewhat mythical status among music enthusiasts. With a landscape of pedals set before him, guitarist Sean Moria is the de facto front person of the group, but drummer Jake Daire has a fan club all his own amongst percussion admirers. Bassist Austin Korkowski keeps the ship on course, guiding the sometimes psychedelic freakouts back toward a groove that keeps heads banging.

Cashmere Hagbourne is the director of business development at Duluth’s Family Freedom Center. But on stage and in the studio he’s hip-hop producer GianniCASH. Hagbourne has a master’s degree from the University of Minnesota Duluth and his day job supports youth education in arts, robotics, skilled trades and technology. GianniCASH has been performing since 1998 and has a doctorate in street-hard raps and sweet, smooth flows. “The best thing I did was come back to Minnesota. Shout it to the homies on the corner,” GianniCASH says in a Future remix on Soundcloud.

Duluth’s most determined purveyors of rhythm and blues, funk, and jazz are back at Homegrown after a hectic 2024. The Gemstones bring powerhouse soundscapes and all-around funk/rock sex-suasion to the stage. With Courtney Ellian’s smooth and sultry keyboard stylings, Manny Eisele’s low-end on bass, Josh Nickila’s vintage sound on guitar, Ian Hopp’s “madman on funk-ahol” drumming — and all four on vocals — the band is ready for an even bigger 2025. Work on a new album began in February with Ryan Rusch at the Weight Room Recording Studio in Ashland.