This week we want to share a 5 year returning HMGF volunteer – Tim Gustafson!

Tim loves Homegrown shows at Clyde Iron Works and Pizza Luce – especially the spot volunteers get to stand at Pizza Luce where they can watch the bands while they work! What a great perk – I bet that barely feels like work at all!

Tim’s favorite homegrown moment is on opening night when our beloved former Mayor, Don Ness, would deliver a heartfelt speech, share the origin story of the festival, chronicle its growth into what it is today and then down a pint of Hempen Ale beer and declare the festival officially started!

If you regularly attend local music shows or have ever been to Beaner’s then you already know this week’s volunteer spotlight – Pete Cich! Pete has volunteered at EVERY SINGLE HOMEGROWN! Cheers Pete! We salute you! Pete loves to volunteer for Homegrown because it is a great opportunity to have fun and hang out with fellow volunteers, festival staff, musicians and artists from all over town!

Pete’s favorite night of the festival is West Duluth Night and favorite venue is Beaners!

Pete’s sage advice for Homegrown attendees is about your safety! If you can’t drive – DON’T! We have Lyft and Uber now so there is no excuse for that kind of reckless behavior!

Pete is really looking forward to his dear friend Jacob Mahon’s Homegrown set(s)! Jacob is a great new addition to the local music scene and has a record coming out at the end of March!

Thank you for all that you do for Homegrown! Give Pete a 20th Anniversary “high-five” when you see him out and about festival week!

Register to be a Homegrown Music Festival volunteer today: https://airtable.com/shrmkaP5uL89ijBNd

In the weeks leading up to Homegrown we are featuring some awesome Homegrown Music Festival volunteers!  Did you know that Homegrown is run almost entirely by volunteers?  Over 100 of them! We mean it when we say that our volunteers truly make this festival happen!  200 bands, 8 nights of local music and art.  Our volunteers attend to the doors, manage vibe, deliver field guides, put wristbands on, swipe credit cards, manage crowds, coordinate flow, offer friendly greetings and offer patient encouragement when lines are long or moving slow and SO MUCH MORE!!!

This week we want to make a big shout out to our friend and volunteer Dean Berlinerblau!

Dean says he really likes it when venues host shows during Homegrown that are really different than the music they normally have – tradition needs to be continually expanding!  Dean is a Homegrown Music Festival performer but also takes time out of the festival to volunteer – what a guy!  He says he does that because it is fun to be part of the chaos!  Dean’s expert tip for the festival – “Get out of your comfort zone! Go check out new stuff and meet new people.  Homegrown is like freshman year of college for the entire city of Duluth.  It is a rare occurrence that so many different people gather in the same place at the same time with the social openness that Homegrown permeates.  That abnormal congregation is the most important thing about Homegrown in my opinion.”  What a great way to see festival week!  Dean’s don’t miss event for the 20th annual festival is the Poetry show – this year at the newly reopened NorShore theater!   He won’t be alone in that – the Poetry event has outgrown its venue already 3 times over the years!  Thanks for all you do Dean!

Register to be a Homegrown Music Festival volunteer today: https://airtable.com/shrmkaP5uL89ijBNd

In the weeks leading up to Homegrown we are featuring some awesome Homegrown Music Festival volunteers!  Did you know that Homegrown is run almost entirely by volunteers?  Over 100 of them! We mean it when we say that our volunteers truly make this festival happen!  200 bands, 8 nights of local music and art.  Our volunteers attend to the doors, manage vibe, deliver field guides, put wristbands on, swipe credit cards, manage crowds, coordinate flow, offer friendly greetings and offer patient encouragement when lines are long or moving slow and SO MUCH MORE!!!

This week we want to give a shoutout to HGMF volunteer Jackie Buffington!

Jackie has been a Homegrown attendee for several years and joined us as a volunteer for the first time in 2017!  She was looking for a way to get more involved.  She volunteers because it perfectly combines her simultaneous loves for music, getting to know people, community involvement and service.  She was brought into the Homegrown family by her admiration for Erin Naughton – our beloved 2017 Volunteer Coordinator.

Jackie has spent special evenings at Sacred Heart and especially enjoyed the 2017 sets by Low and Black Diary in that space.  She urges you to check out Medical Underground and Reflectivore sets if you can possibly.

Join Jackie as a Homegrown Festival Volunteer by clicking this link: https://airtable.com/shrmkaP5uL89ijBNd