Notable acts that have performed in the festival include: Low, Trampled by Turtles, Charlie Parr, Retribution Gospel Choir, Gaelynn Lea, the Keep Aways, the Black Eyed Snakes and Haley Bonar.
[1] For Lunt's 30th birthday, he invited five acts to play at a private party at Lafayette Square in Duluth's Park Point neighborhood.
During the conversation, he decided to hold another party, this time open to the general public, called the Homegrown Music Festival.
Ten bands performed: Father Hennepin, Giljunko, Max Dakota, the Black Labels, Amy Abts, Gild, Crazy Betty, Ballyhoo, 2 Sleepy People and the First Ladies.
Ripsaw reporter David Stein noted that the First Ladies "saved Homegrown from the villain Hu Phlung Pu and his evil minions in hand-to-hand combat that spilled off the stage and onto the dance floor in a tangle of hula-hoops and toilet paper streams."
Other memorable moments included the Dames opening their set with a kazoo version of "The Star-Spangled Banner," the Black Labels passing out marijuana cigarettes to the audience, Father Hennepin performing with a ten-member choir and Ballyhoo closing the festival with a cover of "Sympathy for the Devil."
Mayor Gary Doty signed a proclamation declaring Homegrown Music Festival Weekend in the city of Duluth.
A change in city law prior to the festival allowed clubs with cabaret licenses to obtain extended hours permits for dancing and live music.
Notable moments included Scott Lunt shaving his hair into a mohawk, foul-mouthed country singer Brad Nailer playing on the sidewalk in front of the NorShor Theater, and Geek Prom Queen AnnMarie O'Malley crowd-surfing with her crown on.
Brothers Tim and Brad Nelson, then publishers of the Ripsaw newspaper, purchased Homegrown from Lunt in 2005 and expanded the festival to include 84 acts.
In late 2005, the Nelsons donated Homegrown to the nonprofit Bridge Syndicate, which organized a steering committee to run the festival.
"Homegrown Rawk and/or Roll: Starfire's Mix" included 15 tracks by bands that helped make the festival famous.
Shana David-Massett, a pianist who studied at Berkee College of Music in Boston, was appointed by the Homegrown steering committee in the fall of 2009 to replace Connolly as director.
Highlights included a mid-week show at Clyde Iron Works featuring Trampled by Turtles, a surprise performance by Kim Bullard (backing up Jessica Myshack) and a reunion gig at R.T. Quinlan's by Puddle Wonderful.
Memorable moments included the Black-eyed Snakes performing with Charlie Parr at Clyde Iron Works, the Blasphemists weirding out the regulars at the Gopher Lounge, a bat flying around ominously over the audience at Sacred Heart Music Center during a performance by Low, and Sarah Krueger turning her set at Rex Bar into a dance party.
In January 2017, Melissa La Tour became Homegrown's director following five years as the festival's volunteer coordinator.
On Saturday evening a special performance was held at the newly renovated NorShor Theater called "Starfire Tonight: A Homegrown Jam."
The event opened with a comedic sketch about Homegrown in the year 2073 starring Scott "Starfire" Lunt, Bryan "Lefty" Johnson and Rick Boo.
Bands performing short sets on the NorShor's main stage were Father Hennepin, Aby Abts, Ballyhoo, the Little Black Books with Tina Ludwig on vocals, Jerree Small with Marc Gartman, and Toby Thomas Churchill with Danny Cosgrove.
Following the festival, Homegrown partnered with Greater Downtown Council to provide local music at Duluth's Lake Place Park.
A new venue involved with Homegrown was the DECC Harborside Ballroom, with a "secret show" held in the nearby Symphony Hall.