And does not the illustration make plain the true origin of Homegrown's name?  Wonder how long they're gonna use this ...

It has got a very Santeria feel to it.

I noticed on the registration form that musicians will be paid with a t-shirt. Jeez, not to start the bitching...... but. If people are being charged money to get into a music event shouldn't those providing the music end up with some of that money? I know the committee is volunteer but everyone else will be making money i.e.the bars, the sound companies, the sound people working the clubs, the waiters and waitresses, etc. Not to be the squeaky wheel but please explain how that works again. Nothing promotes music like paying musicians. I also believe the committee should get a stipend of some amount.

Thanks Shana for the clarification. The registration didn't mention stipend just t-shirts. PS: you did a great job last year. My wheel has now stopped squeaking.

Sorry Ian, I don't agree re: "Playing Homegrown to make money." It is not about the money per say it is about what is fair. Most working musicians I know don't/won't play a regular gig for $25 solo or $50 for a band (usual Homegrown rate) so clearly we are not doing it for the money. 

I'll state it again; if my friends, who all drive up from the cities and spread their money around town, or any one else, has to pay money to get into the event then some of the money should go to the musicians. 

On some years I have played my Homegrown set with up to 100  people in the room. If they all paid $25 to get a ticket I don't think it is too much to ask that the price of one of those 100 tickets ($25) could go to me and the organization can keep the other 99 $25 tickets (99x$25=$2,475) to off set their other costs. 

If I put a new set of strings on my guitar for the big gig ($10) and print up some special Homegrown posters ($10 minimum) and drive around town to hang them up ($3.15/gallon of gas) that's pretty much all of $25 and then some. I would hardly call that being in it for the money. 

Like most people I don't like being misunderstood or misrepresented. I would do it for free and in fact many years I have. It is a great time and I am sure the T-shirts will be cool, just like the ones we used to get. None-the-less, are the sound companies doing it for a T-shirt? I doubt it. I am, was not bitching, just asking a question and as Shana posted there will be stipend so question answered. 

The week pass to the show is nice, but in reality it does not cost $25 to give a musician a ticket it cost exactly what it costs to buy the plastic wrist band they give you  (less than a penny). 

One last note Ian, it was not drink tickets (plural) last year it was A drink ticket, singular. (There again, not bitching, just the facts). I love Homegrown and hope I haven't just excommunicated myself. But I am not ashamed of being honest about how I feel and what I think. I prefer to see it as trying to raise the bar for working musician for the other 358 non festival days a year. Hope I get a set so I can play my ass off for all the lovely people, stipend or not.

I generally agree with WTF. I rarely play Duluth because of the crappy pay. Shows in just about every other state I've played pay substantially more. When I play HG (and I hope I make the cut this year and get off the "maybe" list) I make it a point to accept the payment on principal. Those who donate back to the fest are generous and should be applauded. It's not really the HG committee that needs to be educated here, it's the audience. If you go out to see live music (or any artistic event), you really need to open your wallet and pay for the awesomeness being shared.

There have been band t-shirts one other time (2005). 

2011 t-shirts will be given to bands and volunteers only, so if you want one, play in a band or volunteer. Or, make your own. The collective effort of merchandising (making, sizing, pre-paying, STORING, dealing with dated merch, SELLING, consigning, tracking; you want to sell 'em online? shipping, shipping material storage, paypaling, webvertising, paying a programmer, etc.) is generally not worth the effort or revenue, when efforts could be better spent on making the music and the venues* more awesome.

Most venues provide two drink tix per musician. If it's a super small venue, we only ask that they give one, so five bands aren't consuming the profits of their endeavor. Also, there could have been a fuckup when assembling the band packets, or, one of your bandmates is a cheap, lowdown, dirty bastard.

*I am providing explicit instructions to venues this year on expectations for their staffing (bar / security).

I only respond on the PeeDeeDee to posts about Homegrown that contain elements that are patently untrue. Sleepless has it wrong on a couple of counts.

-- The story you heard about other bands being paid more is just that: a story. Not true. 

-- Homegrown doesn't create a flood of bands, nor would I describe it as an "opportunity."  Regardless of where it started, as it stands now Homegrown is a celebration of a year round scene (that is flooded with bands).

-- Union busting?  OK, as the person who deals with the majority of the griping about Homegrown I gotta say this complaint really stands out.  Are you for serious?  No wait, please don't answer that.