Malachy Koons

We've heard from many musicians on how the pandemic affected their lives, and now we get to hear from a different side of the music world. Daniel Norgard is one of the co-owners of Blush, a music venue in downtown Duluth, and this week on The Local Malachy spoke to Daniel about the pandemic and its effect on Blush. Listen to find out how a small DIY venue survived the pandemic.

Laura Sellner started Superior Siren as a solo project, in time, adding three bandmates but still occasionally performing solo. The singer/songwriter has announced a new solo EP due out on May 7, 2021. She joined us in the studio for a Homegrown session on May 4, 2021. Her band performed a livestreamed show from Sacred Heart Music Center on the first night of Homegrown as part of the Minnesota Music Coalition's 2021 Music Summit.

Superior Siren

This year's Duluth Homegrown Music Festival guide documents how this musician went from being an ensemble player in the six-piece band NorShore Summit to a solo artist at the beginning of last year. Abukhodair played multiple shows throughout 2020's outdoor music season, and is currently preparing to release her first solo album. We'll find out more when she joins Malachy for a Homegrown session on Monday, May 2 at 2pm. She'll perform at Earthrider Brewery's Starfire Unofficial Birthday Bash on Saturday, May 8.

This Americana singer/songwriter was known more for his work as a local environmental educator and activist before he decided to take his singing and guitar playing off the couch and on stage. He's releasing his debut album, Smoky Gold, on May 14; it features contributions from members of The Infamous Stringdusters, Kind Country, Feeding Leroy, and others. He joined us for a session in honor of Duluth's Homegrown Music Festival on May 3 , 2021.

Minnesota Music Hall of Famer Mick Sterling is well known to local audiences, performing his brand of Soul and R & B at the Bayfront Blues Festival as well as other venues with his band The Stud Brothers during their 17-year run. KUMD's DJ Malachy spoke with Sterling about his musical career and new book, And Else, in advance of Sterling's most recent Duluth appearance for a book signing and performance.

Mick Sterling

It's been a year since Duluth musician Gaelynn Lea started livestreaming from home weekly during the COVID-19 pandemic. DJ Malachy checked in with her on the Local to talk about what the past year has been like for her and what she has coming up. They talked about the EP she released using material from those home sessions; you can listen to full versions of those songs on Gaelynn's Bandcamp page.

During the month of February, Trampled by Turtles has been streaming shows every Thursday, recorded at First Avenue and with a different setlist each week. Malachy, co-host of The Local on KUMD, had a chance to talk with Erik Berry of the band about the shows and how he and the rest of the band have been adapting to the pandemic.