Homegrown music fest in Lisle even larger for 2016

The Homegrown Arts & Music Festival is back — and on the move.

BaseCamp Pub & Eatery in Lisle is the new home for the fourth annual festival, which is bringing together 20 bands from the suburbs and Chicago, as well as solo musicians and art vendors.

“I was scouting out a lot of different places,” said Aaron Williams, Glen Ellyn native and the founder of the festival. “Lisle’s a great town to have this in because it’s kind of in the middle of everything. And BaseCamp’s stage is a great stage for a rock show.”

The Homegrown Stage, inside this year in a change from last year’s festival at Mullen’s, will be home to many of the veteran acts Williams has drawn together, including headliner Jackson Mud, a new project of the Smoking Popes’ Josh Caterer, a Lake in the Hills native.

In addition to that and the up-and-coming bands on the outdoor Harvest Stage, the new Acoustic Stage will host 10 solo musicians entertaining audiences throughout the day in the vendor room, where 15 local artists will be selling paintings, jewelry and more.

“We’re hoping inside and out we’ll have the same kind of vibe,” Williams said.

The goal of Homegrown is to foster relationships between artists and to encourage cross-promotion on the local scene.

The primarily DuPage-centric lineup touches on a few favorites from previous years, such as Clear Confusion, Tonic Freight Train and North of Eight. But Williams and his crew had another idea for uniting the local music and arts communities.

Handpicking one band from three surrounding counties to play the festival — The Threads from Will County, Menacerno from Cook, and Jackson Mud from Lake — is helping them spread the word.

“I booked 20 bands who are working really hard, not just locally, but a couple of them are touring regionally. Jackson Mud is a national band. … We’ve got the whole round this year, so I’m really excited about that.”

Drawing new fans to music is ultimately the name of the game. Homegrown’s audience nearly doubled last year from 2014, and the layout at BaseCamp is going to give the fest a little room to spread out and grow.

“We’re hoping to get 1,000 people there and beat the 800 who came last year, which was incredible,” Williams said.

“And if we can get the positive vibes from last year plus the huge promotion we’ve been getting this year, I hope we can achieve our goal. A lot more people to discover these bands, that’d be so awesome!”

Homegrown Stage

1:30 p.m. — Teapot Fury

2:30 p.m. — Harlan Flo

3:30 p.m. — Michael C. Hayes

4:30 p.m. — Menacerno

6 p.m. — Hatter’s Riddle

7 p.m. — Invisible Cartoons

8 p.m. — Dina Bach Music

9 p.m. — North of Eight

10 p.m. — Aaron Williams Band

11 p.m. — Gallery-81

Midnight — Jackson Mud

Harvest Stage

1 p.m. — Bill Nelson and Friends

2 p.m. — The Threads

3 p.m. — Close The Door

4 p.m. — The Kings Rising

5:30 p.m. — Clear Confusion

6:30 p.m. — Downers Groove

7:30 p.m. — From the Start

8:30 p.m. — Mike Michalak Band

9:30 p.m. — Tonic Freight Train

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