The past couple of years have been challenging for live music in Kingston, but yesterday, the board of directors at Homegrown Live announced their annual, all-local music festival will take place in Kingston on Saturday, May 7, 2022. An announcement on the Homegrown Live website stated the organization is now accepting applications from potential performers until March 25, 2022. Interested artists can apply online here.

Time to celebrate

Despite today's further easing of public health measures in Ontario, the message from Homegrown Live's board of directors acknowledged the persistent challenges and apprehension. “(Although) many pandemic restrictions are being limited, there is still a lot of hesitancy about going out and mingling in large crowds,” the statement said. “At the same time, it feels like there is a craving for the return of live music that wells up in our hearts, like anticipating the return of a long-lost friend. We want to celebrate!”

A more cautious approach

The announcement described Homegrown Live's “more cautious approach,” involving fewer venues but larger venues over a wider geographic area, “...to give people lots of space and to discourage intermingling between the venues, as is traditionally part of Homegrown.” Additionally, the festival schedule will be reduced, and the venue coordinators will create more genre-diverse productions at each venue. There will be no all-access bracelets, but rather a $10 cover at each venue. The venues for Homegrown Live  2022 are The Hotel on Wolfe Island, The Mansion, Blu Martini, and Overtime Sports Bar. Homegrown Live is about encouraging, developing, and celebrating local live music while raising funds for Joe’s M.I.L.L. to help nurture the love of making music. Posted: May 3, 2023 Originally Published: Mar 1, 2022