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Greg Tiburzi at Bob Dylan’s 85th birthday Party at the former Zimmerman house. Photos by Jill Fisher.

A 30th Anniversary Tribute to Bob Dylan’s 17th studio album, Desire, was performed on Wednesday, May 20, by three Twin Ports musicians: Greg Tiburzi, Erin Aldridge and Sonja Bjordal Martin. The venue was Sir Benedict’s Tavern on the Lake and it was packed to hear what promised to an outstanding performance of that landmark album. And did they ever deliver!

The threesome were faithful to Desire in replicating the order of the songs on the album, beginning with one of the best known of them, “Hurricane,” which was seen by some as controversial. The song is an indictment of our country’s justice systems, particularly when it comes to Blacks.

Thirty years after this song was first heard it continues to speak to the issues we must still confront. Tiburzi provided the grit and gusto this manifesto requires.

Sonja’s high harmonies were a fine complement to Tiburzi’s vocals, especially on “Oh Sister.” Then there was Erin’s sublime violin playing, as usual, which brought the original recordings on Desire to life. (Eat your heart out Scarlet Rivera!)

After covering all the songs on this album and taking a short break, these three moved on to other Dylan tunes, including out-takes from Desire: “Abandoned Love,” “Golden Loon” and the bluesy “Rita Mae.”

Of course there were the far more recognizable numbers such as “I Shall Be Released,” “It Ain’t Me Babe” and “She Belongs To Me.”

The trio ended their show a bit beyond the 6:30 pm ending time with the rowdy “Rainy Day Women #12 & 35,” with everyone joining in on the chorus: “everybody must get stoned!”

The Dylan electric jam at Superior Tavern.

Overlapping the evening’s offerings, a Dylan electric jam began at 6 pm at Superior Tavern, hosted by Born Too Late’s Traxx Nelson-Kavajecz, who also played and sang.

Arriving late I heard repeats of several of Dylan’s most memorable songs (“Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door” seemed to be a favorite throughout the fest) presented in a free-for-all rockin’ style.

I didn’t get the names of all the participants, but I was pleased to see Jevin Joki playing drums (trading off with Gregg Antcliff), Jamie Ness on banjo, Pat Eliason playing harmonica, Ed Newman and Rokkyn Nelson-Kavajecz on vocals.

The tune I had yet to hear played during the previous Dylan Fest events was “With God On Our Side,” of which Oliver Heck gave a righteous rendition, full of conviction with his strong voice.

Although the jam was due to end at 8 pm, the ever-shifting band of players continued on for almost another hour. There are just too many favorite Dylan tunes to squeeze into a two-hour format!

Cowboy Angel Blue at the Lake Superior Railroad Museum in the Depot.

One of my favorite Dylan cover bands is Cowboy Angel Blue, a trio with members Bill Maxwell (guitar, vocals), James “Jamie” Paavala (acoustic guitar, vocals) and Billy Bulinski (electric guitar). This year they performed at the Lake Superior Railroad Museum in the Depot on the evening of Thursday, May 21.

It was an interesting venue, chosen as a substitute for the “Dylan Train” of previous years, and a change from Mr. D’s, where CAB has performed previously. The crowd was a sparse, perhaps due to the $15 cover charge. However, the band sounded good, playing its typical mix of Dylan hits, a bit of Neil Young (“Harvest Moon”) and surfer licks featuring Billy Bulinski.

The acoustics of the railroad museum were quite good, which probably wouldn’t be a surprise to anyone who has attended the Saturday afternoon jazz performances here during the first four months of the year. However, with the band and the audience seated on the same level, with a cleared area in front of the band as a dance floor (with uneven brick pavers) made it awkward for us dancers. I, for one, hope this venue isn’t used again for a danceable band like CAB!

The big event during Dylan Fest has to be the annual Singer-Songwriter Contest at Sacred Heart Music Center, held this year on Friday, May 22. Twelve contestants competed for first, second and third prizes.

I was amazed that, of the 12, only four are based in Duluth. The remaining eight singer-songwriters hailed from elsewhere, the farthest away being Phil Redo from Brunswick, Maine. Minnesotans included Charlie Wagner from Longville, Hannah Paige from Silver Bay, Seth Doud from Brainerd, Jeffery Narlock from Woodbury and Doyle Turner from Bemidji.

There were two Wisconsinites: Brady Lind from Oulu and Brody Heisick from South Range.

The four representing Duluth were all women: Ashe Berton, Eldri Snow, Lydia Boyum and Emma Lee Heart.

This year I served on the jury together with Austin Castle (first place winner of the contest in 2024), Gene LaFond, Jamie Ness and Tracy Tawyea. It was quite an experience, which due to confidentiality about scoring, I can’t really write about. Suffice it to say, this was quite a lineup of talent. There wasn’t a clinker in the group.

The three winners of the Dylan Fest annual Singer-Songwriter Contest at Sacred Heart Music Center, from left, Lydia Boyum, Doyle Turner and Emma Lee Heart.

The first-place winner was Doyle with his song “We Can’t Stop Love” that had a broad universal message embedded within a romantic tune. The  second and third place awards went to Emma Lee and Lydia, respectively. My congratulations to the winners as well as to each of the performers!

Although not a musical event, a highlight of this year’s DDF was the “John Bushey Memorial Lecture” held at Zeitgeit’s Teatro Zuccone on Saturday, May 23. The Minnesota StarTribune columnist Aaron J. Brown, who was born in Hibbing “years after Bob,” convincingly showed us how Dylan’s lyrics, writings and interviews reflect the influences of his hometown. He also contradicted the still-held beliefs of some that Dylan HATES Hibbing (and Duluth). The talk was roundly praised.

Dan Israel and Friends at Sacred Heart.

Later that evening – the eve of Bob’s 85th birthday – we had the pleasure of hearing Dan Israel & Friends from the Twin Cities perform a wide variety of Dylan tunes at Sacred Heart. Dan’s “Friends” this year (different than last) included G.R. Svenddal on piano and keys. (He’s the brother of Whiskey River’s newest member Albert Svenddal whom you read about in last week’s column!) The others included Steve Brantseg on electric guitar, Bart Bakker on bass and David J. Russ on drums.

Launching into “Highway 61” at 7:03 pm, they rocked the place all evening doing justice to Dylan’s compositions. Many of the pieces were from Highway 61 Revisited (1965), including “It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry” and the more obscure “From A Buick 6.” Later they played “Positively 4th Street,” a single released that same year.

The intense “All Along The Watchtower” was the only song from John Wesley Harding (1967) and there were two from the 1969 Nashville Skyline album. “If Not For You” (played George Harrison style) was the only track played  from the 1970 album New Morning.

Another tune I was not familiar with was “Watching the River Flow” released as a single in 1971 and appearing on Bob Dylan’s Greatest Hits Vol. II that same year. It wrapped up the first set of the evening.

Both albums, Blood on the Tracks (1975) and Desire (1976), were well represented by the band, with “One More Cup of Coffee (Valley Below)” being from the latter.

The most recent of Dylan’s tunes Dan and friends played was “Things Have Changed” (an Oscar winner) from the film Wonder Boys, released as a single in 1999. It was included on The Best of Bob Dylan Vol. 2 (2000). There was not one track from Bob’s Blonde on Blonde (1966) covered!

It was a universally appreciated concert — everyone raved about how great it was. I was particularly smitten with Brantseg’s electric guitar playing, with some really nice slide work on “License To Kill” from Infidels.

The group wrapped it up with the classic “Like a Rolling Stone” before the demanded encore, which was “Maggie’s Farm” from the 1965 Bringing It All Back Home album. 

The front lawn 85th birthday celebration at the former Zimmerman home (519 N. 3rd Ave. E. here in Duluth) culminated my participation in this year’s DDF.

Greg Tiburzi entertained the gathering of Dylanophiles with both several deep cuts of Dylan’s output as well as a few old chestnuts. And birthday cake was served! Kudos to that core group of volunteers who have made this week-plus-long event happen each year!

Lest we forget, the DDF poster also listed The North 103.3 FM’s Highway 61 Revisited Radio Show that broadcasts from 5 to 6 pm each Saturday afternoon and every other Monday all year long. So once this year’s birthday celebration is over, we can continue to appreciate the massive catalog of Dylan’s musical output.

ERRATA: Please see the online version of last week’s Listen column at duluthreader.com if you noticed that some text must be missing, which there was!

UPCOMING: There’s an intriguing musical collaboration to take place between the fabulous band Jumpsuit (“the funkiest outfit in Duluth”) and the Mesabi Symphony Orchestra during the first week of June. On the 5th there will be a concert at the Historic State Theater in Ely, while a second concert will be held at Marshal School here in Duluth on the 6th. This is a fundraiser for the MSO and tickets are available online at mesabisymphonyorchestra.org. I have a feeling this will be a musical experience you won’t want to miss.

Also, there’s lots of great music in store during “Pete Fest” at Wussow’s which runs every evening from Thursday, June 4 through Monday June 8. Several of our top local bands will be featured.  All shows start at 7 pm.

See you out there!