2020 Duluth Dylan Fest Canceled -- Some Events May Go Virtual

The Zimmerman's lived upstairs in this duplex at 519 E. Third Street No.

This may go down in history as the year that never was. The 2020 Olympics were postponed. Homegrown and SXSW music festivals were deleted from our calendars. No March Madness, no Spring openers for Major League Baseball. And now it has been announced that due to the coronavirus pandemic the 2020 Duluth Dylan Fest is canceled.

The announcement begins:

Duluth, MN –The organizers of Duluth Dylan Fest are canceling this year’s festival due to the coronavirus pandemic. “It is with heavy hearts that we announce that Duluth Dylan Fest 2020 will not be taking place this year,” said committee chair Zane Bail.

The 2020 Duluth Dylan Fest had been slated to run from Saturday, May 16 through Sunday, May 24,  Bob Dylan’s 79th birthday.

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Poster from a 2014 Dylan Fest concert.

I first began writing about Duluth Dylan Fest (DDF) while there was still an annual Hibbing Dylan Days. The events gave me "something to write about" which is what all media people want, interesting events and stories that will attract readers.

Duluth Dylan Fest used to culminate on Thursday of that week with the Blood on the Tracks Express, a long evening of music and a train ride featuring some of our best local bands. When the Hibbing Dylan Days closed, due to closing of Zimmy's and other factors, DDF took up the slack, becoming an eight day festival featuring artists, poets and musicians in Duluth, the surrounding region, and beyond. This would have been the Duluth festival’s 10th year.

It's a week with many highlights, one of them being the cake-cutting celebration on the front porch of the house Bob Dylan called home till he was six years old and the Zimmermans moved to Hibbing.

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Bob Dylan Way manhole covers were placed in 2015.
This one is located at southeast corner of the Armory. 

The Duluth Dylan Fest’s mission is to celebrate the spirit of artistic freedom, intellectual honesty, and integrity of Duluth’s native son, Bob Dylan. “We’re especially disappointed because we have become friends with fellow fans who fly to the Northland from other parts of the world, and we always enjoy this shared time together,” said Bail. “We’re aware that several were already planning to book flights and find accommodations.”

For everyone on the DDF committee, the decision to cancel was difficult, but an essential step to take at this time. On the positive side of the ledger, most of the events arranged for this year will be ready to go for 2021 Duluth Dylan Fest, which will take place the week of Dylan’s 80th birthday. 

Friends of Duluth Dylan Fest can continue to follow us at BobDylanWay.com or on Facebook for special events during the coming year. Rumor has it that there will be some virtual events taking place in lieu of the earthbound festivities.

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DYLAN'S NEW SONG ONLY ADDS TO HIS LYRIC LEGACY
It's only been about 36 hours since it was released late Thursday and every you turn someone has been talking about it. This morning on Expecting Rain you'll find review from the New York Times, The Guardian, Hot Press, Billboard, No Depression, Vanity Fair, NME, Irish Times, Uncut, El Pais, Rolling Stone,  Herald Tribune, Best Classic Bands and more. The previous day the site did an embed of the song for its header, with initial responses. The event--this song's timely release--has been pitch perfect.


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