Mr. Jones Shows Up at Duluth Dylan Fest Birthday Party for Bob

This afternoon we celebrated Bob Dylan's 81st birthday on the front porch of his childhood home on Duluth's Central Hillside. There were cupcakes, and a beautiful cake with artwork by the French artist Claude-Angele Boni that will be shared Thursday at the Earth Rider bash on Thursday night.

Here are some photos, from our front lawn birthday celebration. As is the custom we always ask who came furthest and this year it was a fan from Dublin, Ireland.

L to R: Carolyn Sundquist, Bill Pagel, Mark Poirier, and Ed Newman

Miriam Hanson, host of Highway 61 Revisited on The North @ KUMD
welcomes everyone. Greg Tiburzi provided the Dylan ambiance.

Paul Metsa took the "stage" at 2. He and sideman Sonny Earl will
be performing at Earth Rider on Thursday where the cake will be shared.

Greg Tiburzi provided entertainment, demonstrating his Dylan range by selecting a few songs from the bard's Rough and Rowdy Ways, filling out the rest of his set with selections from the breadth of Dylan's catalog. WDIO was on hand to cover the event and a lot of mixing took place.

A highlight for me was meeting Mr. Jones, a journalist who dropped in through a time portal evidently. I heard him say, "Something's happening here, but I don't know what it is." How he got here I can't really say. 

There were plenty of Bob Dylan T-shirts, and lots of smiling faces as the was a truly beautiful day here in Duluth. Sun shining, and though we've not had 80 degrees in more than 280 days, it did feel like summer was in the air. 

So tell us, Mr. Jones, what's really happening here?

This year's Dylan Fest marks the end of an official "Year of Dylan" in the Northland, which encompasses all of St. Louis County. Events have been hosted in Hibbing, the Iron Range and Duluth throughout the year. 

Tomorrow night's John Bushey Memorial Lecture will feature Peter McKenzie, author of Bob Dylan: On a Couch and 50 Cents a Day. It will be held via Zoom and requires pre-registration. (Pre-register HERE)

* * * 

Tonight at Wussow's, from 5:30 till 9:00 the Basement Tapes Band will be on hand, with Greg Tiburzi opening. 

Wish you were here. 

Related Links
2022 Duluth Dylan Fest Schedule 
Five Years Ago Today at Duluth Dylan Fest
Phil Fitzpatrick's "Three Feet Away" at DDF in 2015

Photos of Paul Metsa and the flowers, courtesy Michael Anderson