Dylan Fest Singer-Songwriter Contest-Sacred Heart Music Center, Duluth, MN- 5/26/23

Dylan Fest Singer-Songwriter Contest
Sacred Heart Music Center
Duluth, MN
May 26th, 2023

This is a "Midwest Sounds" recording (MWS223)

Lineage: Audience Recording using Zoom H2 internal mics > SD Card > PC > Mastered in Adobe Audition > Track splitting using CD Wave Editor > Compressed to FLAC Level 8 using dBpoweramp > Tagged with MP3 Tag

-Feel free to re-master, share freely anywhere else, convert to MP3, just never ever sell it. Also, if you like this show, please support the artist by buying/streaming their music, buying a ticket to a show or buying merch.

Pictures of the event here: Link

Set 1

1. Intro
2. Gene LaFond- Fireflies
3. Gene LaFond & Jeff Slate- You Ain't Goin' Nowhere (Bob Dylan cover)
4. Nikki Lemire- Let the Rain Come In
5. Nikki Lemire- Mama, You Been on My Mind (Bob Dylan cover)
6. Ty Johnson- Red Tailights
7. Ty Johnson- Death Don't Have No Mercy (Reverend Gary Davis cover)
8. Eddy Burke- Freeway Town
9. Eddy Burke- To Ramona (Bob Dylan cover)
10. Kaylee Matuszak- Feel It All
11. Kaylee Matuszak- Girl From the North Country (Bob Dylan cover)
12. Gavin St. Clair- A Gamble Either Way
13. Gavin St. Clair- Roll on John (Bob Dylan cover)

Set 2

1. Intro
2. Misisipi Mike Wolf- Old Used Car
3. Misisipi Mike Wolf- Song to Woody (Bob Dylan cover)
4. Danny Frank- What's the Use (w/ Erin Aldridge)
5. Danny Frank- One More Cup of Coffee (Bob Dylan cover) (w/ Erin Aldridge)
6. Dave Dvorak- Madness
7. Dave Dvorak- She Belongs to Me (Bob Dylan cover)
8. John Agacki- The Times They Are A-Changin' (Bob Dylan cover)
9. John Agacki- Waiting for My Life to Change
10. Johanna Matthews- The Water Is Black
11. Johanna Matthews- Make You Feel My Love (Bob Dylan cover)
12. Jake Searl- Exhausted
13. Jake Searl- Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right (Bob Dylan cover)
14. Skarlett Woods- Me I Me Me
15. Skarlett Woods- Simple Twist of Fate (Bob Dylan cover)
16. Everyone- Knockin' on Heaven's Door (Bob Dylan cover)
17. Announcement of Winners
18. Misisipi Mike Wolf- I'll Be Your Road

First Place: Misisipi Mike Wolf of Duluth
Second place: Nikki Lemire of Richfield
Third place: Skarlett Woods of Brainerd

Archive.org / Google Drive

The annual Duluth Dylan Fest Singer-Songwriter Contest features a dozen musicians, each singing one Bob Dylan song and one original song. Only the original composition will be judged. Each contestant has approximately 6-8 minutes to perform both songs. Prizes are awarded to the top three musicians.

The Duluth Dylan Festival runs May 20-28, celebrating the 82nd birthday of Bob Dylan. A full list of daily events is at duluthdylanfest.com.

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Tapers notes: This was my second year attending this event, and I think this year topped last year in my mind. Last year had a lot of contestants (17), this year they cut it down to 12 and it definitely made a difference. Last years contest went about 4 hours total, this one was a little less than 3, and the songwriting was a little better quality all around. The judges did a really good job in my opinion, the three winners were more than deserving of their place that night. Other highlights for me included Kaylee Matuszak's beautiful rendition of "Girl From the North Country", I always thought that song sounded better with female vocals, and she crushed it. Also, a surprising choice in song by Gavin St. Clair with "Roll on John", you don't see many artists cover "mod Bob", but he did a really good job with a tough song. A cool part of the show was something new they tried this year, where all the contestants and judges sang "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" towards the end of the night, and it really helped cap off a fun event. One other note, John Saaristo was on the contestant list, but did not perform, John Agacki took his place. This show can be streamed on YouTube here.