International Falls, MN

Moose Lake, MN

International Falls, MN

The Bob Dylan movie "The Complete Unknown"
has just hit the theaters. What better place to watch it
than near his hometown of Hibbing on the Iron Range.
L-R: Dan Neale, DK Kennedy, DW, Tammy

Snowshoeing outside of Grand Marais, MN
It's below zero but we have the right
clothing for this adventure!

January 12, 2025
Grand Marais, MN

We are now two weeks into the four week concert tour. It's been amazing from day one. Twenty-four concerts in twenty-four towns in twenty-eight days. And yes, it's below zero much of the time but we're good. It's Minnesota in the winter and we have the clothes for it. Every show is a bad hair day and we accept that!

Grants were written by both the Arrowhead Library System and myself to fund this traveling circus. Everyone thanks the Minnesota State Arts Board for the great opportunity to bring entertainment to these often forgotten small towns during the winter. Libraries and community centers are the venues we chose.

Many days we didn't need a PA system, so we treated the event like a house concert. Up close and personal. While many performers struggle that kind of intimacy, I've always thrived in a house concert setting. We sing, we laugh, we share stories getting to know each other.

Most of the concerts were solo events, definitely enhancing the intimacy part of these shows. But this week only, my band "the D's" showed up for six of the concerts. Danny Neale on guitar and backing vocals, DK Kennedy on percussion. So many stories, so many laughs along the way.

Here's what a typical day looked like. We played and stayed in International Falls, along the Canadian border. The next morning we drove two and half hours to Hibbing (Bob Dylan's hometown, as you may be aware) where we set up the PA and had a fantastic show in the library that also houses a little Bob Dylan museum. I've played there several times over the years.

Afterward, we tear town the equipment, reload the van and trailer and head off to Grand Marais, about three+ hours east and north, trying to stay ahead of an impending winter storm. It's a rural drive through what I remember as beautiful country, but it was nighttime. We kept our eyes open for deer and moose, common road wanderers in this country.

Grand Marais is a cool artsy town located on Lake Superior, also very close to the Canadian border. But there's not a direct way to get there from International Falls or Hibbing, so hence the long day of driving. Throughout the drive, the temperatures plunged and the snow started to fall, especially when we joined up with Highway 61 along the shore of Lake Superior. Lake effect snow and wind.

Pulling in late to the motel, we all slept very well! Despite the snow, wind and impending winter storm warning, we had a large crowd in Grand Marais. These are folks who are not deterred by snow or cold. My peeps!

The D's headed home after the concert, about a five+ hour drive through the snow. Tammy and I continued on to the next gig in Duluth with a van in serious need of washing!

We played here in Grand Marais a year ago in the Arrowhead Center for the Arts auditorium. A wonderful venue. By coincidence, we discovered that friends of ours were performing last night in the auditorium! It was a great show and a fun time catching up with these fine twin cities based musicians, Prudence Johnson, Gary Rue and Randy Sabien. Prudence and I have recorded a several songs together over the years.

So today we are in the middle of the winter storm warning, up to 16 inches expected. Grand Marais is bustling and Tammy and I have just returned from snowshoeing on the Superior Hiking Trail, about a 20 minute drive north and west of us. We got the last parking spot in the lot! These folks have been waiting for winter. It's great seeing families out together and hearing kids laughing. It's below zero and snowing like crazy. I love it.

And today we have a day off. Laundry and maybe a local brew pub for happy hour are both on the agenda.

Dennis & the D's in Concert - Grand Marais, MN