The Cedar was an ideal venue for this show.  A small crowd by TBT standards and the amazing sound quality at The Cedar only highlighted the skills on display even more.  It felt a bit odd to look around the audience of a Trampled show to see almost no one dancing.  Instead, 300+ people stood like statues transfixed on the down-tempo sounds emanating from the stage.  

Canal Park Lift Bridge shrouded in fog

Cargo ship passes behind the stage as Doomtree gets started

Low's set was an obvious hit with the Duluth crowd.  Native to the lakefront town and playing shows since 1993, it was clear that the fans in the audience knew what to expect and were soaking up every song.  Their set seemed to go by incredibly fast and everyone was sad to see it end.  They finished things us with a soulful and moving cover of Rihanna's Stay, which seemed to capture the basis sentiment of the moment.  I missed the chance to film it, but I was able to locate a version online.  It's worth a listen...



Doomtree took the stage and the winds literally changed. Reversing direction from North off the lake it changed to coming from the South and was warmer and felt heavy with humidity.  The clouds in the sky were dark and swirling.  Things were about to get even more sketchy.  Doomtree's set was action packed and their immensely talented front-woman Dessa brought her brand of soulful vocals to Duluth for the evening.


Even as the rains came, the Doomtree fans stood strong. (A quick side note on Outdoor Concert Etiquette; go ahead and bring an umbrella if rain is in the forecast, just don't stand at the front of the stage if you plan to use it.  There is nothing quite as annoying as standing in the rain to try and enjoy a show but only getting a view of the umbrella in front of you.  You need to make a choice, be up front OR use the umbrella, not both!)  Wrapping up their full set to a huge crowd dancing in the rain was more than a little fun and the sound from the Bayfront stage was amazing.

The sky gets ugly while Doomtree performs

For many of those in attendance, Trampled by Turtles was the reason they came.  Duluth's golden boys took the stage in the pouring rain and thanked the devoted audience for their willingness to tolerate the less than ideal conditions.  In a well timed nod to another MN legend they kicked off their set with Bob Dylan's "Shelter from the Storm".


Unfortunatley, Mother Nature wasn't wiling to play nice and after just a handful of songs TBT was forced to leave the stage due to lightning strikes.  Check out Heady Trade Co's video of mid song lightning HERE, pretty cool stuff.  After just a few short minutes they returned telling the crowd that for the safety of their crew they would keep playing but if lightning struck again they'd have to leave again.  Cheers of appreciation filled the air.  Just a few cords into the next song and the sky was once again filled with bolts of lightning and that marked the end.  As TBT left the stage their tour manager came out telling people to head over to Amsoil Arena, just a few hundred yards away.  There we could wait out the storm and that they would eventually continue.  After nearly an hour of killing time and witnessing several more lightning strikes, we decided to head out.  This turned out to be a major fail on our part as eventually TBT did return to the stage to play for a tiny crowd of about 1000.  I'm not sure how long they played, but even one more song would have been worth the wait.

Until next year, Bayfront.  We're hoping to see this show happen again.