Bob Dylan concertgoers embrace Minnesota connection

Light-skinned man with long, wavy grey beard stands in front of light stone wall, making a "hang ten" hand sign. He wears sunglasses and a brimmed hat. — Michael Sieden, of St. Paul, waits to enter Bob Dylan's concert at the Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center on Friday in Mankato.

By Jay Gabler

April 05, 2025 at 12:06 PM

MANKATO — It's been over 60 years since Bob Dylan took his Hibbing High School diploma and left Minnesota to meet Woody Guthrie and try his hand on the national folk scene. Dylan initially obfuscated his origins, and some folks around here haven't forgiven him for that.

Those folks were not in evidence outside the Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center, where on Friday night Dylan played his first home state show since 2019.

"He's Bob Dylan. He can do whatever he wants," said Michael Sieden, who grew up in Duluth and now lives in St. Paul. "I haven't left the state, and I've seen him 10 times. He comes around."

Light-skinned woman with white hair sits in urban setting, smiling and wearing multiple layers of jackets including puffy orange winter jacket. — Gail Nichols has a memory of Bob Dylan holding a clinic door for her once in Bloomington, Minn.

Young light-skinned woman, left, and light-skinned woman in middle age smile as they pose together in front of a light stone wall. — Orena Senior, left, and her mother Molly Senior, both of Terryville, Conn.

Gail Nichols even had a close encounter with the music legend when working for a local group of ophthalmic surgeons. "Bob had his cataract surgery done after hours at the Phillips Eye Institute," recounted Nichols.

"The next day," Nichols continued, "he came to the clinic in Bloomington to do his follow-up checkup. I was taking a patient out after cataract surgery, and I looked up, and there he was. He walked across the parking lot and held the door open for me. I thought I should have said, 'Hi, Mr. Zimmerman,' but I didn't."

Molly Senior, who went to college in Bemidji, came from her current home state of Connecticut along with her daughter, Orenda Senior. "She's seen him many times," said Molly about Orenda, "and decided that for my birthday we should travel here."

"We know he hasn't been here in six years," said Orenda Senior, "so I wanted to come see what it was all about and compare: See if him performing here seems any different than when I've seen him perform in the past."

Asian American man stands arm-in-arm with light-skinned woman and light-skinned man, all smiling, on city street. All are dressed for early spring. — Koichi Arimitsu, from left, Tish Borgen and John Borgen get ready to see Bob Dylan perform in Mankato.

Tish and John Borgen, of Lakeville, Minnesota, were walking up to the arena along with a new friend the couple had just met in Mankato. Koichi Arimitsu flew in from the Bay Area just to see Dylan in Minnesota.

"It's just to show respect and to appreciate a generational artist," said Arimitsu. "Whoever you are, it's where you grew up that has the most profound and biggest impact."

Tish Borgen had just spontaneously gifted Arimitsu with a piece of handmade jewelry featuring a charm reading, "When words fail, music speaks."

The Borgens' attendance in Mankato was a matter of serendipitous timing. "We just saw the movie last week," said Tish Borgen, referencing a recent Dylan biopic, "and my husband and I were like, 'Let's see if he's playing somewhere.' Here we are!"

Light-skinned man of middle age stands with young adult light-skinned man, arm in arm outside arena doors. Both are thickly bearded. — Paul Neilson, left, of Eden Prairie, Minn. and son Kevin Neilson of Plymouth, Minn.

Paul Neilson of Eden Prairie, Minnesota, and his son Kevin Neilson of Plymouth, Minnesota, were still glowing from seeing Dylan in Minneapolis over a decade ago.

"My dad and I saw him together back in 2014 at the Orpheum, and I remember that being a revelatory experience," said Kevin Neilson. "To be seeing Bob again tonight is beyond special, and it was something that I couldn't miss."

Dylan may have moved away, but "I don't hold that against him," said Paul Neilson. "He's got a lot of road miles on him."

Three light-skinned women sit arm-in-arm on stone bench on city street, smiling and dressed for early spring weather. — JoAnne Volkmann of West Saint Paul, Minn., Lynn Gostomczik of Waseca, Minn. and Laura Link of Hamel, Minn.

Lynn Gostomczik, of Waseca, Minnesota, has been a fan for Dylan's entire career but was only seeing him for the first time on Friday. She said there was never any mystery to Minnesotans of her generation regarding Dylan's origins.

"We knew that he was from up on the Iron Range," said Gostomczik. "Loved it."

Aside from the occasional lyric reference, Gostomczik acknowledged, Dylan "never really has spoken too much about Minnesota. We'll claim him anyway."

By Jay Gabler

Arts and entertainment reporter Jay Gabler joined the Duluth News Tribune in 2022. His previous experience includes eight years as a digital producer at The Current (Minnesota Public Radio), four years as theater critic at Minneapolis alt-weekly City Pages, and six years as arts editor at the Twin Cities Daily Planet. He's a co-founder of pop culture and creative writing blog The Tangential; he's also a member of the National Book Critics Circle and the Minnesota Film Critics Association. You can reach him at jgabler@duluthnews.com or 218-409-7529.

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Bob Dylan concertgoers embrace Minnesota connection

Fans attending Friday night's concert in Mankato, Dylan's first home state show in six years, said they don't judge him for moving away.