Best outdoor music venue - Bayfront Festival Park - 2014 Best of MN

About the only recent performer who didn't remark from the stage about the lovely scenery surrounding Duluth's harbor-view amphitheater was the guy born just up the hill from it, Bob Dylan. It has the Aerial Lift Bridge, hilly city skyline and occasional passing ore boat for a backdrop, the cool breeze off Lake Superior for natural air-conditioning and a huge grassy lawn for stretching out. Long the home of the popular Bayfront Blues Festival in early August, the park has grown in stature among music fans in recent summers, with Dylan returning to it last year and Wilco being there the past two summers. Hometown heroes Trampled by Turtles also packed it on a double bill with Atmosphere last June, and now TBT is hooking up with Doomtree, Low and Haley Bonar there for another show June 28. Coolest of all: Families can bring kids under 12 to shows for free, as is dictated by the city. The main question for Twin Cities music lovers is no longer, "Is it worth the drive?" but rather, "Should I bring a jacket?" The answer in either case is almost always yes. bayfrontfestivalpark.com