There were a lot of potential nominees, so we used a runoff ballot. The options with the fewest votes slowly dropped out of the poll as the days went by, until it got down to the final four.
What was the best local album of 2015?
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Low’s Ones and Sixes – 34 percent
The Social Disaster’s Dark Side of the Roller Rink – 31 percent
Charlie Parr’s Stumpjumper – 19 percent
Mary Bue’s Holy Bones – 16 percent
Duluthians aren’t shy about loving Bayfront Park. Asked in PDD’s poll to name the best outdoor concert venue, 71.5 percent gave their nod to the 10-acre harbor-side multi-purpose park that has hosted Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, Trampled by Turtles, Wilco, the Monkees, the Doobie Brothers, Willie Nelson, Steve Martin, nearly three decades of Bayfront Blues Festivals and a long list of others.
The Minneapolis Star Tribune also named Bayfront the state’s “Best Outdoor Music Venue” in 2014, noting: “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. … Coolest of all: Families can bring kids under 12 to shows for free, as is dictated by the city.”
What is the best outdoor concert venue in the Duluth area? It’s is an all-things-considered poll — acoustics, aesthetics, parking, lavatories, etc.
Note: This is PDD’s first runoff poll, which means instead of having an elimination round and a final round of voting, the options with the fewest votes will simply start dropping off of this poll. So check back, because if you vote for something and it drops off the list, you can vote again for one of the remaining options until we have a winner.
This poll is now closed. The results were:
Bayfront Festival Park — 71.5 percent
Big Top Chautauqua — 19 percent
Leif Erikson Park — 9.5 percent
Eliminated during run-off vote: Barker’s Island Pavilion, Billings Park, Chester Bowl, DeWitt-Seitz parking lot, First Street, Glensheen Mansion Pier, Lake Place Park, Lake Superior Plaza, Lincoln Park Pavilion, Lucius Woods Performing Arts Center, Northwest Iron parking lot and Wade Municipal Stadium.
It’s been a while since we’ve done a poll on PDD, and this post leads us into the next one. Before we publish a ballot on Saturday, we have to ask the question and make sure we aren’t missing any good nominees.
What is the best place for outdoor concerts in the Duluth area?
Barker’s Island Pavilion
Bayfront Festival Park
Big Top Chautauqua
Billings Park
Chester Bowl
Glensheen Mansion Pier
Lake Place Park
Leif Erikson Park
Lucius Woods Performing Arts Center
Anything else that should be on the ballot?
Photo by Melissa La Tour
Which band altered the most souls, inspired the most hedonism and deserves to wear the championship belt this year?
The poll is now closed. Here are the results:
Bratwurst – 12.7 percent
The Blasphemists – 10.2 percent
The Electric Witch – 6.8 percent
Sweat Equity – 5.1 percent
Various other bands – 65.3 percent
Is it the music, the artistry or the stinky meat? Duluth music fans continue to love Bratwurst … despite, or perhaps more so because of, this year’s controversy. (The band denies any involvement in the Pig Head on Statue Incident. Duluth police and the humane society are apparently investigating.)
Photo by Cory Fechner
Photo by Judy Weber
This is the third time in four years that Bratwurst has won Homegrown. It is also the third time in a row that the Blasphemists have finished second in the voting.
From the list of 18 nominated plays or musicals from last year, our previous poll trimmed it down to the final two. Now it’s time to ask, once and for all …
What was the best play or musical of 2014?
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Renegade Theater Company’s Red – 51.1 percent
Duluth Playhouse’s Les Misérables – 48.9 percent
The nominations are in and it’s time to vote. Which Duluth-area theater production made your little Greek mask laugh or weep last year?
What was the best play or musical of 2014?
Loading ...This poll is now closed. These two plays advance to the final poll:
Les Misérables – Duluth Playhouse
Red – Renegade Theater Company
We’ve closed the Best Video of 2014 poll, and with an unusually low response that was all over the board, we’re calling it inconclusive. In hindsight, expecting people to watch all of the nominated videos is a lot to ask. We discussed trimming the list down even more, but felt that each of the videos there deserved to be considered.
A previous round of voting identified the top three albums by Duluth bands in 2014. Now it’s time to pick the award winner. Ire Wolves’ The Ascetic and Wolf Blood’s self-titled album can be listened to on Bandcamp. Red Mountain’s Scowl Lightly isn’t available for free listening in its entirety, but the single “Home” is on SoundCloud and there are videos for “Forestasia” and “Put Me Through.” Listen up, then pick your favorite.
What was the best local album of 2014?
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Red Mountain’s Scowl Lightly – 40.6 percent
Wolf Blood’s self titled debut – 34.4 percent
Ire Wolves The Ascetic – 25 percent
Among the 50+ albums released by Duluth-area musicians in the past year, the nominees are in for Best Local Album of 2014. Log in and click away to help us identify the strongest in the field.
What was the best local album of 2014?
Loading ...Ire Wolves – The Ascetic
Red Mountain – Scowl Lightly
Wolf Blood – self titled
Sometimes less is more.
The Spirit Room, a 1,000-square-foot drinking establishment with a tapas menu featuring just a dozen items, came out on top in Perfect Duluth Day’s poll to name the area’s best new restaurant. Tavern on the Hill, a full-menu eatery with literally 10 times the square footage of the Spirit Room, placed a distant second.
Sixteen eateries went up against each other in the elimination round of Perfect Duluth Day’s poll to name the area’s best new restaurant. The top three have made it to the final round: Shorty’s Pizza and Smoked Meat, Spirit Room Tapas Bar & Restaurant and Tavern on the Hill. So once again we ask …
What is the best new restaurant in the Duluth area?
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The Spirit Room – 52.6 percent
Tavern on the Hill – 26.9 percent
Shorty’s Pizza and Smoked Meat – 20.5 percent
The vital task of naming the best new restaurant in the Duluth area begins with this elimination round of voting. Choose your favorite among the 16 options below; the top vote getters will move on to the final round.
What is the best new restaurant in the Duluth area?
Loading ...This poll is now closed. Three restaurants will advance to the final ballot:
Shorty’s Pizza and Smoked Meat
Spirit Room Tapas Bar & Restaurant
Tavern on the Hill
Since launching in May 2013, Bent Paddle Brewing has quickly become a dominant force in the region. The company seems to have everything right, from perfect beer to perfect packaging to perfect branding and distribution. From a 10,600-square-foot warehouse in Duluth’s Friendly West End, Bent Paddle already produces twice as many barrels of beer as any other local company — making it the most macro of the area’s microbreweries and brewpubs.
In the final round of Perfect Duluth Day’s poll, Bent Paddle went head-to-head with Fitger’s Brewhouse, a 19-year-old jauggernaut brewpub that supplies beer to five restaurants and a beer store owned by parent company Just Take Action. While the two companies have quite different operations and histories, both are well-known beyond Duluth for producing an array of outstanding craft brews. The nod to Bent Paddle, which amassed 60 percent of the vote, is perhaps due to its reach. Though the company is still fairly new, it’s beer is available in a majority of bar, restaurant and liquor stores in the Duluth market — and the territory has already begun to expand into the Twin Cities metro area.
Our previous poll pitted eleven breweries from the Arrowhead region against each other for the opportunity to advance to the final ballot. Now, the top two go head to head for the chance to be branded as the best.
What is the best brewery in the Duluth area?
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Bent Paddle Brewing – 60 percent
Fitger’s Brewhouse – 40 percent
