Cottonwood News – The Old Town Center for the Arts is pleased to announce the Annual Bob Dylan Birthday Concert, on Saturday, May 21, from 7:00 to 10:00 pm, at the Old Town Center for the Arts in Cottonwood.
For fourteen years, from 2006 through 2019, this annual celebration of the musical legacy of Bob Dylan, resumes again this year, and is performed by some of the best musicians in the Sedona/Verde Valley area, This event has been one of the most popular music events at OTCA and all of northern Arizona.
Bob Dylan, an American singer-songwriter, author, visual artist, Grammy winner, Academy Award winner, Nobel Prize laureate, and countless other accolades, is regarded as one of the greatest songwriters and musicians of all time. He has been a major figure in popular culture spanning the past 60 years, beginning his career in the early 1960’s, with songs such as “Blowin’ in the Wind” and “The Times They Are a- Changin’.”
Dylan will be 81 years old (young) on May 24 and is still going strong today with his “Rough and Rowdy Ways” tour, the latest version of his famous Never Ending Tour, in full swing.
Joe Neri, founder, producer and performer of these many Dylan tribute concerts, will be back with his usual great line-up of local and not-so-local musicians. This year’s performers include Tommy Anderson,Tyler Barrett, the Salt Miners (Nora Bolles, Mike McReynolds, Mark Gifford), Gary Every, Dave and Luke Harvey, Suzie Schomaker, Tim Young, and the Mystery Tramps house band (Joe Neri, Larry Hill, J.J. Corcoran, Hutch Hutchison, Alan Albert).
“I’ve been a Bob Dylan fan since 1962, the year it all began,’ says Neri. “Bob and I share the same birth date – May 24 – and I organized the first concert in 2006 kind of as a lark to celebrate both of our birthdays with music. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine just how popular it would be. Each year, the concert got bigger and bigger, in terms of both audience and musicians. I am honored to be able to bring this 17th edition of the Bob Dylan Birthday Concert to all of his fans here in the Sedona/Verde Valley area and I am thankful to the Old Town Center for the Arts for making it happen. It’s going to be a truly great show.”
The Bob Dylan Birthday Party Celebration Concert is Saturday, May 21st at 7:00 PM. The night before, Friday night May 20th at 7:00PM, the Old Town Center for the Arts will host Joe Neri’s Blues Dawg Reunion Concert. Come to one concert or both! Both concerts are sponsored by the Best Western Cottonwood Inn and Lee Worthen.
Old Town Center for the Arts Is located at 5th Street & Main in Old Town Cottonwood. Tickets for The Bob Dylan Birthday Celebration Concert are $25 in advance, $28 at the door, and $30 for priority seating in the first three rows. Tickets for Fridays Blues Dawg Reunion Concert are, $18 advance, $20 at the door, and $25 for priority seating in the first three rows. A special combination package is available for both concerts, $35 advance general seating and $45 priority general seating. Tickets for both events are available online at www.showtix4u.com or in Cottonwood at Mount Hope Foods and Mysterium and In Sedona, you can find tickets at The Mary D. Fisher Theater. For ticket prices and more information about these and other upcoming events, visit www.oldtowncenter.org, or call Elena Bullard at 928 634 0940.