Dylan Fest celebrates 50th anniversary of when Bob Dylan went electric

A new festival celebrating the milestone year when Bob Dylan went electric is coming to the Dante Hall Theater of Stockton University in Atlantic City on Fri, Aug 28, 2015.

Dylan Fest is a live music tribute to that pivotal moment in rock history.

It was 50 years ago (yes, “your road is rapidly agin’…”) that Dylan, who had rose to fame as a folk music singer-songwriter, plugged in and released “Bringing It All Back Home”. After playing the 1965 Newport Folk Festival with (gasp! boo!) an electrified sound, he went in search of a back-up band for his next tour.

Legend has it that Dylan discovered the group that would become The Band (Levon Helm , Robbie Robertson, Garth Hudson, Rick Danko and Richard Manuel) in Somers Point during one of their regular summer gigs at Tony Marts nightclub.

Whether the connection occurred at the Jersey shore (as festival organizers boast) or earlier at Friar’s tavern in Toronto, Canada (per nearly everyone else), the result was Bob Dylan and The Band hit the road together and forever changed rock music.

Dylan Fest will echo the seminal 1965-1966 tour with it’s acoustic/electric mix. Performing the acoustic folk set will be Philadelphia singer-songwriter, Peter Stone Brown, while local tribute band, 5 Believers, rock the second.

Fans can also check out plenty of Dylan memorabilia along the festival’s “Desolation Row”.

Tickets range from $10 to $20.

Friday, Aug. 28, 7:30 p.m. (doors open at 6:30 p.m.) – 14 N. Mississippi Ave., Atlantic City, NJ.

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This post is part of our South Jersey Events Listing