The Best Fest is proud to announce Dylan Fest: A Celebration of Bob Dylan’s 76th Birthday. Set for May 23rd and 24th at Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium, the second annual two-night concert event will see an extraordinary and eclectic array of artists paying tribute to the music of Bob Dylan with unprecedented performances of their favorite Dylan songs. In addition to ringing in Bob’s 76th – he was born on May 24th, 1941 – the concerts will also celebrate Dylan’s recent Nobel Prize win, and mark the 50th anniversary of his 1967 masterpiece, John Wesley Harding, recorded at Columbia’s Studio A in Nashville.
“After last year’s joyous Dylan Fests at the Ryman, we hope to make his birthday party in Music City an annual event, and we hereby invite Dylan’s most fervent fans from all over the world to join us,” says Best Fest co-founder Austin Scaggs. “Dylan’s words and music give meaning to our lives, and to honor Bob and raise money and awareness for a wonderful charity is a win-win.”
These shows will benefit Refuge Foundation for the Arts, a non-profit organization providing sanctuary for the pursuit of creative expression through music and art. Founded in response to the lack of resources available to artists today, it is the mission of Refuge to offer patronage and opportunity to creators in a supportive and collaborative environment.
As always, the Best Fest’s acclaimed house band, The Cabin Down Below Band, will host a prodigious cast of musicians, with confirmed artists including Wynonna & The Big Noise, Elle King, Shakey Graves, Hall of Fame guitarist Duane Eddy, Boz Scaggs, Valerie June, Hamilton Leithauser, Moon Taxi, Richard Hawley, Shooter Jennings, Anderson East, Erika Wennerstrom of Heartless Bastards, Butch Walker, Karen Elson, Langhorne Slim, John Paul White *, The Weeks, Rayland Baxter, Bones Owens, Danny Masterson, The Whigs, The Watson Twins, Jonathan Tyler, Paul Cauthen, Gill Landry, Lauren Shera, The Texas Gentlemen, Eric Pulido of Midlake, Shelly Colvin, Odessa and many more surprise guests.
“We are so thrilled by the generosity of all of these incredible performers,” says Scaggs. “They’re lending their time and talent for their love of Bob, and for a great cause.”
Once again, The Best Fest is proud to have Jameson Irish Whiskey on board as sponsor. The Fests started in the same New York community of bartenders, musicians, and craftsmen that adopted Jameson as their drink of choice. The Best Fest and Jameson forged a relationship based on similar values, shared appreciation and interest in spreading the community spirit.
The Best Fest is proud to announce a new partnership with Acme Elixirs, a California-based cannabis company that uses the latest technology and intellectual property to create organically derived cannabis oil and CBDs-using a process without harmful solvents or dangerous additives.”Acme Elixirs is at the forefront of the cannabis revolution and we are proud to officially welcome them into the Fest family,” says Scaggs.
No artist is nearer and dearer to the heart of the Fests than Bob Dylan. It was on the occasion of Dylan’s 60th birthday that the first Fest took place, in 2001, at Manitoba’s bar on Avenue B in New York City’s East Village.
Artist & Line Up Subject To Change Without Notice
*Appearing May 23th Only
Tickets On Sale Friday April 21st 10am CT
May 23rd: TKTKT
May 24th: TKTKT
About The Best Fest: 15 years after celebrating Bob Dylan’s 60th birthday by jamming with a few friends in a tiny Lower East Side bar, The Best Fests – including Dylan Fest, Petty Fest, Stones Fest, George Fest, Brian Fest and Neil Fest – are now a rock and roll tradition. The New York Times described The Fests as “one of the most jubilant events of the year” and Rolling Stone touted it as “an experience that is equal parts concert and celebration.” The Best Fest travels the globe producing one of a kind all-star charity concerts. They have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for charity nationally. Multiple sold out shows in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Austin, Nashville, New Orleans, Chicago, and Dublin have featured guest performances from an incredible and diverse array of celebrities and artists including: Brian Wilson, Norah Jones, Johnny Depp, The Black Keys, Kings of Leon, The Strokes, The Killers, Ryan Adams, The Flaming Lips, Emmylou Harris, Kesha, Perry Farrell, Spoon, Jason Sudeikis, Kristen Wiig, Ben Harper, “Weird Al” Yankovic, Ann Wilson, Jakob Dylan, Trisha Yearwood, Leon Bridges and many more. George Fest: A Night To Celebrate The Music of George Harrison is now a beautify captured live album and full length concert film available on Vagrant Records (BMG). For updates and information, please visit www.thebestfest.com and follow @thebestfest on Instagram and @The_BestFest on Twitter.
