Dylan is coming to VersoFest!
Not Bob. As impressive and high-powered as the Westport Library’s annual music and media festival is, it can’t (yet) snag the Nobel Prize-winning singer/ songwriter/cultural icon.
But his son Jakob — creator, frontman and lead vocalist of the Wallflowers — brings his alt-rock band to the Trefz Forum on Friday night, April 4.
For over 30 years, the Wallflowers have honed a sound that meshes timeless songwriting and storytelling with a hard-hitting, definitely modern musical attack.
They’ve sold more than 10 million albums, and won 2 Grammys.
Jakob Dylan
Their recordings include 1996’s “Bringing Down the Horse” — with hits like “One Headlight,” “Three Marlenas,” and “6th Avenue Heartache” — as well as “Breach,” “Rebel, Sweetheart” and “Glad All Over.”
In recent years Dylan stepped outside the band, with a pair of acoustic, rootsy records, then with the 2018 film “Echo in the Canyon.” He collaborated on the soundtrack with Neil Young, Eric Clapton, Beck and Fiona Apple.
Dylan returned to the Wallflowers in 2021, with a fresh group of musicians.
Despite the hiatus, Exit Wounds was a return to the band’s signature sound, even as Dylan surrounded himself with a fresh cast of musicians.
“I came up in an era of great rock ‘n’ roll bands making great music, and it’s the way I always imagined I would do it one day,” he says.
“That’s always been my vision with the Wallflowers: to be a great rock ‘n’ roll band. I’ve worked on it for 30 years now, and I still have a lot to say. It’s something I started a long time ago, and it’s far from finished.”
The Wallflowers’ show is not the only VersoFest highlight. The night before (April 3), rock star and National Book Award winner Patti Smith kicks off the 4-day festival.
In addition to the Wallflowers and Smith, this year’s VersoFest includes hardcore punk pioneer Henry Rollins, and longtime David Letterman music director Paul Shaffer.
There is a symposium celebrating the 50th anniversary of Bruce Springsteen’s “Born to Run,” special exhibits by local graffiti artist 5ive Fingaz, a gospel revival, workshops and more.
Click here for details on all the VersoFest events — and to purchase tickets.
