A Bob Dylan tribute concert will be the May 20 concert at the Merryall Center in New Milford. Following two sold-out concerts in Westport, The Suzanne Sheridan Band will be on stage at Merryall in tribute to the great American rock poet Bob Dylan on his selection for the 2016 Nobel Prize for Literature. The concert will take place Saturday May 20 at 8 pm at the Merryall.
The Nobel Prize honored Dylan "for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition." He is the first musician ever to win the award and the first American to win in the literature category since Toni Morrison won in 1993. The New York Times called it “perhaps the most radical choice in history stretching back to 1901" when the first Nobels were awarded.
Over a career that has spanned more than five decades, Dylan has written songs in many genres, from folk, blues and country to rock, English folk, jazz and the Great American Songbook. In the 60’s, Songs like “Blowin’ in the Wind” and “The Times They Are a-Changin’” became anthems of the civil rights and anti-war movements. Later, he composed beautiful love songs, such as “Make You Feel My Love,” first commercially released by Billy Joel in 1997 under the title "To Make You Feel My Love" before Dylan's version appeared later that same year. It has since been covered by numerous performers and has proved to be a commercial success for recording artists such as Adele, Garth Brooks, Bryan Ferry and Kelly Clarkson. Two covers of the song (one by Garth Brooks and one by Trisha Yearwood) were featured on the soundtrack of the 1998 film Hope Floats. Dylan eventually released the song as a single.
“A lot of his songs are amazing,” Sheridan says, but she especially likes “To Make You Feel My Love” for the “sensitivity” displayed by it. Another of her favorites is “It Ain’t Me Babe,” which shows the cynical side of Dylan’s personality. His output has always been characterized by what Sheridan calls “telling the truth to power” and also by a “poetic spirituality.” Dylan’s list of accolades is a long one. In addition to the Nobel, he has received 11 Grammys, a Golden Globe, an Academy Award, a special Pulitzer Prize, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Barack Obama. He is also a member of several music halls of fame, including the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Sheridan will be joined by musicians Bob Cooper on keyboard and organ; Colin Healy on harmonica, mandolin and fiddle; drummer Jake Habegger; and Paul Horton on lead guitar, a well-known Nashville studio musician.
This will be Sheridan’s first appearance at Merryall. She and Merryall artist Rob Brereton performed together in October 2016 at the Westport Historical Society’s very popular folk series, Coffeehouse at the Wheeler’s. In addition to her Dylan concert, she and her band have done concerts featuring the music of Joni Mitchell and Leonard Cohen (her personal favorites), Edith Piaf, Jacques Brel, Linda Ronstadt, Carole King, James Taylor, Carly Simon, and Pete Seeger in addition to leading singer-songwriter circles. She has been to Australia and Canada with the Mitchell/Cohen show and has performed several times at Voices Café. Her concerts at Voices Café have proven to be their highest grossing concerts since the inception of the series, beating out such notables as Peter Yarrow and Cheryl Wheeler. It is time that the Merryall audience finds out whyl.
The Merryall Center is located at 8 Chapel Hill Rd., New Milford, CT 06776. There is parking available in the lot next to the Merryall Center and in the field across the street where the Merryall Chapel is located. The phone number is 860-354-7264
For tickets to Suzanne Sheridan and The "Bob Dylan Tribute Concert” click here: Sheridan/Dylan concert. The date is Saturday May 20 at 8 pm and tickets are $10. For further information on Suzanne Sheridan, visit her website at Suzanne Sheridan Music.