Westport, CT - The kickoff events for VersoFest 2025 are officially set, with the hit band the Wallflowers as the headlining act for the Friday night concert on April 4. Doors open at 6 pm, with the Wallflowers taking the stage at 8:30 pm following an opening act’s set at 6:30 pm.Tickets for the Wallflowers and the Thursday night Verso Visionary conversation with iconic rocker and National Book Award winner Patti Smith are now on sale.
VersoFest is The Westport Library’s annual music and media festival — a forum for media creators, artists, and fans to converge. This year’s festival runs April 3 to April 6.
In addition to the Wallflowers and Smith, featured guests for this year’s festival include hardcore punk pioneer Henry Rollins and longtime David Letterman music director Paul Shaffer. There will also be a symposium celebrating the 50th anniversary of Bruce Springsteen’s Born to Run, special exhibits by local graffiti artist 5ive Fingaz, a weekend kickoff celebration, and a gospel revival, plus workshops and more.
Previous bands to play at VersoFest include established acts the Smithereens and Spin Doctors, rising artists Sunflower Bean and the Lemon Twigs, and local stars Lez Zeppelin.
For the past 30 years, the Wallflowers have stood as one of rock’s most dynamic and purposeful bands — a unit dedicated to and continually honing a sound that meshes timeless songwriting and storytelling with a hard-hitting and decidedly modern musical attack. That signature style has been present through the decades, baked into the grooves of smash hits like 1996’s Bringing Down the Horse — which featured hits like “One Headlight,” “Three Marlenas,” and “6th Avenue Heartache” — as well as Breach (2000), Rebel, Sweetheart (2005), and Glad All Over (2012).
Dylan returned to the Wallflowers in 2021 with the release of Exit Wounds, the first collection of new Wallflowers material since Glad All Over. “The Wallflowers is much of my life’s work,” Dylan said, adding, “It’s pretty hard to get a good band name, so if you have one, keep it.”
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.
“The Wallflowers has always been a vehicle for me to make great rock ‘n’ roll records,” he said. “And sometimes the lineup that makes the record transfers over into touring, and sometimes it doesn’t. But my intention is always to make the Wallflowers record I want to make, using the musicians I have beside me.”
He added: “I've always been a believer in collaboration, and no matter who I'm playing with I've always tried to include them very heavily. Otherwise, why would they be around? Because I do think bands, whether it’s a long-standing group or just five people who are working together for that one stretch of time, make better rock ‘n’ roll records than solo artists. I mean, it's not 100 percent true, but it's usually true.”
For Dylan, the continued success of the Wallflowers is all about chasing — and capturing — that magic.“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 said. “So, that’s always been my vision with the Wallflowers: to be a great rock ‘n’ roll band. And 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.”
All Tickets: https://go.westportlibrary.org/VF25-Tickets