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Dylan, who rose to prominence in 1962 with his eponymous debut album, will turn 84 on Saturday. The event, which celebrates the musical icon’s 70-year career, will see local and traveling musicians take on some of Dylan’s most legendary songs. Come celebrate his music, play a song and eat cake!

According to event producer and Marfa-based musician Mia Valentini, “Musician sign-up has really gained momentum,” 
Among those that will be performing is Tim Johnson, who is a “ridiculously big fan” of Dylan’s and has participated in other Bob Dylan Birthday Jams organized by Marfa Live Arts director Jennie Lyn Hamilton. The first of the Dylan open mic nights, he said, took place in the old shade pavilion where the Saint George Hall currently sits in 2011, with the other celebrations taking place at Padre’s, The Lumberyard and under the USO’s outdoor structure. As for his love of Dylan, Johnson cites him as a marker of American music in general. “I consider his discography as kind of a junction where all these different lines of music history converge,” he said. “Celebrating Dylan, for me, is akin to celebrating the whole history of intermingling strands of American music.”

Also performing this Saturday, and making her Dylan Birthday Jam debut performance, is Zoe Kurland, a Marfa-based journalist and singer who regularly performs with The Grand Tourists. "Dylan songs are just so good! It’s exciting to get together and play something that seems so simple, but is, in actuality, incredibly nuanced,” she explained, adding that the recent release of the Timothée Chalamet biopic, A Complete Unknown, brought Dylan’s music back into her world. “I am ashamed to admit that after all of the Chalamet/Dylan hype this year, I was reminded of how great Dylan songs are.

Dylan lookalikes are also more than welcome!” Along with a Dylan-inspired cake provided by Bitter Sugar, Valentini said there will also be popsicles for sale to help beat the heat. 

                      
Bring a chair and relax under the skies as we celebrate the man, the legend, the one and only Bob Dylan! 

FREE EVENT - DONATIONS ACCEPTED

Special Thanks 

Mia Valentini, Fatima Anaza, Tina Rivera, JD Garcia, Coy Jennings, Coyote Coffee, Bitter Sugar, Lindsay Smith, Will Floyd, Cactus Liquors, Joe Esparza, PrintCo, Chris Dyer, Marfa Public Radio, Marfa Pops, Rob D’Amico, Big Bend Sentinel, Sarah Madero, Sarah Vasquez, Nina Martin and all the participating musicians.

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Sponsored by:
Texas Commission for the Arts and Coyote Coffee