A Bob Dylan Tribute Band: Honoring the Icon  

When we think, as musicians or music lovers in general, about cover bands, tribute bands or in this case, a Bob Dylan cover band, we would probably have in mind something very different from most musical projects. 

If you do an AC/DC cover band, you know you have two main features to have at hand before investing your time and energy.  You need a special hard rock-meeting-blues guitar player and one exceptional vocalist.  If you want to rehearse a Gun's and Roses tribute band, you need similar variables; again one great guitar player and some singer with special qualities about his voice with a flexible range.  A mixed voiced some people say, blending head and chest voice. 

With Bob Dylan, the voice and the guitar skills are not as important as the ability to convey thoughts and feelings to the crowd.  You need charisma.  May be the hardest aspect of a great performer is the special and almost uncanny spell that as soon as he or she sits on stage, keeps everybody engaged, almost as hypnotized.  Of course, with Dylan it is not just about the respect people experience in his presence.  This respect is preceding Dylan because of his work.   

Dylan songs are full of meaning and send a clear message to those willing to open their mind to his material.   Any group of people pretending to dedicate a great portion of their life to give birth to a descent bob dylan cover band, must first find the right front man with the charisma mentioned above.   The rest of the band is also important.  However, you need no shredding guitar players or jazz bass players.  You need people with a clear vision about rendering a message.  They will need to be very good at giving different colors to the sound and support the frontman every second of the gig or recording. 

Finally, the aspect and age of the front man is important.  You need a mature man with a solid aspect.  This will give more credibility to the lyrics.  Most young men are not as experienced as to project a true meaning to what Dylan intended with its songs.  All in all, it sounds like a great project to get involved with. 

Included as one of the most important people of the century in Time 100, Bob Dylan is a celebrated modern artist that is ranked with the likes of great names in history such as Picasso, Mozart and even Shakespeare.  A musician of several genres, Dylan is known more for the lyrical magic that he instills in his songs, such as Blowing in the Wind and Highway 61 Revisited.  These songs earned him much accolade especially during the peak of the counterculture movement in the United States and in the United Kingdom.  Bob Dylan has stood the test of time when it comes to his music and his art.  And with that under his belt and more, a Dylan Tribute Band is an honor that he more than deserves to have.  

A Dylan Tribute Band would definitely be faced with a lot of pressure to live up to the man behind the name.  Besides being able to perform as well as Dylan, the band should also deserve to bear the name of such a great musician.  But with Dylan’s songs backing them up, the challenge would have to be in finding a way to add to a near perfect package when it comes to musicality.  Although, it’s never enough that a band just knows how to play and perform Dylan’s songs.  It has to incorporate as well, the heart and the dedication that Dylan and his music has come to mean and stand for in modern society. 

Dylan himself could be forgiving when it comes to having such a band in his honor.  But, the utmost test for such a band to survive is the discriminating taste of Dylan’s faithful followers.  Nevertheless, a Dylan Tribute Band would definitely be something that his loyal and countless fans would be glad to see and experience.