Great American Songbook: The Music of Bob Dylan

The Signature Series at Berklee continues on February 28, 2016, with Great American Songbook: The Music of Bob Dylan, celebrating the folk music icon. A large group of Berklee students and faculty—including 14 vocalists—will pay tribute to Dylan’s prolific career by performing many of his most memorable and influential songs.

The concert will feature a guest appearance by Al Kooper, former Berklee faculty member and acclaimed keyboardist, songwriter, and producer. Kooper performed with Dylan at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival when he famously “plugged in,” played the signature organ riff on “Like a Rolling Stone,” and produced Dylan’s album New Morning.

Great American Songbook: The Music of Bob Dylan takes place Sunday, February 28, at 7:30 p.m., at the Berklee Performance Center, 136 Massachusetts Avenue, Boston. Reserved seating tickets are available for $12/$18 at the BPC box office or berklee.edu/bpc. The venue is wheelchair accessible. For more information, call 617-747-2261.

The concert will present a career-spanning program of Dylan’s songs—many presented in new and unique formats—with new arrangements written in collaborations between faculty and students. Selections include “The Times They Are A-Changin’,” “Just Like a Woman,” “Maggie’s Farm,” “Hurricane,” “Lay Lady Lay,” “All Along the Watchtower,” and “Mr. Tambourine Man.”

Dylan’s career began in the early 1960s with songs that chronicled the significant social issues of the time. He was inspired by traditional folk music and brought his piercing and poetic lyrics to songs such as “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall” and “Blowin’ in the Wind,” which reflected the tension and unrest of the civil rights and anti-war movements. His songs of protest and turmoil spoke to an entire generation and turned Dylan into a cultural and political icon that played sold-out concerts around the world.

Over four decades, Dylan has produced 500 songs and more than 40 albums. Rolling Stone named “Like a Rolling Stone” the No. 1 song of all time, and 12 other Dylan songs also appear on the magazine’s Top 500 list. Dylan was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988.

Margot Edwards is a manager in the Office of Media Relations. Media inquiries: medwards@berklee.edu.