Dylan coming to City Stages
City Stages marketing director Guy McCullough says it calmly but with pride: "We booked this little act, a guy by the name of Robert Allen Zimmerman.
"They tell us he goes by a stage name. Let's see, oh yeah, I believe it's Bob Dylan."
For the first time in its 15-year history, the annual downtown festival has nailed down the songwriting legend. Dylan will headline the Miller Lite Stage the first night of the festival, which is set for May 16-18.
McCullough said Dylan and Willie Nelson, a previously announced headliner, are two of the acts that the festival has been shooting for since its inception. He said City Stages was able to book Dylan this year because the date worked with his touring schedule.
Dylan will be in the Southeast in May and is set to perform at Music Midtown on May 2 in Atlanta and Sun Fest on May 4 in West Palm Beach, Fla., in addition to Birmingham's festival.
Dylan strays a bit from the typical format of the Miller Lite Stage, which has traditionally been alternative rock with hip-hop on Sunday night � a line-up that brings in a young crowd. Scott Register, who heads up programming for the stage, said Dylan was only available Friday night and other stages were already booked.
"Bob Dylan transcends any age," Register said. "Whether you're 16 or 60, you understand the power of Bob Dylan. It may be an opportunity for many young people to discover Bob Dylan as well."
Register said organizers continue to make offers to alternative rock acts and won't change booking plans to find musicians that complement Dylan.
"There's a chance that (the opening act) will be somebody with a totally different sound," he said.
Other acts recently added to the line-up include Marc Broussard, Robert Randolph and the Family Band, Alejandro Escovedo, Kathleen Edwards, funky METERS> and Buddy Guy.
Robin Clemow/April 01, 2003
Birmingham Post-Herald