RENOWNED sell-out show ‘Simply Dylan’, celebrating the music of Bob Dylan, is coming to Otley Courthouse on September 4.

Simply Dylan started life as a modest project for fans to celebrate Bob Dylan’s 70th birthday in 2011. However, the interpretation of songs in the talented and capable hands of the group, which gave fans the chance to experience Dylan’s music live as they’d always wanted to, led the band’s popularity to soar over the next decade.

Simply Dylan have since sold-out Liverpool’s famous Cavern Club six times, toured Spain, been invited to open the Isle of Wight Festival, and headlined several folk festivals. Following five successful UK tours, the five-piece band will be hitting the road again this autumn, to celebrate Bob Dylan’s 80th birthday with a fan favourite-filled setlist including classics such as Desolation Row, My Back Pages, Masters of War, Like a Rolling Stone, and many more. The band have gained a following amongst Bob Dylan aficionados for their rousing and accessible interpretations of the classic songs.

The live band boasts a range of instruments to fully showcase the depth and range of Dylan’s classics, including but not limited to a saxophone, mandolin, harmonica, violin, banjo, and acoustic and electric guitars. The band is led by founder John O’Connell, who has been a widely respected stalwart of Liverpool’s music scene since the 1980’s. Classically trained multi-instrumentalist O’Connell has received praise from Dylan fans and newcomers alike, as his excellent voice and clear vocal expression allow Dylan’s unrivalled story-telling to come to life.

One of O’Connell’s fondest memories of Simply Dylan is the gig they performed on the piazza outside the Liverpool M&S Bank Arena before Bob Dylan himself was due on stage. The band’s performance attracted so many Dylan fans who stopped en-route to the arena, that the venue requested they stop the gig as they were jeopardising Dylan’s start time.

John said: “That was a great day, the sun was shining; the crowd watching us were on good form and just grew and grew. The arena weren’t too happy though – as people were late taking their seats to watch the great man himself!”

Simply Dylan has been widely acclaimed, with enthusiastic reviewers including John Roberts, organiser of the Bob Dylan Convention, Tracy Barker from the Bob Dylan ISIS magazine, and the late John Baldwin of Desolation Row Information Service, who commented, “Normally I don’t like Dylan ‘covers’, but this is different... He’s not an impersonator, more an interpreter, and an accomplished musician and singer to boot.”

The ethos of the band is “A tribute to Bob Dylan, not a Bob Dylan tribute” which is exactly what they do; there are no “look-a-likes” or voice mimicry, but some of Dylan’s greatest works impressively performed by a band of talented musicians.

Described by Peter Hooton of The Farm as “absolutely stunning” and “effortlessly brilliant”, Simply Dylan are touring this autumn and coming to Otley Courthouse on September 4.

Tickets are available at SimplyDylan.com