Bob Dylan tribute in Jersey City will focus on songs from ‘A Complete Unknown’ era

Grace Church Van Vorst in Jersey City will host a Bob Dylan tribute, Aug. 14.

When Hollywood came to Jersey City and Hoboken to film scenes for the Bob Dylan biopic “A Complete Unknown,” it sent ripples through the local music scene that are still being felt today. On Aug. 14, more than 25 performers will convene at Jersey City’s beautiful Grace Church Van Vorst for “The Bob Dylan Tribute,” a showcase paying homage to Dylan’s folk-music era.

“Part of the movie was filmed on Jersey Avenue right outside our window and I was so delighted, especially since I am a historian by trade,” said Mandy Edgecombe, a familiar face to Jersey City music fans as “Dancing Tony” Susco’s partner in Rock-it Docket Productions. “So I wanted to have a Dylan showcase to celebrate the music from the movie and honor his early career going electric.”

Edgecombe reached out to two musician friends, Florianna Heun (of Howling Bill & the Basement Dwellers) and singer-songwriter John Feuerbach. “They hadn’t really known each other until this project started but became friends and have already played a show together,” said Edgecombe. “I love making those kinds of connections.”

Feurbach and Heun decided to put together a house band — dubbed FloJoCo from their first names — to back the singers, and went to work recruiting friends to sing Dylan songs from the era chronicled in “A Complete Unknown” (i.e., 1961-1965).

“Everyone chose their own song, and most artists are singing just that one, although a few will be sitting in instrumentally with other people,” Edgecombe said. “We got such an excited reception from so many people that we even had to say no to some. I had no idea some of them were Dylan fans because they play such different music, and I was surprised to learn just how pervasive Dylan is in our culture.”

MANDY EDGECOMBE

Most of the performers hail from Jersey City and Hoboken, playing regularly at venues like Jersey City’s Pet Shop as well as Rock-it Docket showcases like Groove on Grove and the festivals at the Historic Jersey City & Harsimus Cemetery. “I met all these artists cause Tony booked them and/or John or Flo asked them to play,” said Edgecombe. “Even if they don’t live in town, they may be from Bloomfield or Montclair, but they come into Jersey City to play Rock-it Docket shows.”

If you are a habitué of the North Hudson music scene, you will recognize names like viktor.digital, Maidin, Christina Alessi, Max Feinstein, Brendan Hartnett, Chris Nino and Steph Leo. Many play together in bands or share gigs regularly.

Leo, who plays with Nino in Best Dressed Ghost, jumped at the chance to be a part of the showcase. “My personal destiny with Dylan was set in stone when I found my first record player on the side of the road, stole Blood on the Tracks from my dad’s collection, and listened to it on repeat after my first real-deal heartbreak,” she said. “I can still hear ‘Buckets of Rain’ curled up on that couch, each song reminding me that maybe my dumb boyfriend was the ‘Idiot Wind’ after all.”

“I’ll be performing ‘Positively 4th Street’ on Aug. 14 — a favorite of mine due to its thorn of pettiness directed at folks who turned their back on Dylan for seemingly turning his back on folk,” Leo added. “I like its lack of any kind of traditional song structure. Dylan was a true punk rocker.”

Jonathan Andrew — a ubiquitous presence on the JC music scene (he plays in Christina Alessi & the Toll Collectors, the Grateful Dead tribute band Strangers Stopping Strangers and Mike Kuzan’s alt-rock Philosopher Pirate, as well as the Hoboken pop-rock ensemble The Maybes) — jumped aboard with a sharp appreciation for the music.

DAN SHEIN

JONATHAN ANDREW

”Dylan’s songwriting is the foundation for so much of the music that is still being made today, not just in Americana and by auteur singer-songwriters, where his influence is seen most clearly, but everywhere in rock, punk and even today’s confessional songwriters like Taylor Swift,” Andrew said. “And sadly, his storytelling is more relevant today than ever. Both his protest songs and his depictions of the general madness of everyday life will never go out of style. His peak-era 1960s songs still have legs for contemporary artists and listeners alike.”

Andrew noted that so far, everything seems to be proceeding smoothly. “Flo and John are doing a bang-up job pulling everything together on the music side,” he said. “There are a lot of moving parts to take care of, with such a large cast of musicians and lengthy set list, and they’re crushing it. I’m looking forward to sharing the stage with my bandmates Christina Alessi, Nick Porcaro and John Roccesano, plus a lot of new people, too.”

The concert had originally been planned for another venue in Downtown Jersey City but was moved to Grace Church Van Vorst due to a scheduling conflict. “It was a blessing in disguise,” Edgecombe said. “The beauty of the sanctuary and the acoustics in the room will add so much richness to this production, and folk music has a deeply intertwined history with churches. Also, Donald Gallagher, the restorer and event manager at Grace Church, is adding to some of the storytelling we’ll be incorporating into the show. He was there in Greenwich Village when some of these original performances were happening!”

Edgecombe is no stranger to pop culture history, having produced a documentary about Mary Graham Aiken in which Aiken talks about her experiences in the Jersey City jazz scene of the ’40s and ’50s. Now that she has dipped her toe into curating a concert, she is ready for more.

“I absolutely want to do another production of my own,” Edgecombe said. “It’s already a joy being Tony’s business partner at Rock-it Docket, but now I’ve caught the bug of the creative process: of seeing an idea through until it becomes what I think will be magic.”

“The Bob Dylan Tribute: A Folk Music Showcase” will take place at Grace Church Van Vorst in Jersey City, August 14 at 7 p.m. Visit Eventbrite.com.

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