Highway 61 Revisited

It may be the new millennium, but tribute bands to the stars of the last century are as popular as ever.

Take the acclaimed Bob Dylan tribute band, Highway 61 Revisited, for example. Named after Dylan’s monumental 1965 album by the same name, the seven-member band, lead by Joel Gilbert as Bob Dylan, looks and sounds like the real thing.

The group is scheduled to appear at The Canyon in Agoura Hills on Sat., Feb. 28. It will be Highway 61 Revisited’s fifth appearance at The Canyon, says Gilbert, who decided to turn his passion for Dylan music during college into a full-time pursuit.

Gilbert has been a fan of the highly praised poet/musician for decades.

Highway 61 Revisited is based in Thousand Oaks but has toured internationally. Audience favorites include a stunning recreation of the Dylan masterpiece "Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door." The group is also true to form with its resounding renditions of "Like a Rolling Stone" and "All Along the Watchtower."

Gilbert says he has met Dylan’s children over the years and they have told him that they see the band as a compliment.

Gilbert ended up in Thousand Oaks after attending school in London and later working for Paramount Pictures in Los Angeles as a financial analyst.

The Tennessee native started the band in 1999.

Gilbert offers a theory as to why tribute bands are so popular now.

"There is very little original, good music, and people retreat to what they grew up with, back to a time when music said and meant something special," he said.

Dylan’s music is clearly special, given that it has been hailed as the most distinctive and poetic sound in the history of American popular music.

Highway 61 Revisited promises to keep the beat alive.