The 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration
The 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration is a live double-album release in recognition of Bob Dylan's 30 years as a recording artist. Recorded on October 16, 1992, at Madison Square Garden in New York City, it captures most of the concert, which featured many artists performing classic Dylan songs, before ending with three songs from Dylan himself.
The house band for the show were the surviving members of Booker T. & the M.G.'s: Booker T. Jones on organ, Donald "Duck" Dunn on bass, and Steve Cropper on guitar. Joining them was drummer Anton Fig filling in for the late Al Jackson, plus drummer Jim Keltner. Longtime Saturday Night Live bandleader and initial lead guitar player in Dylan's Never Ending Tour G. E. Smith served as the music director of the whole event as well as a sideman on guitar and mandolin for several artists. Background singers were Sheryl Crow and Sue Medley among others.
The 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration, which reached No. 40, was released in August 1993 just before Dylan was about to deliver his second folk studio set inside of a year, World Gone Wrong. The concert was dubbed "Bobfest" by Neil Young at the beginning of his "All Along the Watchtower" cover.
A VHS collection of the same name was released on August 25, 1993. On March 4, 2014, the concert was released in Deluxe Edition 2-DVD and Blu-ray sets with bonus performances and behind-the-scenes rehearsal footage, as well as a 2-CD set with two bonus rehearsal tracks.
Personnel
Additional musicians
- The Band
- *Rick Danko – guitar, bass guitar, vocals
- *Levon Helm – mandolin, vocals
- *Garth Hudson – accordion
- *Richard Bell – accordion
- *Randy Ciarlante - drums, vocals
- *Jim Weider – guitar, vocals
- Jerry Barnes – choir, chorus
- Katreese Barnes – choir, chorus
- Mary Chapin Carpenter – guitar, vocals
- John Cascella – accordion, keyboards
- Johnny Cash – vocals
- June Carter Cash – vocals
- Rosanne Cash – guitar, vocals
- Tracy Chapman – guitar, vocals
- The Clancy Brothers
- *Bobby Clancy – bodhrán, vocals
- *Liam Clancy – guitar, vocals
- *Paddy Clancy – harmonica, vocals
- Eric Clapton – guitar, vocals
- Leotis Clyburn – choir, chorus
- Dennis Collins – background vocals, choir, chorus
- Shawn Colvin – guitar, vocals
- Steve Cropper – guitar
- Sheryl Crow – background vocals, choir, chorus
- Donald "Duck" Dunn – bass guitar
- Ron Fair – piano
- Anton Fig – percussion, drums
- Lisa Germano – violin
- Nanci Griffith – guitar, vocals
- David Grissom – guitar
- George Harrison – guitar, vocals
- Richie Havens – guitar, vocals
- Sophie B. Hawkins – vocals
- Carolyn Hester – vocals
- Cissy Houston – choir, chorus
- Chrissie Hynde – guitar, vocals
- Darryl Keith John – background vocals
- Booker T. Jones – organ
- Jim Keltner – drums
- Brenda King – background vocals, choir, chorus
- Curtis King – background vocals, choir, chorus
- Al Kooper – organ
- Kris Kristofferson – guitar, vocals
- Tommy Makem – banjo, vocals
- Kerry Marx – guitar
- Mike McCready – guitar
- Roger McGuinn – guitar, vocals
- Sue Medley – background vocals
- John Mellencamp – vocals
- Willie Nelson – guitar, vocals
- Robbie O'Connell – guitar, vocals
- Sinéad O'Connor – vocals
- Christine Ohlman – background vocals, choir, chorus
- The O'Jays
- *Eddie Levert – vocals
- *Sam Strain – vocals
- *Walter Williams – vocals
- Pat Peterson – percussion, background vocals
- Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
- *Mike Campbell – guitar
- *Howie Epstein – guitar, lap-steel guitar, bass guitar, vocals
- *Stan Lynch – drums
- *Tom Petty – guitar, vocals
- *Benmont Tench – organ
- Mickey Raphael – harmonica
- Lou Reed – guitar, vocals
- G. E. Smith – music director, guitar, mandolin, bass
- Cesar Diaz – Guitar & Amp Tech
- George Thorogood – guitar
- Eddie Vedder – vocals
- Mike Wanchic – guitar
- Don Was – bass guitar
- Johnny Winter – guitar, vocals
- Stevie Wonder – harmonica, piano, vocals
- Ronnie Wood – guitar, vocals
- Neil Young – guitar, vocals
- Reggie Young – guitar
Technical
;Jeff Kramer- production- Don DeVito – production
- Jeff Rosen – production
- David Thoener – mixing
- Kevin Wall – executive production
- Lou Volpano – Project Manager
- David Wild – liner notes