Dylanfest, the South Bay’s biggest celebration of Bob Dylan, celebrates with a live CD!

It began in 1990 as a freeform jam in tribute of Bob Dylan at the Hermosa Saloon. In the following years, musicians and longtime friends Andy Hill and Renee Safier continued the tradition in their own backyards, at parks, at Anthony’s in El Segundo, and now the Torrance Cultural Arts Center.

Hill, whose first job in L.A. was installing alarm systems, spent long shifts memorizing Bob Dylan’s prolific lyrics. At the end of an eight-hour day, he’d have an 11-verse song like “Hurricane” memorized. A pure labor of love, he says.

“I was always an obsessive fan,” says Hill. “The first time we did this, we didn’t really have to work that hard to put together a whole night.”

Dylanfest, which has evolved to all-day outdoor festival and costume party at the Torino Plaza of the Torrance Cultural Arts Center. Safier, Hill and their band Hard Rain play as part of a 10-piece house band, which includes a horn section and multi-instrum