The Our Times Coffeehouse will host a Bob Dylan Song Contest Night on Friday, February 15, at the Ethical Humanist Society Building, 38 Old Country Road in Garden City, NY.  Cash prizes of $150, $100 and $50 will be awarded to the three top performers as judged by a panel and the audience on the basis of originality of interpretation and quality of musicianship.

“We’re not looking for Dylan impersonators, just great musicians putting their personal spin on two Dylan songs,” says Marty Stone, arts coordinator of the monthly coffeehouse series that is a joint project of the Ethical Humanist Society of Long Island and the Long Island Progressive Coalition.  The entry fee is $15.  Performers interested in participating should send an e-mail to Stone at martys@ourtimescoffeehouse.org ASAP with a contact phone number and the names of two Dylan songs that they would like to perform.  It’s first-come, first-serve for song selection and the number of performers will be limited to 10.

“I think revisiting folksingers who have made such an impression on our culture might help us refocus on the themes of our music that never grow old,” says Stone in explaining the impetus for the contest.  “We live in a country that seems to walk the same path over and over again, never realizing they’ve been there before; so there is no lesson learned and no actions changed,” he maintains.  “Masters of War” and “Blowing in the Wind” are as fresh today as they were back in the 60s.  So what should we do?  Raise the banners, raise our voices, pull the Ipods playing songs with little meaning out of our ears, pick up a guitar and spread the word.  That is the best way to put the savage beast back in its cage, hopefully for at least another 40 years.  And that’s what folk music is all about – saying what you think in song; it’s the easiest way to drink up the meaning and feel rejuvenated.”