Talcott Mountain Collective Felt Like a Ski Lodge That Learned How to Throw a Dylan Party
Talcott Mountain Collective, Weatogue, CT, USA, Saturday, January 17, 2026
How the Room Said What Kind of Night This Would Be
That’s what hit me the second I walked through the front doors of the Talcott Mountain Collective in Weatogue, Connecticut.
The bar sat off to the right, doing what the best bars do, quietly setting the tone. I made my way over and was greeted by the General Manager, Nelson Perez, who looked young and full of life in the way people do when they don’t just have a job, but who genuinely love what they do. Nelson told me later, that he started out as a cook for the Talcott Mountain Collective, and through good old-fashioned hard work, climbed the ladder until he became the General Manager. A great feat, and a pretty clear sign that the American Dream is still alive and well for anyone willing to put in the work.
Nelson explained that the owner Wallace Ronald was going for a German Biergarten feel at the venue, and he told me that the influence from a skiers eye could be seen throughout the building. One of Wallace’s sons loves to ski, and that mountain lodge DNA shows up everywhere at the collective. Wallace also used to own City Steam Brewery Cafe in Hartford. It’s easy to believe that running a spot like City Steam sharpened every tool necessary for him to build the Talcott Mountain Collective into the place it is today. A place where families can grab food, try one of their famous giant pretzels, watch the game, grab a drink of something good from the tap, while hearing the band take the stage and it still feel like there’s room to breathe in the venue.
My first impression was one of genuine awe. It felt like I’d stepped into the main lodge of a local ski resort in upstate Vermont. Inside the crackle of the fireplace could be heard in between first down calls from the TV about football. The lineup of craft beers on tap, and that comforting pub food smell that makes one hungrier than they were five minutes before walking in.
And then, as if the building itself knew what kind of night it wanted to be, the music kicked in.
The Shout’s Bob Dylan & The Band Tribute. A Setlist Built for Story, Swagger, and Singalongs.
The band Shout recently rolled into Talcott Mountain Collective and delivered a setlist that didn’t just pay tribute to Bob Dylan and The Band, it understood why that music still matters and needs to be played.
This was the Shout Bob Dylan Tribute event listing at Talcott Mountain Collective, scheduled for January 17 from 8:00 pm to 10:30 pm.
Here’s what they played:
Up on Cripple Creek
Lay Lady Lay
Tangled Up in Blue
I Want You
It Makes No Difference
The Man in Me
Rag Mama Rag
Ophelia
Stage Fright
Rainy Day Women
Don’t Do It
Subterranean Homesick Blues
Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door
Like a Rolling Stone
Atlantic City
Chest Fever
The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down
Forever Young
You Go Your Way I’ll Go Mine
The Shape I’m In
Encore
The Weight
If you know Bob Dylan and The Band, you can probably already see what made this such a special night. The Shout didn’t perform a greatest hits checklist. Shout curated a journey that carefully paced between groove, grit, poetry, and release.
Why This Setlist Worked So Well
It opened with a handshake and a grin.
“Up on Cripple Creek” is a perfect opener for a room like Talcott Mountain Collective. It’s loose, friendly, funky around the edges and it is music that says, you’re here now, you made it, let’s have a night full of fun and wonder. It’s The Band at their most inviting, and it immediately fits the venue’s vibe, which is warm, communal, and built for people to settle in together and make new friends.
Following that up with “Lay Lady Lay” shifted the mood without killing the momentum. Bob Dylan’s smoother, more melodic side landed well early on in the set. It was like the band saying, we’re not only here for the barn burners, we’re also here for the songs.
The Dylan picks weren’t random, they were chosen for contrast.
A tribute set can go wrong when it leans too heavy on one flavor. This tribute set by The Shout had a perfect balance. The Dylan selections moved through different eras with different energy.
The “Tangled Up in Blue” era gave listeners the novel in a song, restless, romantic, and full of hard turns.
“I Want You” gave listeners the bright, urgent pulse of classic Dylan pop, with sharp edges.
“Subterranean Homesick Blues” was pure kinetic energy. Concert goers could feel the room’s pulse quicken.
“Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” brought a wide open breath for a simple, spiritual, and communal tone to the venue. One where everyone could sing along, much like the next song.
“Like a Rolling Stone” was the mountaintop moment in the setlist. Some songs just aren’t optional when playing Bob Dylan.
These aren’t just famous Dylan songs. They’re different emotional songs, carefully curated into setlists to have the greatest impact in the room. That takes talent.
The Band Material Anchored the Night in Groove and Musicianship
If Dylan is the poet with the matchbook, The Band is the house that catches fire. Through their rhythm, harmony, muscle, and that uniquely American blend of rock, folk, gospel, and back porch soul.
This setlist leaned into those strengths.
“Rag Mama Rag” is a song of joyful chaos. It is the kind of tune that makes a room feel alive.
“Ophelia” is one of my favorites. It is pure sunshine with a wink. When “Ophelia” hits, it always feels like the party just started over again. Placing “Ophelia” in the middle of the set list was the perfect way to keep the crowd on their toes.
When Shout slid into “Stage Fright,” the temperature in the room changed. The groove got leaner, the edges got sharper, tension and drama tightening like a turn of the screw.
It was the kind of song that makes a room feel small in the best way, like everyone’s in it together. Then Shout opened it back up and carried the crowd into the next chapter. “It Makes No Difference” is where the night showed its bruises. That song isn’t just sad, it’s cinematic.
And then there’s “Chest Fever.” That song is basically a declaration by the band. They were saying we came to play. It’s a spotlight moment, a shift of gears into something bigger, and it’s exactly the kind of tune that turns a good tribute show into a real concert.
The Shout closed out their set with the late set sprint “The Shape I’m In.” The song itself is messy, desperate, but alive. This was a closer that doesn’t pretend everything’s okay just because we were still there.
The Covers and Curveballs Were Still “In the Family”
A lot of people forget that Dylan and The Band’s worlds weren’t sealed off. They overlapped, borrowed, traded energy, and shaped each other. That’s why the unexpected picks make sense.
“Don’t Do It” adds soul and pleading intensity. It is one of those songs that sounds like it’s been lived in.
“Atlantic City” might make people do a double take because it’s a Springsteen song, but The Band famously covered it, and it fits their late era grit perfectly. In a Dylan and The Band tribute context, it plays like part of the same American landscape. One of hard luck, thin hope, and headlights in the dark.
Those choices show taste. They made the set feel curated instead of copied.
The final stretch was built for the heart
Late in the night, the set leaned into legacy and meaning in a way that felt deliberate, like the band knew the room had already laughed and danced and now it was time to let the songs land.
“The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down” is one of those rare songs that can hush a room without even trying. It’s a historical tragedy where empathy gets delivered so plainly that it hurts.
“Forever Young” is the blessing. A song that feels like it belongs at weddings, funerals, and everything in between, because it does.
“You Go Your Way and I’ll Go Mine” snapped listeners back into motion. Classic Dylan bite and backbone, the kind of chorus that straightens ones posture.
Then “The Shape I’m In” slammed the door with a grin. Chaos, catharsis, momentum. Not tidy, not polite, just alive.
And after all that, the encore was exactly what it should be.
“The Weight” as an Encore: The Perfect Ending to the Evening
“The Weight” isn’t just a song. It’s a community ritual. Everybody has a line they latch onto. Everybody knows the shape of that chorus even if they don’t know every verse. It’s the kind of ending that makes a venue feel like more than a building.
That’s why Talcott Mountain Collective is such a good home for nights like this, and why the Shout Bob Dylan Tribute listing makes immediate sense the moment you see it on the calendar.
Simsbury needed a place where families, young and old, can hang out, eat well, drink well, and still feel welcome. A place where the room can hold a football game on TV, a giant pretzel on the table, and a Dylan lyric hanging in the air all at the same time. The Talcott Mountain Collective has been building itself into the exact type of gathering spot this town needed. I know I felt it the second I walked into the venue. This venue is designed for the people to gather.
A Dylan and The Band tribute set works best when it’s played somewhere that understands togetherness. Somewhere that lets the music do what it was always meant to do, turn strangers into a roomful of friends for a couple hours or more!
About the Band “SHOUT”
Shout is a high-energy and versatile band whose lineup includes some of Connecticut’s top working musicians and entertainers. With a decade of experience playing together previously in different bands, Shout formed in 2022 and quickly made a name for themselves as one of the most sought-after cover bands for weddings, functions, parties, and music venues throughout the Northeast.
All members of the band have extensive experience performing in various musical settings. They have performed with many musicians of world renown such as Denny Laine, Albert Lee, Doug Wimbish and Paul Winter. With each musician coming from such diverse musical backgrounds, Shout is able to deliver high level performances in a wide array of different styles.
Shout is a remarkably adaptable band. They can shift effortlessly from a three piece power trio to a six piece band and beyond. With both male and female lead vocalists and a rotating lineup that can include guitars, drums, bass, keys, and even an occasional horn ensemble, the group’s versatility is a major part of its identity. Every member is a high level musician, which allows Shout to move seamlessly between rock, funk, soul, pop, country, jazz, and progressive rock without losing cohesion. That deep repertoire of songs, combined with an instinctive ability to read a room, gives Shout not only the ability to feed off the crowd’s energy, but it allows them to shape that energy, guide that energy, and steer the night exactly where it needs to go for a bust out performance like tonight.
In addition to an electrifying musical performance, Shout prides themselves on delivering a full production package of sound and lights at every show. They are comfortable being an M.C. and they love to entertain.
Contact
bookshoutband@gmail.com
484.886.9311
860.299.3154
For future Shout events, the band’s own Shout show calendar includes the upcoming Hall and Oates and Huey Lewis tribute night at Talcott Mountain Collective on February 6th 2026.
Afterglow
The encore was always going to be the moment, when the room decided what it was.
“The Weight” isn’t just a song, it’s a community ritual. Everybody has a line they latch onto. Everybody knows the shape of the chorus even if they don’t know every verse. It’s the kind of ending that makes a venue feel like more than just an old building.
And that’s what makes the Talcott Mountain Collective calendar listing feel more than just a schedule of performances. After living through one of these epic nights, I’ve come to realize that the Talcott Mountain Collective calendar is actually a roadmap of good times, good tunes, and new friends to be made in Simsbury, CT.
Simsbury has needed a place where families, young and old, could hang out, eat well, drink well, and still feel welcome. The Talcott Mountain Collective has become the place where the room can hold a football game on TV, a giant pretzel on the table, and a Bob Dylan lyric hanging in the air. The Talcott Mountain Collective has become the family friendly gathering place that Simsbury so badly needed. I can say from my own personal experiences that you too will feel welcomed by the family friendly atmosphere that only the Talcott Mountain Collective can deliver.
A Dylan and The Band tribute set works best when it’s played somewhere that understands togetherness. Somewhere that lets the music do what it was always meant to do, turn strangers into a roomful of friends for a couple hours and possibly more.
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