On May 24, one of Kweder’s favorite annual gigs returns: the Bob Dylan Birthday Bash at Ardmore Music Hall, which this year falls on Dylan’s actual 81st birthday.and will feature 40 Philly artists doing Dylan covers. Kweder will sing “To Ramona.” Cheesesteak impresario Tony Luke Jr. will do “Make You Feel My Love.”
As Ryan spoke, Kweder and Teague were whipping the crowd into a frenzy, mixing in trademark Kweder tunes like “Heroin” while taking requests. “It’s like a religious experience almost,” said Alex Bregman, 36, who graduated from Penn in 2008, and came from Manhattan for the show. Kweder played his wedding after party in 2019. “My husband would not let him play the main event,” he says with a laugh.
In 1978, when Fleetwood Mac played JFK Stadium, Kweder hired a plane to fly a banner: “Fleetwood Mac welcomes Kenn Kweder.” When Pope Francis came to town in 2015, stickers read: “The Pope Welcomes Kenn Kweder.”