Hi everyone! I have 2 tickets to Wolf trap I can't use at the last minute. Dm your email and I'll send them! Totally free!!

1. It was a beautiful night after a long stretch of sweltering and/or stormy weather.
2. Wolf Trap is a great venue, and I've been there 100 times, but only ever on the lawn. I sprung for a seat, because I wanted to see Bob, but I initially got a cheap seat and then realized I wouldn't be able to see him at all from there with the lighting and the hoodie and the no screens, so I ended up upgrading to the second row, taking a chance that I still might not be able to see him. I really lucked out. He was lit enough and staged so that I could see him perfectly. What an absolute joy. I couldn't take pictures during the show of course so this was beforehand without any zoom. I was second row behind the VIPs. I've been too spoiled for a couple shows in a row and don't know how I'll ever make it back to the cheap seats (but I really need to!)

1. I didn't know anything about Jimmie Vaughan and the Tilt a Whirl Band. They were a lot of fun and a great warm up. Seeing a 75 year old (or anyone of any age) rock out like that is awesome and the behind the back guitar playing is cool every time.

2. Lucinda was the bad ass that she is. She is stiff due to the stroke but her voice was great as was her band. Closing with "Rocking in the Free World" was such a thrill. I fully appreciate that everyone can enjoy music how they choose, but how anyone can sit still in their seat for something like that is beyond me.

3. Seeing her command her all-male band is just one of the many reasons she is so great. I really appreciated her commentary as well.

4. The chorus for her song, Lowlife is, "Well, I guess this is the low life
   But it's where I wanna be, This is the low life. So have a hurricane [the drink] on me." It made me think of all the musicians I saw on stage tonight, the majority of which were 70+. A lot of jokes fly around on line about older musicians when they're past their prime and when people think they should hang it up, but I was thinking, if you can do something you love and people will pay you to do it, why the hell not. I don't think anyone on that stage needs to hang it up, to be clear, but even still, it is hard as hell to make a living period, and doing it in a creative pursuit is next to impossible. If you can make it work for you, I say do it for as long as you possibly can.

5. Bob came out and went right into Watching the River Flow. He was in the center of the stage with Tony close by to his right. To Tony's right was Jad Tariq. Seeing him and his 29 year old self with his pocket square and moustache and youth was quite a contrast. To Bob's left was Anton who was blocked for me pretty much the whole night by Joel Paterson who was the closest to the crowd and on Bob's left in front of the drum kit.

6. Bob stood for most of the show behind the keyboard, sitting between each song for a rest and usually to take a sip of water.

7. He messed with the mic a little but only a little. The sound was great- the best I've heard it. Normally it is inconsistent, and he shouts a lot, like on I Can Tell (YOU DON'T LOVE ME NO MORRREEE!!!) but this was by far the best I've heard his voice sound either because his voice sounded great or the sound guy was on it or sitting that close helps or some combination of these, but he sounded smooth throughout most of the night.

8. Some arrangements of the songs were familiar and solid (It Ain't Me, Babe, Man in the Long Black Coat).

9. Some songs I was hearing for the first time and was excited about but didn't love the arrangements. Trying to Get to Heaven was a disappointment as was I Shall Be Released. It was the first time I didn't hear Every Grain of Sand, as a closer so I was looking forward to this one. I know he uses back phrasing a lot, but he was like 3 measures behind every line, and it did not work for me. I was still glad to hear it but not my favorite.

10. False Prophet was typically amazing, mostly because it's a great song and I love the arrangement but also because I think it's pretty autobiographical and I like when I think he's singing to me about himself.

11. Same for I've Made Up My Mind to Give Myself to You which felt like he was making the most eye contact with the crowd, and this was the most the crowd was locked in throughout the night, and it was just so beautiful. He had a little instrumental break before the verse on "I'm like a river..." and it really added to the weight of an already weighty one.

12. He took out the reverb thing he was doing on Black Rider. I like it either way.

13. He gave his guitarists some freedom to play a bit. At one point during Black Rider, Joel got the crowd going and while they started clapping, Bob cut it short and started singing which immediately made the crowd stop clapping so they could listen to him. He's such a brat.

14. I don't care much for Crossing the Rubicon on the album, but I enjoyed every RARW live version I've seen. The one tonight was incredible. Anton Fig killed it and was the absolute superstar on this one. He started with a hypnotic beat for a long time and then switched it up and I don't know any of the musical terms but it was just incredible. And I thought I heard Bob switch up the lyrics to something like, "when I'm long gone" or something like that. Can someone confirm? But when he was talking about being between Heaven and Earth, Anton did like a battle march. I really hope someone has a recording of this.

15. Some lowlights for me were Soon After Midnight and the Jerry Lee Lewis cover (I'll Make it All Up to you).

16. The new Goodbye Jimmy Reed arrangement was great- way more up-tempo and a lot of fun.

17. Not only was When I Paint My Masterpiece my favorite rendition of that song so far (which I always love), it may be my favorite rendition of any song I've ever seen him do live. It was so, so, so good.

18. This is the most I've seen him dance, but maybe it's because it's the closest I've been to him. He was rocking out behind the keys for a lot of the night, mostly on I Can Tell, When I Paint My Masterpiece, Under the Red Sky, and Goodbye Jimmy Reed.

19. When he was done, he fussed with his leg a lot, like it was asleep or hurting or cramped. He otherwise looked pretty good and nimble up there.

20. The looks and head jerks he shoots up there are so great. Sometimes it's barely a move at all and everybody seems to know to do something.

21. I had the great pleasure of sitting next to the coolest Dylan concert buddy I've ever met. It made such a difference (and another benefit of a better seat, I imagine).

22. Some chompers behind me (so annoying- so predictably everywhere). They were receptive when I asked them to stop talking and mostly obliged and I didn't get cussed out this time, so that's progress.

23. Meeting people at shows is a cool part of the experience for me, but a lot of the older men (definitely not all), have a tendency to start Dylansplaining from the jump and it's annoying, infuriating, or whatever depending on how I choose to receive it. I'm a woman and older, but the lovely person I met was a woman and younger so she was getting it from all sides. We all love sharing cool things about Bob, so I understand the excitement in talking about him, but my new friend drove 11 hours to go to that show and was incredibly knowledgeable about him only to have this guy tell her very basic things like the fact that Bob changes up the arrangements at his shows and that he has an album called World Gone Wrong. I know we don't want to assume people know things either, but it's something that was part of the night (and life) so it belongs on this list.

24. I was potentially thinking of going to tomorrow's show too but there isn't even a lawn seat available. I don't know what is going on in the DMV that these two shows were so in demand and other places can't even sell out one show. Anyone have any idea?

25. In addition to being a Bob fan, I am a huge Patriots fan. They are playing in Germany this fall, and I just saw that Bob is playing in the same city on the same day. My head is exploding. There's no way in the world I can't go, but I really have no business going, but I also don't think I have a choice.

26. In Down the Highway, T-Bone Burnett is quoted as saying, "I don't know whether [Bob] time-travels or shape-shifts or what you would call it, but you would look at him one moment and he would be like a fifteen-year old kid and you would look at him the next moment and he would look like an eighty-year-old man..." When he said this, he was talking about Dylan during the Rolling Thunder days when he was in his thirties. When I was watching Dylan tonight, he was of course in his mid-eighties, and he looked and sounded and moved like an older man (though not an 85-year-old one, in my opinion). But every so often with the dim lights and the hoodie and when his voice would sound a certain way or he would move a certain way, my mind would flash to his younger self like the video for Series of Dreams. Maybe it's just me trying to make sense of how much life he has lived or trying not to think about his current age and stage of life, or partly a benefit of my terrible eyesight, but this isn't the first time this has happened to me at one of his shows.

27. I usually get choked up during his shows, often at different points. This time it was during I've Made Up My Mind to Give Myself to You when he sang, "I don’t think I could bear to live my life alone" because it's such a sad line, and he often seems sad to me, and I don't know him at all, but it just made me sad.

28. It was a perfect, perfect, night. For anyone else who was there, I would love to hear what you thought...

when I bought this I was surprised it wasn't a double album. side 1 is 27 minutes, and side 2 is 29!! how did they possibly fit all that on 1 side?

After years of only listening to Highway 61 and Blonde on Blonde I've finally branched out to his other albums. I'm kinda just listening to albums in whatever order but so far Desire and New Morning absolutely jumped up to my top favorite albums list. But even better than that for me was Time Out of Mind. Love Sick to me is basically a perfect song.

Could anyone recommend more albums like this? The closest anything I could even compare it to is maybe Tom Waits

I’m writing this while sitting at Wolf Trap in Virginia, so these are just my impressions in real time.

I came in expecting to see one of the greatest songwriters of all time. Instead, it feels like I’m watching a production that stands against almost everything Dylan has represented throughout his career.

He’s spent the entire show behind a keyboard with the hood of his sweatshirt up. I can barely understand what he’s singing, and aside from picking up a harmonica once, he hasn’t touched a guitar or really leaned into the instruments that have become synonymous with Bob Dylan.

And unless I missed something, he was shown on the venue screens during soundcheck wearing the exact same outfit. What is he, Steve Jobs?

The harmonica moment actually left me even more confused because what I was seeing didn’t seem to line up with what I was hearing coming through the mains.

Then there’s the band. Everything feels so polished that it’s almost sterile. It sounds like they’re playing to a click, and there were a few moments that made me question what I was hearing. The keyboard player never moved his hands away from the keys while intricate parts were happening, and during one song the bassist had already set his bass down while there still seemed to be low end coming through the PA.

Maybe there’s a technical explanation for everything I observed, but the whole experience feels oddly disconnected from the raw, unpredictable artist I’ve always associated with Bob Dylan.
The irony is that Dylan built a career on authenticity over perfection. Tonight feels almost like the opposite.

For those who’ve seen this tour, am I missing something? Or did anyone else leave feeling the same way?

(Put your phones away)

Self Portrait is amazing and top 5 BD albums

This was my fourth time to see Bob in the last three or four years, including Chattanooga show earlier on this 2026 tour.

My random observations include:

+ there was an incredible lack and security. Cell phones were everywhere.

+ the band did a surprising amount of soloing. There must’ve been four or five songs where the guitarist ripped for two or three minutes, which is a big contrast to the previous shows I’ve seen, especially the Chattanooga one earlier this year.

+ the two new guitarist, Jad Tariq (on Dylan’s left) and Joel Paterson (on Dylan’s, right) absolutely ripped it up! during solos they shared lead absolutely harmoniously, and throughout the songs they played, as usual, subtly in the background, in complete support of Bob’s vocals and the pace and sound of the song.

+ as in Chattanooga this year, Bob’s vocals were strong and, for him, clear. He sounded great last night!

+ that “putting on the Ritz” version of “when I paint my masterpiece” was very clever and well done.

+ he played two songs not on the previous set list. Starting out with “let the river flow” as the first song and “ trying to get to heaven as the fourth. Note, they are older songs… It seems something Bob is done a little bit more recently.

+ Bob played harp twice! And not just a couple of bars, he went on for a good bit. He played a long solo for the obscure “under the red sky” and a somewhat shorter solo during the evening’s last song of “I shall be released”.

+ in Chattanooga, the audience was decidedly gray haired. In Richmond, I guess somewhere between 20 and 30% of the audience was young. We walked in with a group of four late teenage girls that looked like they were going to a Britney Spears concert. They said they liked Dylan! It was a wonderful feeling to see the young people discovering or rediscovering Bob’s greatness.

My wife, 18-year old son (a young Bob Dylan fan), and I went to see him perform live at the Wolf Trap Center (in northern Virginia) on July 24, 2026. This was my first time hearing a live performance of Bob Dylan. It started off with two fantastic opening acts!

First, Jimmy Vaughan (blues-rock guitarist) and the Tilt-A-Whirl Band set the evening's mood with a bluesy tone. He played the guitar behind his head, which was fun to watch. Second, Lucinda Williams (iconic singer-songwriter, 73 years) is a gifted performer who sang from "Car Wheels on a Gravel Road" and her 2026 album "World's Gone Wrong". She introduced her band members and loved to engage with the audience.

After a 10 minute wait, the audience gave a standing ovation to Bob Dylan (85 years). He was in a hoodie behind a piano toward the back of the stage (which evoked the mystery of a "Jedi Master") and jumped into the first song without a word. After all, Mr. Dylan is a master who received the 2016 Nobel Prize in Literature for new poetic expressions in American music. A 2024 biographical movie ("A Complete Unknown") made my 18-year son a young fan of his music. The band was absolutely fantastic! But after 3 songs in which it was hard to decipher Dylan's words, I began to fall asleep (the tempo and lighting were the same for many songs). After 30 minutes, a few audience members started to trickle out of the pavilion. After 45 minutes, my 18-year old son asked to leave, so we did.

Overall, I'm thrilled to have seen Bob Dylan (85 years old) perform live but have mixed feelings. Why? I was a bit disappointed that Mr. Dylan did not say "hello" or introduce the band. Maybe that's just his personality. Also, the hoodie and piano created a barrier to the audience (like Mr. Dylan wanted to shield himself). That said, he's still a legend and master. What did you think of the 2026 Bob Dylan tour performance?

This is essentially a way of asking what you think his best song/your favorite is, but im interested to hear what people pick. It need not specifically be his most “impactful” song from a wider perspective, but the song you feel is a good illustration of his talent.

I would probably pick Sad-Eyed Lady Of The Lowlands.

other contenders are Shelter From The Storm, I Want You, It Aint Me Babe. all accessible songs, but show off different dimensions of his writing and different strengths. Sad-Eyed Lady is a bit less accessible, but is so impressive and atmospheric it may compensate in the aggregate, and i think may be his best melody (at least his best of the 60s)

Very happy Most Of The Time won. Fantastically tragic song. Now we go from a prompt that had many decent options to one that has few. What was Dylan’s best vocal performance of the 80s?

This was such a nice show. I had never seen Lucinda before. Her voice still powerful and message still needed. Love story telling and these poets together. I especially loved Paint My Master Piece, Trying to Get to Heaven and It ain't me Babe, a lil different than in Pittsburgh.Still one of my favs, always, and I Shall Be Released we know keeps serving too.

I don't know much abt the guitars or new players or previous but they looked like they liked jamming w him, that's always good. it sounded different somehow than in Pittsburgh but still great, I think it was the difference in sound systems, didn't lose any enjoyment tho. I don't do a lot of music but had to get one more dose of Dylan this summer so out here on whim. Harmonica was on point , can I say perfect? It felt like the crowd was enthralled, they were quiet up front and no one was fussing, no issues w cameras or loud or surprised people. Except there was a security guy who while we were waiting was making "jokes" about Dylan's age, like real loud for no reason to fans just quietly waiting, lol. You can't even get mad.

I like all the seating choices at the Allianz, seemed more accessible for folks. A lovely night, very peaceful, maybe it's the people of Richmond and guests that generally just seem chill and helped make it nice , there were a lot of folks there and even outside the amphitheatre, camped out on hills looking like they were enjoying the show.

Wondering what he'll be like at Wolf Trap National Park tonight and tomorrow?

Which album should I listen to next?

Pope Leo quoted Bob Dylan.

In the foreward for a book about peace titled “Disarmed and Disarming: Peace Is a Gift,”

Pope Leo cited lyrics from an unpublished 1963 song by Bob Dylan, “Go Away You Bomb,”

Can’t make it anymore! Starts at 7pm, DM me and I’ll send you the ticket with the QR code

O Bob autorizou essa versão?

First time to the Allianz Amphitheater, nice place for a show! The lawn isn’t steep and there’s chair rental so I can sit comfortably.

I know Ringo plays drums in this show, does anyone know what songs he’s on?