Every year seems to be a Dylan-year, one way or another. This year we can celebrate the 60th Anniversary of Bringing it all Back Home & Highway 61 Revisited, the 50th Anniversary of Blood On The Tracks & Basement Tapes, the 40th Anniversary of Empire Burlesque, the 30th Anniversary of MTV Unplugged (and yes – I love it! Even if we always could wish for some other songs), the 20th Anniversary for the movie “No Direction Home” and Bootleg Series, Vol 7: No Direction Home: The Soundtrack” & the release of Live at Gaslight 1962 & Live at Carnegie Hall 1963, the 10th Anniversary of the beautiful “Shadows In The Night”, and yes, the fabulous release of Bootleg Series Vol 12: The Cutting Edge (1965-1966), yes, and most of all the 18-disc, 379-track Collector’s Edition, even the download of all live material from 1965! My point – there is so much to celebrate when it comes to Dylan, year by year. And don’t start me talkin’ about endless fabulous live versions of songs from the same Anniversary years mentioned.

This isn’t about all that. This is about celebrating the artist Bob Dylan’s birthday, a lucky day for us all, whether we knows it or not, thinking about his importance and inspiration. It is about celebrating the year gone by since his last birthday, dwelling on some aspects and happenings of that year, and of the fact that this artist is still movin´ on, is still in a state of becoming. Then again, in “Crossing The Rubicon” live he sometimes sings something like “but in ten, maybe twenty years I’ll be gone”. There will be time enough for celebrating his craft and art forevermore, but for know, let’s just celebrate the last year.

25th of May 2024, a day after his last birthday, this happened: Fenimore Gallery in New York opened the exhibition “Bob Dylan Remastered: Drawings from the Road” – ninety-two signed enhancements remade in new colors – new versions of the “Drawn Blank” series.

The number of shows between the last birthday and today is 75, starting with 26 shows of the Outlaw Music Festival with Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp and many more, from June to September in 2024. Dylan surprising us all with his radically different setlists from the RRW Tour, with lots of new cover versions, and with songs from many parts of Dylan’s own songbook. Some really great performances included, some of them with guests.

Rough And Rowdy Ways Tour, Fall 2024

From 4th of October 2024 Dylan continues his work with another European leg of the RRW tour, ending in November. I attended five of the shows, and once again Dylan was able to surprise me, both by the energy of the shows, and his newfound way of presenting the songs, leaning over the piano, gesticulating when he sings, like a preacher or a friend that wants to tell you something really important, I never seen him do this before. It was both entertaining and touching to see him work the songs each night like this, while he sometimes was stepping out on the stage for a verse or two, before he was safely back at the piano. I loved the shows in 2022 and 2023, but this was another twist, and there was very much happening between the musicians, for me especially the last three nights, in Royal Albert Hall, where the presentation of several songs changed from night to night, and now and then he was throwing in that fabulous harmonica solo who thrilled us all, sometimes even more naked than his voice.

I’ve tried to describe my observations, feelings and experiences from the five shows in the following blog posts:

“Come gather round friends, and I’ll tell you a tale: Storyteller in Action!” – Bob Dylan in Paris, 24th of October 2024

“I’ve Made Up My Mind To Give Myself To You” – Bob Dylan in Paris, 25th of October, 2024.

“Leave Your Stepping Stones Behind, Something Calls For You” – Bob Dylan in Royal Albert Hall, London, 12th of November 2024

“Yonder Stands Your Orphan With His Gun, Crying Like A Fire In The Sun” – Bob Dylan in Royal Albert Hall, London, 13th of November 2024

“Strike Another Match, Go Start Anew, And It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue” – Bob Dylan in Royal Albert Hall, London, November 14th 2024

Wonderful shows in wonderful rooms, both in Paris and in London. Even if I had been thinking he maybe would retire after 2024, hence the “2021-2024 World Tour” announcement, but Dylan didn’t seem at all like that at the last shows, he still looked eager and in a state of becoming. Would there be some touring in 2025? We didn’t know for sure.

The 50th Anniversary Collection 1974

At the end of the year there was one more release in the series of Anniversary collections, this time it was – presented like this:
“The 50th Anniversary Collection: 1974 is a continuation of year-end efforts by Sony Music to
retain copyright of Dylan’s recordings with limited European releases before the 50-year
publication requirements. The collection, complementing the 1974 Live Recordings,
completes the release of all known concert recordings for the 1974 tour with the sole
exception of the 10 January 1974 encore of “Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I’ll Go
Mine).” This is a Europe-only release of 302 audience-recorded tracks presented on digital
and streaming services Apple Music and Spotify”

The release completely passed me by! $%&!!! Is there anybody out there……???

“A Complete Unknown”, directed by James Mangold, December 2024.

This movie was a long time comin’, due to covid, they all had some extra time to prepare for the role, to learn the instruments and to sing, to remake New York and Greenwich Village of the early sixties in New Jersey, and to make mostly all the right choices when it comes to telling the story James Mangold wanted to tell – the fable about a young and complete unknown coming to the big city, searching for Woody Guthrie and the gold and role you only can find through integrity, passion and talent, while the whole world is watching and tries to understand. A great movie, I think, and a great eye opener both for old and young, about the possibilities in life, about the values, strength and will needed to reach the top from when you’re at the bottom. This could have been the first episode of many, telling a unique story about this terribly sophisticated artist. This one touches one of many stories that could be told, many more will surely come.

“It’s Either Fortune or Fame”. About “A Complete Unknown”

Rough And Rowdy Ways Tour 2025

As we thought – early in 2025 Dylan announced more touring – starting with another leg of Rough And Rowdy Ways Tour. Another fabulous leg, in my opinion – still developing, still searching for another way of doing the songs. Unstoppable, it seems.

Point Blank

Then 9th of May a new exhibition of Dylan’s paintings were opened at Halcyon in London – Point Blank, receiving great reviews. Like this one, from Independent: “Extraordinary new exhibition of Bob Dylan’s paintings allows a peek into his soul.”

Outlaw Festival Tour 2025

Dylan obviously liked the Outlaw Festival Tour in 2024, and one more time surprises us with another compilation of something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue – some old songs, some new arrangements, great choices and performances of cover versions and songs marinated and tangled up in blue. So many beautiful performances So many great new arrangements. He’ll even have a show the night of his birthday, in Ridgefield, Washington.

The first show was in Phoenix, where Dylan played Mr Tambourine Man for the first time in 15 years.

A touching ending in Phoenix, where Dylan tributes Shane MacGowan and Pogues with a beautiful version of “Rainy Night in Soho”.

Beautiful show in Wheatland May 18th. “Blind Willie McTell” in one of the greatest live versions I’ve heard.

In Nampa, new songs were added to the setlist, like a new arrangement of Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues, played for the first time in 14 years, and a great new Gotta Serve Somebody, never in a more quiet version.

In Spokane, May 22, a great new arrangement of All Along The Watchtower, maybe inspired by his guest on the track, Billy Springs, having the time of his life in this performance, May 22. I hope we’ll see them together again.

Many more gems will come, I’m sure. The tour is planned from May to September. Will he come back to Europe one more time? Will there be some fall shows at the Beacon? What about Chronicles II, what about more archival releases, and even more exciting, will there be a new album with new songs? We really don’t know. Business as usual, but I guess I´ll see him in anything, I’ll stand in line, grateful for being to able this unique journey through both dark heat, frosty mornings and sweet summer breezes. All we can say, same procedure as every year: Thanks again, Bob – for letting us follow you from a distance one more year! Happy Birthday, Mr. Dylan!

Johnny Borgan

p.s. Thanks to Bennyboy, Old Henry Lee and all the rest for bringing the music all back home to us. d.s.