Bob Dylan Plots North American Fall Tour

Bob Dylan has rolled out dates for a U.S. fall tour kicking off October 11th in Irvine, California at the UC Irvine Bren Events Center and wraps up November 21st in Philadelphia at The Met Philadelphia. He has played extensively in Europe this year, but these will be his first North American dates of 2019.

Dylan’s Never Ending Tour turned 30 this year. He used to play around 100 shows a year (peaking in 2004 with 113 gigs), but he’s scaled it back in recent years. He played 84 shows last year and is on pace to play just 66 this year unless more shows are added. He often sticks to theaters and tiny arenas, but his most recent European tour wrapped up with two massive outdoor co-headlining shows with Neil Young. The final night saw them perform “Will The Circle Be Unbroken” together, which was their first time sharing a stage since 2004.

There hasn’t been an album of new Dylan songs since 2012’s Tempest, though he did release three records where he covered American standards between 2015 and 2017. He played many of those songs live in that period, but over the past year his setlist has been devoted entirely to originals songs. Most recently, he’s been mixing classics like “Like a Rolling Stone,” “Blowin’ In The Wind,” “Simple Twist of Fate” and “Highway 61 Revisited” with new tunes like “Scarlet Town, “Soon After Midnight” and “Pay In Blood” along with older fan favorites like “When I Paint My Masterpiece” and “Tryin’ To Get To Heaven.”

The next chapter of Dylan’s ongoing Bootleg Series has yet to be announced, but a source close to the Dylan camp told Rolling Stone earlier this year that it is likely to center on the sessions for 1967’s John Wesley Harding and 1969’s Nashville Skyline, including the legendary Johnny Cash sessions.

Bob Dylan 2019 U.S. Tour

October 11  – Irvine, California @ UC Irvine Bren Events Center
October 12 – Santa Barbara, California @ Santa Barbara Bowl
October 14 –  Palo Alto, California @ Stanford University — Frost Amphitheatre
October 17 – Denver, Colorado @ The Mission Ballroom
October 19 – Lincoln, Nebraska @ Pinnacle Bank Arena
October 20 – Kansas City, Missouri @ Arvest Bank Theatre at the Midland
October 22 –  St. Louis, Missouri @ Stifel Theatre
October 23 – Ames, Iowa @ Iowa State University – C.Y. Stephens Auditorium
October 24 – Mankato, Minnesota @ Mankato Civic Center
October 26 – Milwaukee, Wisconsin @ Eagles Ballroom
October 27 – Bloomington, Indiana @ Indiana University – Auditorium
October 29 – Normal, Illinois @ Illinois State University – Braden Auditorium
October 30 –  Chicago, Illinois @ Credit Union 1 Arena at UIC
November 1 –  South Bend, Indiana @ Morris Performing Arts Center
November 2 – Muncie, Indiana @ Ball State University – Emens Auditorium
November 4 – Columbus, Ohio @ Ohio State University – Mershon Auditorium
November 5 –  East Lansing, Michigan @ Michigan State University – Wharton Center for the Performing Arts
November 6 – Ann Arbor, Michigan @ University of Michigan – Hill Auditorium
November 8 – Highland Heights, Kentucky@ Northern Kentucky University – BB&T Arena
November 9 – Akron, Ohio @ University of Akron – EJ Thomas Performing Arts Hall
November 10 – Moon Township, PA @ Robert Morris University – UPMC Events Center
November 12 –  Baltimore, Maryland @ University of Maryland Baltimore County – UMBC Event Center
November 13 – Petersburg, Virginia @ Virginia State University – Multi-Purpose Center
November 15 – University Park, Pennsylvania @ Pennsylvania State University – Eisenhower Auditorium
November 17 – Ithaca, New York @ Ithaca College – Athletics and Events Center
November 19 – Lowell, Massachusetts @ University of Massachussetts – Tsongas Arena
November 20 – Providence, Rhode Island @ Providence Performing Arts Center
November 21 – The Met Philadelphia @ Philadelphia, Pennsylvania