Bob Dylan Tour: The Bard Continues His Never-Ending Show Schedule This Fall

A new Bob Dylan tour announcement is always an exciting time for fans of the acclaimed singer-songwriter. Last week, Dylan announced a slew of new tour dates for the U.S. this fall. The legendary musician and “Voice of a Generation” will continue his so-called “Never Ending Tour” beginning at Indio, California’s anticipated Desert Trip festival with two Friday evening performances on October 7 and 14.

Following the Desert Trip weekends (cheekily termed “Oldchella” by many press outlets for the connection to its youthful counterpart, the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival), Bob Dylan winds through the States into November before closing out the jaunt at Fort Lauderdale, Florida’s Broward Center for the Performing Arts on Wednesday, November 23. Is Mr. Dylan spending his Thanksgiving in sunny Florida the next day?

As reported by JamBase, Bob Dylan’s tour this fall concentrates mostly on the southern half of the United States, hitting spots like Phoenix’s Comerica Theatre on Sunday, October 16, and Mobile, Alabama’s Saenger Theatre on Wednesday, November 16. Bob Dylan and his band will also be performing in Southern cities like Asheville, North Carolina, and Shreveport, Louisiana on the fall 2016 leg of Dylan’s “Never Ending Tour.”

It’s yet to be confirmed if Bob’s show schedule will continue on through the winter. Bob Dylan fans are well aware of his dedication to the road and surprise tour announcements; Dylan devotees delight in the singer’s non-stop concert itinerary. There may very well be a European or South American leg of Bob’s 2016 “Never Ending Tour” scheduled for later in the year or early 2017. Bob completed his eighth tour of Japan earlier this spring.

A Bob Dylan tour of the United States also took place earlier this summer in promotion of his latest album, Fallen Angels, released in May. The album is Bob’s second collection of Great American Songbook standards, a set of tunes mostly made popular be revered balladeer Frank Sinatra. Bob’s last recorded set of original material was his 35th studio album, Tempest, issued in 2012. The record peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 chart and included lead single, “Duquesne Whistle.” Watch the music video for “Duquesne Whistle” below.

Bob has kept up his near-constant “Never Ending Tour” since 1988. However, the musician wasn’t always so keen to live his life on the road. As he told Jann S. Wenner in his first-ever interview for Rolling Stone in 1969, the hectic tour span of the tumultuous ’60s took its toll on the famed folk singer.

“I was on the road for almost five years. It wore me down. I was on drugs, a lot of things. A lot of things just to keep going, you know? And I don’t want to live that way anymore.”

#BobDylan announces slate of upcoming US tour dates: https://t.co/iXlqzVBgdf pic.twitter.com/dI8ALBFKeK

— CONSEQUENCE (@consequence) August 8, 2016

Now at ease as a road dog, Bob Dylan’s tour schedule usually includes two or three international legs per year. Having just turned 75 in May, Dylan is perhaps the most accomplished touring performer of his ilk. In an exclusive interview with AARP The Magazine, Bob told the American Association of Retired Persons’ publication that he sees a mix of many different music listeners at his present-day gigs.

“I wouldn’t say there is one type of fan. I see a guy dressed up in a suit and tie next to a guy in blue jeans. I see another guy in a sport coat next to another guy wearing a T-shirt and cowboy boots. I see women sometimes in evening gowns and I see punky-looking girls. Just all kinds of people. I can see that there’s a difference in character, and it has nothing to do with age.”

What’s your favorite Bob Dylan song? Are you excited for the crooner’s U.S. fall tour? Let us know if you’ll be attending any of the upcoming Dylan concert dates in the comments section below.

[Photo by Christopher Polk/Getty Images]