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Key developments
Julian Lage joins Dylan band mid-tour
Bob Dylan has added jazz guitarist Julian Lage to the summer leg of the Rough and Rowdy Ways Tour, replacing Doug Lancio at recent shows. Live For Live Music's Michael Broerman reports Lage first appeared with Dylan on June 17 at the Santa Barbara Bowl, while Rolling Stone's Andy Greene reports Lancio departed after the June 14 Greek Theatre show in Berkeley. Dylan has not publicly explained the change or said whether it is permanent; Rolling Stone also notes Lage has outside commitments, including a June 29 National Sawdust engagement that overlaps with a Dylan date in Austin.
Why it matters
A rare mid-tour personnel change affects Dylan’s current live sound and raises uncertainty about the tour lineup.
Sources & driving stories
LIVE FOR LIVE MUSIC · Michael Broerman
Live For Live Music coverageROLLING STONE · Andy Greene
Rolling Stone coverageNeil Young Dylan name-drop reaction resurfaces
Cult Following's Ewan Gleadow reports that Neil Young contacted biographer Jimmy McDonough after a year of silence to discuss being mentioned on Dylan’s 1997 album Time Out of Mind. According to McDonough, Young had not listened to the album on its September 30, 1997 release day, but called after learning about Dylan’s interview and the reference in the album closer “Highlands.” The report says Young later spoke with McDonough again about Dylan’s significance and Time Out of Mind.
Why it matters
The anecdote adds a newly reported detail to the record around Dylan and Young’s late-career relationship and Time Out of Mind’s reception.
Sources & driving stories
CULT FOLLOWING · Ewan Gleadow
Cult Following coverageWorth noting
WORTH NOTING
San Diego show leaned dark
Hastings Tribune’s review of Dylan’s June 23 Rady Shell concert describes a sold-out 7,400-capacity show with dim staging, minimal audience address, and heavily reworked versions of songs including “Man in the Long Black Coat,” “Black Rider,” “All Along the Watchtower,” and “When I Paint My Masterpiece.”
WORTH NOTING
Blonde on Blonde turns sixty
Paste’s Matt Mitchell and AOL both used the album’s 60-year milestone for reassessments, with Paste focusing on “Sad-Eyed Lady of the Lowlands” and the Nashville sessions, while AOL highlighted the album’s sequencing, lyrical density, and Jerry Schatzberg cover image.
WORTH NOTING
Dylan-Beatles rivalry book reviewed
The Arts Fuse’s Michael Londra reviewed Jim Windolf’s Scribner book Where the Music Had to Go as a joint Dylan-Beatles biography, emphasizing the 1964 Delmonico Hotel meeting, the “Norwegian Wood”/“Fourth Time Around” dispute, and later May Fair Hotel listening sessions.
Still unclear
OPEN QUESTION
Is Lage temporary or permanent?
Dylan has offered no public explanation, and Lage’s own concert calendar may reveal whether this is a short substitution or a sustained lineup change.
OPEN QUESTION
Will setlists keep shifting backward?
Current reports describe less emphasis on Rough and Rowdy Ways material and more covers and classics, making upcoming dates a test of whether the Long Hot Summer Tour has a distinct repertoire identity.