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Key developments
Study links folk timing techniques to Dylan
Theory & Practice published Nancy Murphy’s new study defining the “performed-out fermata,” a technique in which a melody note is held unexpectedly while accompaniment continues. Murphy traces the practice from Woody Guthrie and Harry Smith Anthology recordings through Dylan’s 1960s performances and songs, including “Man of Constant Sorrow,” “I Shall Be Free No. 10,” and “Freight Train Blues.”
Why it matters
The article adds a concrete music-theory framework for how Dylan adapted folk-revival performance timing into original songwriting.
Sources & driving stories
THEORY & PRACTICE · Nancy Murphy
Theory & Practice coverageChicago dispatch documents current tour lineup
Flagging Down the Double E's published Ray Padgett’s coverage of Dylan’s Long Hot Summer Tour stop at Northerly Island in Chicago, with commentary from musicologist Steven Rings. The report notes Julian Lage’s return on Telecaster alongside Joel Paterson on Gibson archtop, framing the two-guitar setup against Lucinda Williams’s opening set and the venue’s downtown skyline setting.
Why it matters
The dispatch adds timely detail on Dylan’s 2026 live sound and personnel during the ongoing tour.
Sources & driving stories
FLAGGING DOWN THE DOUBLE E'S · Ray Padgett
Flagging Down the Double E's coverageJacket2 revisits Dylan’s “Series of Dreams”
Jacket2 published an essay on “Series of Dreams,” originating from a Bob Dylan at seventy event where scholars selected songs for informal talks. The piece reads the Oh Mercy-era outtake as a bridge-like, continuously building song shaped by Daniel Lanois’s production, and connects its communal dream imagery to David Milch’s John from Cincinnati.
Why it matters
The essay sharpens critical attention on a major late-1980s Dylan song that was omitted from Oh Mercy but later reached many listeners through The Bootleg Series Volumes 1–3.
Sources & driving stories
JACKET2
Jacket2 coverageWorth noting
WORTH NOTING
Infidels reassessed as post-Christian pivot
Nicholas Johnson’s review emphasizes Infidels as a return to broader songwriting after Dylan’s born-again trilogy, highlighting Mark Knopfler’s production role and the album’s uneven political and lyrical tensions.
WORTH NOTING
Dark Eyes receives arrangement-focused review
Tony Attwood’s review focuses on the song’s spare guitar-and-chord structure, possible meanings of the title phrase, and the limited live-performance history ending in 1995.
Still unclear
OPEN QUESTION
Will more tour reports confirm the two-guitar direction?
The Chicago dispatch highlights Lage and Paterson as a distinctive pairing, but more shows are needed to tell whether this is a stable 2026 arrangement or a situational lineup.
OPEN QUESTION
Can Murphy’s fermata framework scale across Dylan eras?
The new study focuses on folk sources and 1960s examples, raising the question of whether the same timing rhetoric persists in later Dylan recordings and live reinventions.