"The Experience of a Lifetime!"
The Big Spring Tour 2025 Review, Highlights & Fan Reflections from the Road, and an Update on the Fall Tour Rumors
Bob Dylan’s Spring Tour 2025 wrapped up a couple of days ago in Williamsport — the perfect moment to pause, take a breath, and look back at some of the small but significant highlights that made this leg of the Rough and Rowdy Ways tour so special.
We’ll start with a few of those standout moments from the shows themselves, then hand the mic over to some fellow Bobcats who were there — sharing their reflections from the road. Finally, we’ll wrap things up with a look ahead at what might be coming next in Dylan’s 2025 touring year.
Spring Tour 2025 Highlights
A New Drummer: Anton Fig Replaces Jim Keltner
One of the most notable changes as this spring leg kicked off: a new face behind the drums. Anton Fig stepped in to replace Dylan collaborator Jim Keltner — a shift we covered in detail in an earlier newsletter on Fig’s remarkable career and background.
While Dylan’s setlists remained steady throughout most of the tour, many fans wondered whether the lineup change might bring a different dynamic to the performances. And while the focus stayed firmly on Rough and Rowdy Ways material, that slight shift in the rhythm section did add a fresh layer of texture to the sound.
A New Opener: “I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight”
As always, setlist changes are rare in the world of late-period Dylan — but when they happen, they feel like seismic shifts for those of us following closely. This spring offered a few of these subtle but meaningful surprises.
Starting with the Omaha show, Dylan swapped out the long-standing opener All Along The Watchtower for I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight — and stuck with it through the rest of the tour.
A soft, almost tender way to begin the nights, and somehow the perfect curveball.
Listen here to “I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight” from Omaha:
Deadpan Humor from the Man Himself
At three shows — Lafayette (where he said it for the first time), Kalamazoo, and again in Williamsport — Dylan gave us that unmistakable deadpan delivery, which went more or less like this:
“We’re playing all the hits tonight — sure we do.”
Of course, “the hits” being mostly Rough and Rowdy Ways tracks, played with the same quiet conviction that defines this era.
Dylan on Guitar — Four Times in One Night
In Davenport, fans got to witness something truly rare: Dylan with a guitar in hand — not just for one song (as he’s been doing now and then), but for four!
“Are These Songs for This Time or Not?”
And then there was this: after My Own Version of You in Topeka, Dylan turned to the audience and asked — half rhetorical, half challenge:
“Are these songs for this time or not?”
A brief moment, but one that echoed long after the lights went down.
You can listen to the song below and Bob’s comment at the very end:
A Few Voices from the Road
No Bob Dylan tour recap would be complete without hearing from some of the fans who made the pilgrimage — each with their own take on what it felt like to witness this particular chapter of Dylan’s never-ending story.
Brian S., after catching the Fort Wayne and Kalamazoo shows:
“Reflecting on the Spring Tour and this moment, I’m grateful to be present with Bob and meet him where he is at — just as he is meeting his music where he is at. Bob has nothing to prove after six decades of creativity and insight. Consistency, not ingenuity, rang true on this tour. I believe the master enigma will shuffle the deck again this summer. I wish Bob all the joy in his heart.”
Michael Smith, who saw five shows this spring:
1. Dylan playing “Desolation Row” and “Key West” back to back — hypnotic every time.
2. That fierce guitar solo at the start of “Crossing the Rubicon” in Peoria.
3. A wrong-key harmonica in South Bend — and a perfect one right after.
4. One piano chord per line in “My Own Version of You” in Kalamazoo — unforgettable.
5. The growing cheers for “Gulf of Mexico” in “Key West” — louder every night.(Listen to “My Own Version of You” from Kalamazoo below)
Linda aka dylanfanmom, in Tulsa:
“Tulsa may not have been the best show I've ever seen, but it was definitely my favorite crowd — being so close to both the theater and the Bob Dylan Center was the experience of a lifetime.”
Rechi Van Lehen, who saw both the first and last show of the tour:
“Some songs felt like they’ve now found their final form. Especially the first five — it felt like a completely new show. Compared to the fall, Bob seems much fitter. In hindsight, I simply can’t imagine this was the last RARW show. ‘He has only just begun…’”
whatalngstrngetripitsbenmanthe, on attending six of the first nine shows:
“If Rough and Rowdy Ways is ‘about’ the creative process, then so too has the tour been. The 2025 spring leg saw Bob further deconstructing and experimenting with songs from the album — not unlike the mad doctor narrating ‘My Own Version of You.’ Without Donnie Herron adding texture, Bob seemed to be searching for what he could achieve with a less-is-more approach. Haunting minimal renditions of ‘Black Rider,’ ‘My Own Version of You,’ and ‘Key West’ were highlights at every show.
The harmonica intro on ‘Made Up My Mind’ in Tulsa stands out as my single favorite moment. But overall, it was Sioux City where the band really seemed to tighten up and find their groove.”(Listen to this “Made Up My Mind” from Tulsa below)
Craig Feldmann, reflecting on the Youngstown show:
“Being from NYC, it was a pleasure seeing Dylan in a small, intimate theater in Youngstown, Ohio. The acoustics were amazing. Dylan’s lyrical phrasing was on point and easy to decipher. The new arrangement of ‘Masterpiece’ was incredible — and of course ‘Desolation Row’ was the emotional highlight we all needed:
‘Wherever I travel, wherever I roam — I’m not that far before I come back home…’
The show felt like being at home.”
Sergi Fabregat / Bobcelona, who attended the first six shows from Tulsa to Omaha:
“If I was to define Bob Dylan's Spring 2025 shows with a word, that would be obsession. Obsession both on and off the stage; I've been drawn to reflect and relive these shows more than on previous legs, as if some kind of fever had stuck in my mind because of them.
The energy coming from the stage had this deepening quality — as if the digging to the core of these songs that started more than three years ago is still far from over. ‘I’ll break open your grapes, suck out the juice’ feels like exactly what Bob is doing now with his songs. Not afraid of going over the edge, more free jazz than ever before, pushed further by Anton Fig’s drilling, pounding drumming style.
Closer to falling apart, the songs become shooting stars — burning brightest before splintering into multiple directions, depending on the night. The concerts have turned stranger, more niche, and yet rarely have I felt such consistent appreciation and admiration for Bob’s work among the crowd.
I would pick two moments that stand out. The tiny one: Little Rock’s ‘My Own Version of You,’ still carrying the sparse, romantic arrangement introduced in London, but now with a menacing undercurrent that transformed the song completely. The big one: Topeka’s ‘When I Paint My Masterpiece,’ performed with a flamenco-ranchera feel — a familiar sound that somehow arrived right in the hour of my deepest need.”(Listen to this “Masterpiece” below)
Graham Gaskell, who followed the tour from Tulsa-Omaha and Fort Wayne-Williamsport:
“Fabulous shows. Very special harmonica solos. I loved every second of the concerts and the road trip itself.
What struck me: these were the first US shows Dylan has played since the election — and if you listened closely, you could tell which way 99.9% of the audience voted.
Two standout memories: Dylan’s wry comment ‘playing all the hits’ (several times, always with a chuckle), and the haunting phrasing on ‘Desolation Row’ in the final show. I can’t wait to hear recordings of how he sang the word ‘doing’ in the last verse. See you down the road — and here’s hoping for a European tour in the autumn.”
What’s Next? An Update on the Fall Tour Rumors
With the curtain down on the spring leg, attention now turns to summer — and beyond. Bob is once again set to join Willie Nelson’s 10th edition Outlaw Music Festival Tour, which means we’ll see him onstage under the red summer skies, sharing the bill with old friends and new audiences alike.
You can find all infos on the Summer Tour here!
And then there’s fall.
After the final show in Williamsport, a whisper made its way through the fan grapevine — reportedly from someone in the crew, one of the “Rowdys” who’s seen it all. According to them, a European tour this fall is more than likely.
That would line up with the Europe rumors we reported on a while back (hearing about “Italy and Scandinavia”) — and it certainly adds fuel to the fire of speculation.
The big question now, of course: will this be the continuation of the Rough and Rowdy Ways tour? Or will it mark the beginning of something new entirely? With Bob, we never really know — until he’s already three songs deep into the first show.
See you further on up the road,
Daniel
Great wrap up! Happy to contribute next time if you need me!
This was a great wrap by the way, makes me even more excited for the show in August!!