Bob Dylan Opens 'Long Hot Summer '26' Tour in Palm
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- Bob Dylan opened his 'Long Hot Summer '26' tour with a stop at Acrisure Arena in Palm Desert, California — the third of four Southern California dates, none of which fall in L.A. County.
- The setlist leans heavily on material from 2020's 'Rough and Rowdy Ways' and obscure covers by Bo Diddley, Bobby 'Blue' Bland, and Jerry Lee Lewis, with Dylan hooded and mute between songs for a 'Tight Ninety' that prompted a few walkouts and a Threads complaint that 'he didn't play a single hit' — despite 'All Along the Watchtower' appearing in a new arrangement.
- Jazz guitarist Julian Lage replaced longtime band member Doug Lancio as lead guitarist between a June 14 Berkeley show and a June 17 Santa Barbara gig, with Palm Desert marking only his third night in the role alongside bassist Tony Garnier, drummer Anton Fig, and acoustic guitarist Bob Britt.
- Paul McCartney, in a podcast interview earlier this month, took a public shot at Dylan's setlist philosophy, saying he attended a Dylan show and 'couldn't tell what song he was doing,' while conceding Dylan may simply be 'fed up' with playing 'Mr. Tambourine Man.'
- Now positioned center stage behind an electric piano in a short black hoodie, the 85-year-old Dylan is described by the reviewer as 'one of the modern era's great singers,' with a 'low-to-medium simmer' vocal approach that constantly rewrites cadences and melodies rather than recreating recorded versions.
- The show closed with 'Every Grain of Sand,' and tour merch featured scrawled lyrics from 'The Times They Are A-Changin'' — a song Dylan has performed on a regular tour date only once since 2009.
Why it matters: The McCartney critique, rare in coming from a peer, puts a public spotlight on Dylan's deepening commitment to deep cuts at an age when most legacy artists lean on greatest-hits comfort food. The Julian Lage personnel swap is the first notable band change in Dylan's late-period touring unit in years, and how that jazz sensibility settles into the mix will shape every subsequent show on the 'Long Hot Summer '26' itinerary — including the four Southern California dates that, true to form, don't touch L.A. County itself.
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