Rock & Roll Hall of Fame member Bob Dylan will cap another leg of his Rough and Rowdy Ways Tour at Nashville's Ascend Amphitheater on Aug. 1. After hundreds of U.S. performances on a tour, which has already stretched out six years, it’s a fitting place for the legendary singer-songwriter to finish this year’s stateside run. Dylan has helped shape Nashville, and Nashville has helped shape him.
Perhaps no single artist has done more to solidify Nashville’s reputation as an all-genre recording hub than the 85-year-old folk-rock icon.
Though his rise will forever be tied to New York City’s Greenwich Village in the early 1960s, the Country Music Hall of Fame notes Dylan had his sights set on Nashville as early as 1965. After growing up in Minnesota
listening to the Grand Ole Opry, a new friend named Johnny Cash publicly said he’d love to record a “Nashville sound” album for Dylan. Dylan had already stunned fans by “going electric” at the Newport Folk Festival. Then, in 1966, Dylan released the Nashville-produced “Blonde on Blonde.”
Known today as a folk-rock masterstroke and the first double album, “Blonde on Blonde” found the hard-to-pin-down artist attracted to a distinct culture of studio recording. Talented Nashville musicians were known for making creative edits on the fly. They could actually help shape the records they played on. It was a loose atmosphere that appealed to the singer-songwriter. Nashville even had its own musical language, the famous “Nashville numbers,” a shorthand music notation method with numbers instead of specific letter chords that made it faster for sessions players to learn new chord progressions and experiment with new music.
The “Blonde on Blonde” sessions included famed “Nashville Cats” musicians like drummer Kenny Buttrey, pianist Hargus “Pig” Robbins and the multi-talented Charlie McCoy. You can still see McCoy every now and then at the Grand Ole Opry, often playing harmonica.
Dylan came back to Music Row for the rustic “John Wesley Harding” album in 1967. Then, after becoming one of the first guests on “The Johnny Cash Show” in 1969, Dylan followed with his famous “country” record, “Nashville Skyline.” It featured a duet with Cash, “Girl from the North Country.”
More important than Dylan’s own work was the fact that other non-country artists followed his lead. Nashville was suddenly a recording hub for artists across genres. The Byrds recorded “Sweetheart of the Rodeo.” Simon & Garfunkel cut “The Boxer.” Neil Young tracked much of “Harvest.” Joan Baez, Linda Ronstadt, and even Beatles legend Paul McCartney came to town. Dylan’s appreciation for Nashville changed music history, furthering the development of country rock as a respected genre.
Today, Nashville artists from Taylor Swift to Brittney Spencer cite Dylan as a primary influence, and rockers from Jack White to The Black Keys have found a home here (both for their music and personal lives).
Dylan never fell out of love with Nashville and has made many concert appearances in Music City over the years. The Ryman Auditorium, Municipal Auditorium and even Brooklyn Bowl have all hosted the icon. That was Dylan’s last Nashville tour stop in 2024. Since it was also part of his still-going Rough and Rowdy Ways trek, it may provide some clues on what to expect on Aug. 1.
Never one to phone in a performance or just play his hits, Dylan mixed tracks from his 2020 album “Rough and Rowdy Ways” with choice cuts from his Music City catalog at those past Nashville shows. A set list compiled for Dylan’s website noted he played multiple tunes from both “Blonde on Blonde” and “Nashville Skyline,” like “Most Likely You Go Your Way (and I’ll Go Mine),” “I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight” and “To Be Alone With You.” He even worked up a tribute to his old friend Cash, performing “Big River.”
More recent shows have featured enduring hits like “It Ain’t Me Babe,” “Tangled Up In Blue” and “Blowin’ in the Wind.” It remains to be seen what Dylan and his band will do at Ascend Amphitheater this summer. It will mark his first appearance at the venue. But no matter what, it will add to the long history of a city he both cherished and contributed to. Just by knowing that history, fans may find Dylan’s onstage choices more meaningful.
Bob Dylan will perform at Nashville’s Ascend Amphitheater on Aug. 1 with Lucinda Williams and Jimmie Vaughan.
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This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Bob Dylan to finish 2026 U.S. tour in Nashville
