= Bob Dylan - Bob Links - Chattanooga, Tennessee - Reviews - 04/17/26


Reviews
Chattanooga, Tennessee
Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Auditorium
April 17, 2026

[Ric Harwood], [John Graham]

Review by Ric Harwood


At first, I was a little hesitant to buy a ticket to the Chattanooga show. I'd seen the Rough and Rowdy Ways 
tour several times in 2022 and other than The Man In the Long Black Coat and Nervous Breakdown, the set 
list was pretty similar to the past ones with a few extra songs thrown in I heard him perform at the Outlaw 
Festivals. I was expecting a show similar to those previous ones. Was I ever wrong.

Dylan has upped his already A game. All the songs were extremely well rehearsed and the sound was 
crystalline.  The entire show was performed on acoustic guitars with Dylan's electric piano and Tony's electric 
bass, which he alternated with a stand up bass, being the only exceptions. The music was clean and detailed. 
You could hear each instrument clearly in the mix. The guitars and piano weaved in an out of each other 
beautifully and thoughtfully. Anton Fig gave a master class in drumming. And Bob's voice was powerful, 
melodic, and emotional.

The acoustic treatment of I Contain Multitudes elevated the song to a new level. You could feel the pain and 
heartbreak in Love Sick.  Even Man In The Long Black Coat, a song I didn't think I'd care for live, was 
transplendent. 

Early in the show, between songs, a woman yelled out, "I love you, Bob Dylan!", and you could hear some 
of 
the crowd laughing at her. The audience was very enthusiastic throughout the performance. Near the end of 
the show, she yelled, "I love you, Bob Dylan!" once again and this time the audience erupted into applause. 
It was that kind of show.

When Bob Dylan sang Every Grain of Sand as his closer, the crowd erupted when he played his harmonica for 
the first and only time that evening. At the song's conclusion, he walked up to the front of the stage and 
stood and nodded to the crowd while we were cheering. And then it was over.

While we were waiting to have our phones unlocked on the way out, I heard many people talking about how 
great his performance was. If you've already seen the Rough and Rowdy Ways tour in the past, I'd suggest 
you go again. This is a different beast altogether.  I'm so happy I went and experienced this remarkable 
evening.

Ric Harwood

[TOP]

Review by John Graham


I read a review from a few nights ago that the venue left the house lights
up for the first couple of songs. That happened in Chattanooga last night
too, which was a little weird. You can't fully focus on the stage until
the lights go down.  As has been commented, this is an acoustic show,
although the guitars are plugged in, and Lancio and Britt do a damn good
job making them sound almost electric. The current band has a great sound,
but I kept wondering what it would be like fully electric. Maybe we'll
find out as he goes into the summer shows.

Bob would sit, then stand, then sit while playing the electric keyboard
using two microphones. We had seats just a couple of rows behind the
soundboard, and I must say you could hear his voice quite a bit stronger
and clearer while he was standing using the higher of the two microphones
(you'd think they'd be the exact same microphone, with the exact same
gain, but what do I know).

Bob's electric piano was also way up in the mix, and he would really pound
on it on some songs, hitting some off key notes now and then, but the rest
of the band just kept grooving right along, and Bob would get right back
in sync with them.

One of the highlights of the show for me was "Multitudes", which has
become a classic right up there with any of his all time classics. The
current renditions of "Love sick" and "Goodbye Jimmy Reed" are great too.

He's also doing a great version of "False Prophet", and I can't help but
wonder whether the song was written with a certain president who likens
himself to Jesus in mind.

The audience, surprisingly, was very attentive and quiet....not the usual
loud, obnoxious drunk, constant blabber like a lot of shows I've attended.

John Graham

[TOP]

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