This is one guy’s perspective on the Bob Dylan concert in Spartanburg, South Carolina on April 20th, 2026.
I share what I saw and heard, and what I thought. There’s a little eavesdropping and recalling past shows of his.
These opinions are just that… opinions.
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I’m going to review the Bob Dylan concert in Spartanburg, South Carolina, on April 20, 2026. This is my handwritten review. It was Bob Dylan’s first South Carolina concert in four years. It brought me to Spartanburg, birthplace of such musicians as Marshall Chapman and pianist Phyllis Floyd.
I had scored a good, lone seat. That is where I began to write this review. There was a nice sprinkling of young people in a mostly older crowd—some lucky kids. We would be watching our own version of Bob Dylan. Like the Fayetteville, North Carolina show, everyone’s phones were secured in a locked pouch. No photos, no recordings, and no distractions. It’s clearly important to Bob Dylan.
The guy behind me told the young strangers seated next to him that the first time he saw him was in the 70s. It was $3.75 a ticket, he said. The two young girls said it was their first time seeing him. That was 1977, he added. Finally, you could hear loud drumming from Anton Fig, and the show was underway.
Bob was revealed wearing a ball cap and a hoodie. He would never remove his hood for the entirety of the show. The lighting was subdued; they brought down any brightness. The audience was kept almost completely in the dark—very dark compared to most concerts. The stage seemed minimal, not overly bright, just a few white lights. It was very simple. “To Be Alone With You” is a great opening song.
Bob seemed to be finding his bearings on the electric keyboard. His microphone could have been just a tad closer to his mouth, but maybe that’s the way he wanted it. “Man in the Long Black Coat” from the Oh Mercy album followed, and then another unique interpretation of “All Along the Watchtower.”
“The band has never sounded better”
The band has never sounded better. I focused on the guitar work of Bob Britt and Doug Lancio. Tony Garnier, Bob’s bass player of some 37 years, was completely obstructed by the curtains from my corner of the stage. I don’t mind confessing, folks, that I moved a little closer, and the security didn’t seem to care.
I’d like to present a controversial opinion. If someone who hasn’t experienced the entirety of Bob Dylan’s catalog wants to do so, don’t listen chronologically. Instead, go from the most recent album back to the first one. Do it backwards. I just think that’s the way to do it. And maybe I’m a little influenced because of the songs from Rough and Rowdy Ways. They’re so excellent. And since the tour name seems to be back—it was on both the marquee and the little paper ticket that I got.
Songs from the Rough and Rowdy Ways album dominated the set list, and this is good as far as I’m concerned. I love the passion he has for those songs. They launched into three songs from Rough and Rowdy Ways: “I Contain Multitudes,” one of my favorites, with an atypical but thoroughly enjoyable arrangement; a surprising version of “False Prophet”; and then “Black Rider.” It just occurred to me—and probably there are Bob Dylan fans thinking, “Well, we all know that. He always follows ‘I Contain Multitudes’ with ‘False Prophet.’” That’s pretty interesting.
It is the Rough and Rowdy Ways Shows, as Bob Dylan has called them, capitalizing the word “Shows.” Other songs from the album included “Goodbye Jimmy Reed” and the formerly underplayed “Crossing the Rubicon,” and also “I’ve Made Up My Mind to Give Myself to You.” Such an incredible song. My appreciation for that one just grows and grows.
“My favorite appearance from the night”
My favorite appearance from the night was one of the songs from Tempest. He performed “Soon After Midnight.” Bob sang this one very energetically. It reminded me of a crooner-type song. Tony Bennett or Dean Martin would have maybe gotten around to singing this one eventually. The performance just felt so inspired. The outside songs are always interesting.
The Bo Diddley tune “I Can Tell” made another appearance, as it did in the Outlaw dates in Charlotte and Raleigh I saw last year, and “Nervous Breakdown,” an old Eddie Cochran tune he’s pulled out this year. In keeping with the format of the Rough and Rowdy Ways Shows, the material hasn’t focused so much on Bob’s classics. “When I Paint My Masterpiece” was one of the oldest songs, yet in the band’s hands and Bob Dylan’s, the strokes felt fresh and vibrant.
“My mind flashed back to seeing him in Washington, D.C.”
My mind flashed back to seeing him in Washington, D.C., after spending all day at the National Gallery of Art. The confluence of those two things had me reeling. I was feeling kind of stoned without the substances. Just like this show—no beer or wine needed. Religious? Almost.
Then the unmistakable melodies of “Every Grain of Sand” signaled it would be the sixteenth and final song of the night. A little harmonica playing provided such an applause and cheer that you momentarily couldn’t hear anything. Bob sang this one reverently. There’s always a different line that knocks me out every time I hear this one. This time it was “that every hair is numbered like every grain of sand.”
Then he ambled out front, clapped his hands a few times, put one hand on his side, and that was the show.
