The 'Long Hot Summer '26' tour is like the 'Rough and Rowdy Ways' tour that immediately preceded it: inscrutable, magical and unconcerned with the most obvious hits.
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Chris Willman/Variety “I’ve Made Up My Mind to Give Myself to You,” Bob Dylan sings every night on his recently begun “Long Hot Summer ’26” tour, keeping a song from his most recent album, 2020’s “Rough and Rowdy Ways,” in play as a staple of his setlist. It’s a beautiful affirmation, as one of the purest love songs in his recent catalog, and an outlier in that regard. But it does raise a question: Can you make up your mind to give yourself to Bob Dylan?
It’s a question to keep in mind because this outing, like a lot of the touring that preceded it, does ask you to meet him halfway, without a lot of hand-holding, and certainly no verbal assurances, as he remains as mute between songs as ever. Bluntly put, this is a fantastic show that he’s taken on the road, but appreciating it as such perhaps may require a willingness to surrender to a vibe. With dim lighting, a setlist featuring a lot more deep cuts than world-famous classics, and a hooded central figure who seems to grow more mysterious right before our eyes, the mood is somewhere between “the after-hours roadhouse of your dreams” and “eternity’s waiting room.”
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