Bob Dylan appears to be making changes to his live band, with two of his long-serving guitarists seemingly stepping away from the road.
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On Sunday (June 28), acoustic guitarist Bob Britt was reported to have left Dylan’s touring band after sharing a brief social media post that was later deleted.
According to screenshots circulated by Dylan fans online, Britt posted “Sayonara Bobby” alongside an image showing a flight route from Austin, Texas to Nashville during a day off from the tour. In a later comment, he reportedly wrote: “I quit.”
Britt has played with Dylan since 2019, and has been a regular presence during the ongoing ‘Rough And Rowdy Ways’ tour.
Dylan has not publicly commented on Britt’s apparent departure.
The news follows another recent change in Dylan’s band, after electric guitarist Doug Lancio was replaced on stage by acclaimed jazz guitarist Julian Lage.
Lancio, who had been part of Dylan’s touring band since 2021, was absent from the singer-songwriter’s June 17 show at the Santa Barbara Bowl. A review by the Los Angeles Times noted that Lage had taken his place on stage, while a spokesperson for Dylan said they had “no word” on whether Lage was a permanent addition to the band.
Lage has since appeared at multiple Dylan shows, although it remains unclear whether he is filling in temporarily or joining the line-up more permanently.
Dylan’s current US run is due to continue tomorrow night (June 29) at Moody Amphitheater in Austin, Texas, before wrapping in Nashville on August 1. Find any remaining tickets here.
The tour has already seen Dylan return to a number of rarely played songs. Earlier this month, he performed ‘I Shall Be Released’ for the first time in 18 years at Cuthbert Amphitheater in Eugene, Oregon, after also reviving ‘You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere’ near Seattle for the first time since 2012.
The tour follows a wave of renewed attention in Dylan thanks to A Complete Unknown, the Timothée Chalamet-starring biopic about the artist’s early years in New York and his move from folk to electric music.
In a four-star review, NME wrote that Chalamet “sings and plays his way into Oscars contention with a career-best”, adding that the film smartly focused on a precise period of Dylan’s life rather than attempting to cover the whole story.
Dylan also recently shared his thoughts on ageing, saying that one of the benefits of getting older is that “you outlive the clocks that have been chasing you”.