Famous faces like Adam Granduciel, Elvis Costello and Sharon Van Etten have all come together to cover Bob Dylan tracks at a recent anniversary show. Find out footage of the gig below.
READ MORE: Timothée Chalamet on becoming Bob Dylan for ‘A Complete Unknown’
The event took place in Tulsa, Oklahoma last Friday (January 24) at the Cain’s Ballroom venue, in celebration of ‘Blood On The Tracks’ turning 50.
Shared back in January 1975, the LP marked the 15th studio album from iconic singer, songwriter and guitarist Bob Dylan and remains one of his most famous releases. To mark the massive milestone, various musicians came together to perform covers from each song on the tracklist.
Elvis Costello, Adam Granduciel, and Lucinda Williams were among those honouring Dylan on the night, as were a house band comprised of Chatham County Line, Brad and Phil Cook, Ben Folds Five’s Darren Jessee, and Doug Keith. It was also hosted by Luke Wilson.
As highlighted by Stereogum, the iconic album was first recorded in New York City in September 1974, but later had a handful of songs rerecorded in Minneapolis just weeks before its release date. Musicians at the latter session included Bill Berg, Gregg Inhofe, Kevin Odegard, Billy Peterson – all of which were also at the Oklahoma event.
Pt 2 w Sharon Van Etten on BVs pic.twitter.com/tVs9ybgrP7
— Jeremy Dylan (@mrjeremydylan) January 25, 2025
The first half of the show saw covers of the entire ‘Blood On The Tracks’ tracklist, while the latter incorporated covers from across Dylan’s extensive discography.
Kicking off the night, Americana trio Chatham County Line took to the stage with Adam Granduciel for classic track and album opener ‘Tangled Up In Blue’. The War On Drugs frontman would later take to the stage again for a rendition of ‘Abandoned Love’ – a track written in 1975 but not officially released until 1985.
Sharon Van Etten covered his 1969 song ‘Lay Lady Lay’, while Michael Shannon and Jason Narducy – who will soon hit the road covering R.E.M. – took on ‘Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts’ and ‘Maggie’s Farm’.
Elvis Costello took to the stage to deliver renditions of ‘You’re Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go’ and ‘Dirge’, Lucinda Williams did ‘Idiot Wind’ and ‘Not Dark Yet’, and Amy Ray of Indigo Girls did ‘You’re A Big Girl Now’ and ‘Like A Rolling Stone’.
Other performances came from Diana Krall, Robyn Hitchcock, Emma Swift, Kevin Morby, Rufus Wainwright, Paul Metsa, Martin Courtney, Laura Cantrell, Joy Harjo and Lonnie Holley. The night ended with an ensemble performance of ‘My Back Pages’ and ‘I Shall Be Released’. Check out a full setlist from Last FM Below.
The Bob Dylan ‘Blood On The Tracks’ 50th-anniversary tribute gig setlist was:
Part One: ‘Blood On The Tracks’
‘Tangled Up in Blue’ (with Adam Granduciel)
‘Simple Twist of Fate’ (with Diana Krall)
‘You’re a Big Girl Now’ (with Amy Ray)
‘Idiot Wind’ (with Lucinda Williams)
‘You’re Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go’ (with Elvis Costello)
‘Meet Me in the Morning’ (with Robyn Hitchcock and Emma Swift)
‘Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts’ (with Michael Shannon & Jason Narducy)
‘If You See Her, Say Hello’ (with Kevin Morby and Martin Courtney)
‘Shelter From the Storm’ (with Joy Harjo and Lonnie Holley)
‘Buckets of Rain’ (with Rufus Wainwright and Sharon Van Etten)
Part Two: Varied Cover Selection
‘Girl From the North Country’ (with Paul Metsa)
‘Mississippi’ (with Martin Courtney)
‘Visions of Johanna’ (with Emma Swift)
‘Mr. Tambourine Man’ (with Laura Cantrell)
‘She Belongs to Me’ (with Robyn Hitchcock)
‘Maggie’s Farm’ (with Michael Shannon & Jason Narducy)
‘Bob Dylan’s Dream’ (with Bill Berg, Gregg Inhofer, Kevin Odegard and Billy Peterson)
‘Blowin’ in the Wind’ (with Joy Harjo)
‘Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door’ (with Lonnie Holley)
‘I Pity the Poor Immigrant’ (with Kevin Morby)
‘It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue’ (with Diana Krall)
‘Lay Lady Lay’ (with Sharon Van Etten)
‘Not Dark Yet’ (with Lucinda Williams)
‘Abandoned Love’ (with Adam Granduciel)
‘Dirge’ (with Elvis Costello)
‘Like a Rolling Stone’ (with Amy Ray)
‘My Back Pages’ (ensemble)
‘I Shall Be Released’ (ensemble)
The event took place following the Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown arriving in cinemas and leading man Timothée Chalamet picking up an Oscar nomination this week for his portrayal of the songwriting legend.
Over the weekend, the actor hosted Saturday Night Live and played a trio of Bob Dylan songs as the live musical act of the night.
The film has bagged eight Oscar nominations in total, including Best Director for James Mangold, Best Supporting Actor for Edward Norton, and Best Supporting Actress for Monica Barbaro, as well as Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Sound and Best Costume Design.
NME gave the film a four-star review, with Alex Flood writing: “The most important (and often trickiest) job of any music movie is to get the music right. And this nails that. If you’re a Bob newbie, you’ll leave the cinema ready to dive into his back catalogue. If you’re already a fan, the next few weeks will be spent making playlists of lesser-known B-sides or reading the lore around a scene you weren’t familiar with. And that’s why it was a good idea to make this film – a mad idea, but a good one.”
Timothee Chalamet attends the UK Premiere of Searchlight Pictures’ “A Complete Unknown”. CREDIT: Tim P. Whitby/Getty Images
Chalamet recently spoke to NME about his preparation for the role and recalled the extensive amount of time he put into getting the character right. “I had the time to put the 10,000 hours in,” he said. “There wasn’t a deadline on it. I wasn’t learning for anyone else. I was learning for myself.”
“Someone said the other day that [Dylan] was ‘someone who doesn’t give a fuck about other people’,” he added of the iconic singer-songwriter. “I don’t think it’s that. He was concerned about his art, and never pretended not to be.”
The post Watch Adam Granduciel, Elvis Costello, Sharon Van Etten, Lucinda Williams and more cover Bob Dylan’s ‘Blood On The Tracks’ at 50th anniversary tribute gig appeared first on NME.
