World tour by Bob Dylan | |
![]() Bob Dylan and his Band, Spectrum, Oslo, Norway, March 30, 2007 | |
Location | North America Europe South America Australia Asia Central America |
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Start date | June 7, 1988 |
End date | Ongoing |
Legs | 135 |
No. of shows | 3,066 |
The Never Ending Tour is the popular name for Bob Dylan's ongoing touring schedule which began on June 7, 1988.[1][2] During the course of the tour, musicians have come and gone as the band has continued to evolve. The tour amassed a huge fan base with some fans traveling from around the world to attend as many Dylan shows as possible.[3]
Dylan himself has been dismissive of the Never Ending Tour tag. In the sleeve notes to his album World Gone Wrong (1993), Dylan wrote:
Don't be bewildered by the Never Ending Tour chatter. There was a Never Ending Tour but it ended in 1991 with the departure of guitarist G. E. Smith. That one's long gone but there have been many others since then: "The Money Never Runs Out Tour" (Fall of 1991) "Southern Sympathizer Tour" (Early 1992) "Why Do You Look At Me So Strangely Tour" (European Tour 1992) "The One Sad Cry Of Pity Tour" (Australia & West Coast American Tour 1992) "Outburst Of Consciousness Tour" (1992) "Don't Let Your Deal Go Down Tour" (1993) and others, too many to mention each with their own character & design.
His subsequent touring schedule has continued to be referred to as the "Never Ending Tour" by most media outlets.
According to Swedish researcher Olof Björner,[4] Dylan played his 2,000th show of the Never Ending Tour on October 16, 2007, in Dayton, Ohio.[5] He played his 3,000th show of the Never Ending Tour on April 19, 2019, in Innsbruck, Austria.[6] Dylan has attributed much of the versatility of his live shows to the talent of his backing band, with whom he recorded each of his 21st-century studio albums: Love and Theft (2001); Modern Times (2006); Together Through Life (2009); Christmas in the Heart (2009); Tempest (2012); Shadows in the Night (2015); Fallen Angels (2016); Triplicate (2017) and Rough and Rowdy Ways (2020).
Following the 2019 touring year, performances in Japan and the US were cancelled during 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On September 27, 2021, via his official website, Dylan announced a new tour called the Rough and Rowdy Ways World Wide Tour, spanning 2021–2024, with the tour starting in November.[7] This tour has been referred to by the media as an extension of his ongoing Never Ending Tour.[8]