Bob Dylan, along with Jimmie Vaughn & The Tilt-A-Whirl Band and Brittney Spencer, performed at The Mann Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia on July 14, 2026.
The Performance
Dylan and his band took the stage at sunset, and the music was a thrill from the start. The band played with a sense of gravity and depth, meeting a sense of joy and freedom. The performance included a range of musical styles, from blues and jazz to classical and chamber music.
The band’s arrangement of ‘Crossing the Rubicon’ was particularly notable, with Dylan insisting on a #11 in the upper structure whenever they hit the IV chord, striking a gorgeously forlorn note. The band never stopped playing, with one song bleeding warmly and gently into another.
Dylan sang with sass and character, and the audience was in awe. The band closed with ‘I Shall Be Released’, with Dylan on harmonica, and his vocal phrasing was almost nothing like familiar versions.
Original reporting: New Haven Independent — read the source article.
